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Not a Haggard Writer: The Platypus Reads Part LXV

Usually I wait until summer to devote myself to pulp, but a gift certificate from a student allowed me to get started early this year.  With my love of (most) things Victorian, and my interest in pulp, it was inevitable that I would turn to works of Rider Haggard and his celebrated creation, Allan Quatermain.  Having just finished "King Solomon's Mines" last night, I am ready to report.

I grew up with the Indiana Jones movies.  Late in college I was introduced to Allan Moore's (what ever shall we do with him?  He is the Alcibiades of the comic world.) "League of Extraordinary Gentlemen."  With these things under my belt, as it were, I must confess that I was worried that the source would not live up to my expectations.  Lesson number one, grasshopper, never doubt the Great Books (at least not in that way)!  "King's Solomon's Mine's" lives up to all the hype.  From the first page to the last, it was one straight-forward, rollicking adventure.  As an added bonus, Haggard's time as a colonial administrator makes the African setting of the novel ring true.  I spent a month living in Cameroon during grad school, and I kept reading passages to my wife, who lived there for two years, that could only be written by someone who had lived (not visited, lived) in Africa.


I'll spare you the details.  if you've already read it, you don't need them, and if you haven't read it, I don't want to spoil the experience for you.  It suffices to say that if you're looking for pulpy adventure, "King Solomon's Mines" won't disappoint.

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Joi said…
Oh, I LOVE Haggard! He's so much fun to read. You should really read his book She if you haven't already.
7:37 PM
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