King Solomon's Mine

Rating:
Summary: Entertaining, with a surprising (to us) 19th C philosophy
Review: "...What is a gentleman? I don't quite know, and yet... I've known natives who are... and I have known mean whites... who are not." -- Allan Quartermain, "King Solomon's Mines"

As the most popular best-seller of the Victorian age, this story, which presents us with an African who is superior to Europeans, is a bit of a surprise! But this isn't just a ripping yarn, it's also a poignant consideration of cultures in conflict in late 19th century Africa.

Allan Quartermain is the author's alter-ego, a somewhat self-deprecating man from a British upper-class background who has made his life in Africa. He is skeptical about European pretensions to superiority and the novel mocks the "Lord Jim" conception of the European worshipped by natives as a god. It is interesting that Robert Louis Stevenson shared this idea, since this novel was written as a direct challenge to Stevenson!

Quartermain and his companions are seeking the lost brother of Sir Henry Custis, who disappeared seeking the mythic diamond mines of King Solomon. They soon encounter Sir Henry's spiritual brother; Umbopa, "a tall, handsome-looking man." It is the second time Quartermain has encountered Umbopa, whom he met during the Zulu War; Umbopa's intelligence then was greater than that of the British officers, as Quartermain recalls uncomfortably! Umbopa has a secret that leads directly to the novel's surprising climax, and to the decision that the surviving companions make at the novel's end.

Haggard sets out to explode racial stereotypes and does, and while there is a good deal of violence in the book, it is never glorified. Although it inspired such fantasy writers as Edgar Rice Burroughs and Abraham Merritt, this adventure is rooted in a real understanding of, and respect for, other cultures. Even today it is a worthwhile read that is far more than just an adventure story.

Rating:
Summary: The Dark Continient
Review: "King Solomon's Mines" is an excellent adventure, a classic ranking with Edgar Rice Burroughs "Tarzan, Lord of the Jungle". Allen Quartermain is hired by Mr. Curtis and Cpt. Good to find Curtis's long lost brother who disapeared in an uncharted part of Africa, looking for the mythic Solomon's dimond mines. Along the way they become involved in some lost tribes' civil war, and then become victoms of their own greed. This novel is a likley sourse of the Indiana Jones adventures of today. Although the characters are a bit older than we imagine heros to be (they are all in they 50s and 60s), they are much more able bodied than you would think. This is just a great classic pulp adventure that (as stated above) inspired Indiana Jones, Conan the Cimmerian, and Tarzan. Enjoy. It is, however, not like the movie that Richard Chamberlin stared in the 80s, so be warned.

Rating:
Summary: The Dark Continient
Review: "King Solomon's Mines" is an excellent adventure, a classic ranking with Edgar Rice Burroughs "Tarzan, Lord of the Jungle". Allen Quartermain is hired by Mr. Curtis and Cpt. Good to find Curtis's long lost brother who disapeared in an uncharted part of Africa, looking for the mythic Solomon's dimond mines. Along the way they become involved in some lost tribes' civil war, and then become victoms of their own greed. This novel is a likley sourse of the Indiana Jones adventures of today. Although the characters are a bit older than we imagine heros to be (they are all in they 50s and 60s), they are much more able bodied than you would think. This is just a great classic pulp adventure that (as stated above) inspired Indiana Jones, Conan the Cimmerian, and Tarzan. Enjoy. It is, however, not like the movie that Richard Chamberlin stared in the 80s, so be warned.

Rating:
Summary: One of the best adventures I've read
Review: Haggard is a master of visual scenery in the novel.
The book starts off rather slow, but picks up nicely and is an excellent story with nice twists and fantastic characters. The battle scenes are written extraordinarily well, which is difficult to do on paper. There is much excitement throughout.
The evil in the book is a little strong for my taste, so I wouldn't recommend this book for young readers only for that reason. But it makes for a great ending when the evil is conquered.

Rating:
Summary: The Great Adventure (S.S. at olsos)
Review: I grew up on the movie so it was quit a shocker to read the book. As stated in the beginning there are no petticoated women in this book. It is a men's adventure written by a man for men. You can not miss the hand of H. Rider Haggard as he has a unique sense of humor that pops up at the strangest times. He may be a little verbose but every word has a use. And as with written stories this one is much more intricate than the movie adaptations. You will find many assumptions of the time such as any complex construction must have been built by white people and natives on their own may turn savage.

The story is told first person by Allan Quartermain. Nevil is off to make his fortune by finding King Solomon's lost diamond mines. Allan sends him a map to help. This is the last anyone heard from Nevil. Turns out that Nevil is really the estranged brother of Henry Curtis. Sir Henry Curtis now wants to make amends and he with his friend Captain John Good, bribe Allan Quartermain to take them across an endless desert and trough impassible mountains to an adventure that will hold you to the very end. Along with them is their self imposed helper Umbopa who carries a secret of his own.

