Book Review - King Solomon's Mines by H. Rider Haggard

I've started taking the bus to work which gives me time to actually sit down and read and not just listen. I figured that I would review those books as well as my Audible.com books. I picked up King Solomon's Mines by H. Rider Haggard (later Sir Haggard) from the library. Considered a classic work of literature and the start of the adventure genre I first heard about it after watching League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Allan Quartermain was played by Sean Connery, but I must say that after reading the book, I don't picture Quartermain as an old, bearded James Bond. I did enjoy the book and the style it was written in.

Plot: Allan Quartermain is an English game hunter, trader, and general outdoors-man who makes his life out in the bush and between the cities. While traveling, he is approached by two Englishmen, Sir Henry Curtis and Captain Good (ret.), to help find Sir Henry's brother, lost while attempting to find the fabled diamond mines of King Solomon. Quartermain has not only heard of the mines but knew a man who tried to find them. He is hesitant to lead the men, fearing that as none have returned that his death will impact his son's ability to study medicine in England. Sir Henry provides means to placate Quartermain's fears and they set off. Over the course of their adventure they face angry elephants, deserts, frozen peaks and caves, savage native kings, cruel witches, treachery, forbidden love, and outright war. In the end the escape and are able to accomplish their respective goals to varying degrees. The ending was quite satisfactory and the read was enjoyable.

Personal Favorites: I enjoyed the action and the situations the characters found themselves in. While not the most surprising read, there were elements of suspense that kept me interested. The action was uncomplicated but enjoyable and the pacing wasn't bad. The book is framed as a memoir with Quartermain narrating it so he'll skip over bits that he thinks are boring, enabling the story to flow rather well. I liked the diverse characters from the warrior Sir Henry, to the properly attired Good, to stalwart and clever Quartermain. As I mentioned, Quartermain is very different then how he is portrayed in League of Extaordinary Gentlemen, but he is still an engaging and very human character. He has realistic fears, desires, considerations, and sensibilities. He is not perfect, but he is capable and likable. Call me a delinquent but one of my favorite scenes is when the three Englishman "cast a spell" before a tribe of natives (who don't speak English) and while Sir Henry and Quartermain quickly run out of nonsense words Good, being a seaman, is able to sustain his cursing and swearing for a long time "with very little repetition."

Considerations: It is an older book and so older sensibilities and opinions are expressed. Some may find their relationship, opinion, and treatment of the natives as undesirable, although they are considerate to all they meet and are not harsh to others. It is expressed that whites and blacks cannot intermarry and are quite separate from each other, but beyond this their relations seem equal in many respects. Our heroes are hunters and are not opposed to killing elephants for the ivory and other things. While the book was not particularly graphic, it did have violent parts. It is not a complex story so if you're looking for something really cerebral I wouldn't recommend it. I saw all of these considerations as minor inconveniences to the story and none of them were of grievous offense. I mention them simply because some may be sensitive to such things.

Overall I enjoy the book very much and am glad to have read it. It's overall length was a little under 300 pages.

I am now on Audible

I got a early birthday gift this week. My wife got me an Audible.com membership. We've both been considering getting it for each other for a while, and finally decided to do it. I gave her an early mother's day gift by changing the membership from one credit to two credits a month. This was after I decided to get Red Storm Rising by Tom Clancy. My wife told me that I could listen to that all by myself.

I'm quite excited about being able to choose a book on audio that I get to keep. I enjoy reading and have difficulty finding time between studies, family, work, and that annoying need for sleep. I've been known to stay up until 2:00 am finishing a book, or even just reading it. Larry Corriea's Grimnoir Chronicles were consumed this way. Well, really all my latest fiction have been that way as I have homework to do. The audio books let me take advantage of my 40 minutes commute, mowing the lawn (I wear ear muffs with my ear buds inside), folding laundry, doing dishes, etc to enjoy books. The problem is that I can also listen to them at night with the light off. Normally I feel conscious of a light being on as it disturbs my wife so I stop reading earlier than I would otherwise. So some audio books get listened to late into the evening anyways.

I've already started building a wish list of books for audible. I've already listened to Night of Blacker Darkness by Dan Wells. It was delightful! Imagine a world where the Gothic culture was started by vampires in order to make up for their shortcomings. And a hero who was wrongfully imprisoned and wants to get out in order to commit the crime he was accused of. Then throw in a collection of Victorian-era authors including John Keats and Mary Shelly who end up tagging along for the ride. Add a vampire hunter who is as inept at catching vampires as they are at being a menace and I don't know what you've got but it is really funny.

I've already mentioned what I'm currently listening to - Red Storm Rising. I figured it was time to listen to the pinnacle of Cold War turns WWIII. That and it's 31 hours. A nice long read. Funny that it should start because of radical Muslims....

I'm not sure what I'll do next, but I've enjoyed building my list:

Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson - because he's that good and it will last me 45+ hours.
Alloy of Law by the same - Although I may just borrow the physical copy from my parents.
Without a Summer by Mary Robinette Kowal - the third in the series and read by the author.
Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas unabridged - It's 47 hours long and I never finished reading it.
Inheritance by Christopher Paolini - I listened to the first two, read the third, it's time to finish the series.
Partials by Dan Wells - I own this, but had a hard time reading it. I think listening to it would be better.
The Black Swan by Nassim Nicholas Taleb - Another I own and want to read, but can't find time for.
Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow by Jessica Day George - The author's favorite story. Would love to try it.

I may or may not listen to all of these (hence they are on my wish list), but I thought I would share. Please, if you know of any good audio books our there on Audible let me know about then. My wife is hoping that having a regular source of books will cut down on my buying them in groups. We'll see if that is the case.