Rider Haggard did an astonishingly good job of bringing together his two most venerable characters. I completely disagree with Mr. Greene and his review. We read Quatermain stories to feel comfortable in the company of an old friend. By the time this novel was published, we were aware of nearly all that hunter’s foibles, and there was not a whole lot that needed to be elaborated here. We already know his thoughts and reactions before he himself does. We already know his views on spirituality and destiny and love and friendship and loyalty. Ayehsa also behaves just as we would expect–evasive, vague, saying one thing one minute then something quite different the next. It’s impossible to pin her down. But she is another we know well and can anticipate and feel comfortable just being close to. It’s Umslopogaas the Zulu and the provenance of his Axe that are the real attention grabbers here. And there are some marvelous battles to be relished vicariously as we learn about that Axe.

And just as some say that Sam is the real hero of the Lord of the Rings, for it is no more and no less than his steadfastness that gets Frodo to the end of the quest, so Hans’ s role also needs to be raised up, for it is his pithy but invariably wise remarks and his own version of steadfastness that are the “heart” of the Quatermain stories in which he appears. Would that Haggard had written more of Quatermain and Hans!!

Tags: H. Rider Haggard