If you get a chance to also hear the recording, an added plus is narration by John Richmond; He brings the characters to life and adds to the mystique that this story has been passed down.

Rating:
Summary: If you are thinking Debra Kerr you will be shocked.
Review: I grew up on the movie so it was quit a shocker to read the book. As stated in the beginning there are no petticoated women in this book. It is a men's adventure written by a man for men. You can not miss the hand of H. Rider Haggard as he has a unique sense of humor that pops up at the strangest times. He may be a little verbose but every word has a use. And as with written stories this one is much more intricate than the movie adaptations. You will find many assumptions of the time such as any complex construction must have been built by white people and natives on their own may turn savage.

The story is told first person by Allan Quartermain. Nevil is off to make his fortune by finding King Solomon's lost diamond mines. Allan sends him a map to help. This is the last anyone heard from Nevil. Turns out that Nevil is really the estranged brother of Henry Curtis. Sir Henry Curtis now wants to make amends and he with his friend Captain John Good, bribe Allan Quartermain to take them across an endless desert and trough impassible mountains to an adventure that will hold you to the very end. Along with them is their self imposed helper Umbopa who carries a secret of his own.

If you get a chance to also hear the recording, an added plus is narration by John Richmond; He brings the characters to life and adds to the mystique that this story has been passed down.

Rating:
Summary: For boys, both little and big.
Review: I'm sure the other reviews cover much of the book's plot, so let me just get to the meat of the reason I loved this book. ADVENTURE and ACTION! DIAMOND MINES and BATTLES! This is the book that millions of others try to copy. A journey into a desert, into a remote part of Africa, searching for a lost brother and a legend. Mystery and magic adds spice to what is, already, a perfect story.
Mr. Haggard knew what boys, both young and old, want in a story.

Rating:
Summary: Thrilling Adventure
Review: King Solomon's Mines is a very solid and entertaining adventure story. The sotry is set in the late 19th century, and age of colonialism in Africa. It is told by Alan Quartermain, an expert game hunter in South Africa. He is contacted by Sir Henry Curtis, who wished to hire Quartermain as a guide to look for his lost brother. Two years earlier, Curtis' brother left to find the legendary mines of King Solomon. Fortunately, Quartermain had come into possession of a map showing the way to King Solomon's mines. The pair are accompanied by Captain John Good, a naval officer whose habits of cleanliness become comic, and Umbopa, an African porter with a mysterious secret. Needless to say, they encounter quite a few adventures along the way.

Something that might be found objectionable is the racial attitudes in this book. There are several comments that modern readers may find uncomfortable. However, if you keep in mind the time period this was written in, it's racial attitudes were more advanced than the general attitude of the time. The African characters appear as human, but some of the characters make remarks which would not pass today. If you can keep in mind the time period this was written in, I think you can enjoy this adventure, but if you are sensitive about racial remarks, then I recommend you give this a pass.

Rating:
Summary: A flawness romantic gem of imperial adventure
Review: This book is the perfect adventure of Victorian derring-do and is faultless as an example of the genre. Many of the storyline tricks that have been used many times over by more recent authors come from this classic story. Most readers also learn a good deal about an intelligent Victorian gentlemen's view of Africa. Haggard himself was involved intimately with African imperialism (having personally hauled up the Union Flag annexing the Transvaal in the late 1870s) and he writes about what he knows. Although his characters are to some extent typical adventure story heroes (don't look for a tortured inner life, or complicated ethics) they ring true, and in fact they can be considered to be archetypes of "good" imperialists. The Africans are depicted in a convincing fashion - with good and bad attributes and the two monsters of Twala and Gagool are splendid creations. Clearly Kukuanaland is a kind of Zululand or Matabeleland gone even more extreme and Twala seems to be based on a sort of distorted Chaka the Zulu king, but this is precisely what makes this story so real and gripping. The only other story that I think approaches this is written by a finer writer and is based on the imperial adventure in India: The Man Who Would be King. Alas and alack though there has never been a film version of King Solomon's Mines that even approaches the power of the novel, unlike The Man Who Would be King that was so brilliantly presented for the screen by John Houston.

Rating:
Summary: A really great, classic, adventure book
Review: This is the first in a series of several Allan Quatermain stories, and a classic of late 1800s adventure. The plot involves our hero, an aging elephant hunter, leading a party into deep dark Africa in search of wealth and mystery. Boys are certainly the target age for this genre, but be cautious with young readers, as glorified violence and racial stereotypes could use a mature approach when reading.. I found it a short entertaining page-turner, but ultimately it made little lasting impact on me, and I don't plan to read the rest of the Quatermain stories.