King Solomon's Mines

John Carter and Conan's African Daddy

H. Rider Haggard's King Solomon's Mines (1885) is worth listening to if for no other reason than because of its seminal influence on the adventure genre, especially of the "lost world" or "planetary romance" variety wherein an intrepid hero explores an exotic hidden civilization in an inaccessible place and thereby acts as a catalyst for Big Change, ala Edgar Rice Burroughs and Robert E. Howard.

Allan Quartermain, who leads the expedition to King Solomon's mines hidden among the mountains of Africa and finds much more than he expected, is an interesting narrator-protagonist: honest, middle-aged, experienced, physically unimposing, and none too brave. The story he tells is variously suspenseful, violent, humorous, horrifying, moving, and sublime. Its views of animals ("beasts" to be hunted for food or sport), of women (baby-bearers, damsels in distress, or witches ideally to be avoided), of indigenous people ("natives" not to be mated with or lived among permanently) are unpleasant to me today. But Quartermain also impressively (given his Victorian era) admires exceptional "natives" and recognizes them as being at least the equal of their white counterparts, pointedly refuses to use the n-word, poignantly depicts an inter-racial romance, and even expresses the destructive side of the involvement of white "civilization" with native cultures. And the story has neat themes about the dangerous pursuit of wealth, the transitory nature of life, the wonders of nature, and the mysteries of the past.

The reader, Toby Stephens, does an excellent job breathing wit and life into the characters; I particularly enjoyed his Gagaoola, the wizened, wicked, possibly immortal, stick-like crone, whose raspy high-pitched merry malevolence was appealingly creepy to hear. An entertaining listen indeed.

7 of 7 people found this review helpful

Allen Quatermain=Sean Connery

I discovered this book after watching League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and learning that Sean Connery's character in the movie, Allen Quatermain, is taken from HR Haggard's books.

This story is unlikely to disappointment fans of Indiana Jones-type adventure; the plot is well-written and only occasionally requires suspension of disbelief to get through. The narration as well is very good. Overall, a remarkable novel from a different time.

5 of 5 people found this review helpful

Great story, great narration but barely audible

I loved the story and the narrator was really great (other than butchering the pronunciation of the afrikaans words) but I really struggled with the volume of the recording. It was way too low, it became very cumbersome to constantly have to struggle to hear the narration. Other than the volume issue I can highly recommend it

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Toby Stephens is an AMAZING narrator

What did you love best about King Solomon's Mines?

This rollicking tale invented the lost world / jungle opera genre and spawned a host of imitators and hangers-on who variously copied the book’s vibe and ethos or just its specific devices (like the “white witchcraft” of the hunter’s guns or the terrifying of an ignorant native race by pretending to bring on an eclipse which luckily happened to occur just when it was needed. It’s old, colonialist, and racist (though very mildly so in comparison with most of literature of the day), but it’s a humdinger of a thrill ride. Special mention goes to the incredible narrator Toby Stephens, whose accents make it all worthwhile.

What does Toby Stephens bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

The accents! My goodness, the man's accents are AMAZING. I wish I could read books to my kids like that. His reading of Gagool actually made shivers run up and down my spine.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

A Rip-Roaring Victorian Adventure!

I first learn of Allen Quartermain and his adventures in Africa via the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (the comic, not the movie). This was every bit the adventure I'd been promised!

You really get a sense of just how exciting it was back in the Victorian era with all of the lost civilizations being discovered and adventures braving the thickest of jungles. The was never a dull moment and all with something new to discover, with that posh Victorian flare I've come to adore.

Obviously, Quartermain is the quintessential Great White Hunter, so their was a bit of big game hunting along the way; thankfully it was mostly brief and did serve to flavor the story. As for the African characters, they were present surprisingly tastefully written given time when the novel was written. Quartermain even comment that some Africans are more respectable than Europeans he has known, and never once uses derogator terms to describe them. The rest of Quartermain's party were also great characters as well. And it had a happy ending and it all worked (mostly) well for everyone.

All in all one of the best Victorian novels I've read in a while. Discover this gem for yourself!

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Great performance of a great story

Summary
If you like adventures, get this book, you'll be happy you did.

Detail
Terrific story and the narration was fantastic. I especially liked how Stephens was able to use clearly differentiated voices for the main characters. This story had a great romantic and big-adventure feel. I've read that the Quatermaine character was a key inspiration for Indiana Jones, and I believe it. If you like big sweeping adventures, you'll enjoy this story.

The writing held my attention, drew me into a lost world, and helped me feel as I were actually experiencing the events described. Scenes in the story that were meant to be chilling really were chilling, and scenes that were meant to be amusing really were amusing. The narration added to the experience.

With all that was good, were there any negatives? Yes, the story was written 1885, from the English colonial perspective, and there is no denying that there are very clear and unfortunate underlying elements of colonial racism. It's not so much "elements" as the colonial world view that "the English will civilize the world". I wish people of that time didn't think that way, but they did, so it's not surprising that it comes out in their stories. In some sense, that underlying flawed worldview lends a sense of veracity to the story. Despite the fantastic and incredible elements of the story, it seems real, and it feels as if were written by a real English hunter.

On the whole, the good far outweighs the bad, and this is 8.5 hours of solid entertainment that is way better than most movies.

The Legend of Quartermain, Curtis and Good begins

Would you consider the audio edition of King Solomon's Mines to be better than the print version?

I actually do! This is one of two books that the audio is as good or better than reading

Who was your favorite character and why?

Quartermain of course!

Have you listened to any of Toby Stephens’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I haven't heard him in anything else yet, but his voices are EXACTLY what I imagine the characters would sound like

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The accounts of Curtis who was a majestic warrior and stalwart companion. I could feel Quartermain's admiration of him

Any additional comments?

This book is enjoyable in every way and I re-listen to it regularly

outstanding classic

Where does King Solomon's Mines rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

in my top ten classics

What did you like best about this story?

all of it

What about Toby Stephens’s performance did you like?

yes

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

great book

Any additional comments?

outstanding listen for any age. well written well read

Settle down for a good listen...

Any additional comments?

Toby Stephens is a wonderful narrator. I was glad to finally listen to this novel after seeing a few movie versions of the tale, which do not compare. Naturally, Haggard's view of whites versus anyone of color is of his time, but he's not as bad as Burroughs in his belief in the superiority of the white race.

The battle scenes went on a bit long for me, but overall the tale was enjoyable to listen to and I wish Toby Stephens had narrated 'The People of the Mist.'

great story

such a wonderful tail of adventures one of my favorite books every which is really saying something as I have read a many