Les Mines del rei Salomó (1882)

Classic adventure novel. Excellent. ( )

Storvildtjægeren Allan Quatermain er lidt over 60 år gammel og bor i Natal i Sydafrika. Han er på vej hjem efter en rejse og støder på to englændere, sir Henry Curtis og kaptajn John Good. De er sat ud for at finde George Neville, som er Henrys yngre bror. Han er rejst til Afrika to år tidligere efter at han og Henry kom op at toppes over arven fra faderen. Henry har fortrudt sin opførsel og er nu bekymret for om broderen overhovedet er i live.

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One of the first African adventure stories, it concerns the efforts of a group of Englishmen to find the legendary diamond mines of King Solomon. The explorer Allan Quatermain agrees to take Sir Henry Curtis and a friend on an expedition deep into the interior of Africa to find Curtis’s brother, who disappeared while searching for the mines. ( )

39

This is certainly a book of its time, written originally in 1885, it is full of English Superiority over everybody, and the darker the skin, the more inferior the person is.

On the whole of it, its actually well written, but for modern readers who think elephants should not be hunted and everybody is equal, there will be both a lot of eye rolling, and out right rage (whole herds of elephants are decimated just for a few tusks of ivory). Also, there is exactly two named women in this story, one is an ancient witch, and the other is a beautiful tribes women (almost as beautiful as white person).

This story is the base for so many adventure stories and movies, such as Indian Jones Franchise. Its got witches, savages, exotic locations, missing heirs, pretty much everything you can want out of a book like this. So, if you can get past the 1880's British Superiority and the casual racism, its a good story, but not without its problems. ( )