Ayesha: The Return of "she"

Facinating book. I think that She, Ayesha, and the third one, should be made into a proper miniseries for television. The film that I remember of She did not fit the details properly, and using a beautiful blond to depict a black-haired ethereal figure didn't serve the correct purpose. Excellent writing by the author gets the imagination running as we try to conjure up the places he describes. Great literature not to be taken too litterally, but giving great images of the British Empire at that time.

Second in the trilogy of "She-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed". Still terrific, still imaginative and thrilling. How does Haggard do it? The scenes and images he conjures up. The cliff-hanging(literally), Perils of Pauline adventures just fascinate. And yet again, the battle between the spirit and flesh, the mortality and divinity, of man. In this one, however, it began to slow about two-thirds of the way thru, as if Haggard were stretching at times. But then he roused himself magnificently to a thrilling finish! The scene of Ayesha and her army riding across the plain to save Leo is the stuff of movies. It is no less a book than the first, which is unusual for sequels. This one takes place in Tibet, rather than Libya, and Haggard foresees the importance of radium.

Ayesha is a beautiful and imaginative masterpiece. The radical beauty of this book is not merely that it is a "good" or "bad" sequel of She, but that it is the work of an open-minded writer. The plot is full of super natural and pre "new age" exoticism as well that 19th century romanticism adventures. Its naiveté and simplicity make this book a very enjoyable one. The best moment of the book is a incredible obscure scene in which Ayesha has a meeting with her "servants", shadows and ghosts from beyond and the past. I recommend this book only to real admirers of this kind of pulp-literature and to eclictic readers.

"The Return of She," although not as exciting or groundbreaking as the classic "She," is nevertheless a worthy sequel, and one that all admirers of Haggard's original story should enjoy reading. It is a direct continuation of the earlier book, and as such may be called required reading for all fans of Ayesha, Leo Vincey and Ludwig Holly. The novel contains many exciting scenes, including a great avalanche, the pursuit of the death hounds, Ayesha's reincarnation, and the climactic battle with Kalloon. The Dover edition comes with beautiful illustrations from the original 1905 edition that greatly enhance the text. In light of the fact that the overwhelming preponderance of Haggard's books are sadly out of print, this book becomes even more worthy an addition to any fan's library. Now when is somebody going to release "She and Allen" again???