She and Allan

She and Allan was an almost obligatory novel for Haggard. Since Allan Quatermain and Ayesha are his absolute best characters it stood to reason that he would combine them for a single adventure. Unfortunately, it reads as if written from an outline for a "typical Haggard novel". There is the feel that Haggard himself just couldn't get excited about the book. Still, it IS Haggard, and worth a read. It only fails in comparison to works like King Solomon's Mines or She. In fact, if you are looking for another rousing Haggard novel, try Nada the Lily or The People of the Mist. They are both superior to this book. If you can't get enough of Haggard (like me) then She and Allan is worth a read.

In She and Allan, we see the coming together of three of the most exciting characters in all of H. Rider Haggard's novels. The ever intrepid Allan meets the great and grim Umslopogaas of the Axe, son of Chaka, and there is born an interesting and in some ways touching friendship between them, as they have both dealt with many of the same troubles and loss over the years. And of course they meet with the immortal SHE, Ayesha, whom they seek in order to see their loved ones that have passed the realm of death. Many of the same elements from much of the Allan Quatermain body of work is here. But it serves to tie the many things from the different novels together. Such as the friendship between Umslopogaas and Allan that we see in the novel Allan Quatermain. It also offers further insight into the origin's of Umslopogaas's great axe, Inkosikaas, which is in a way a Zulu version of Excalibur. A fantastic novel for anyone who enjoys Haggard's body of work. Great to read especially after reading Haggard's novel of the early life of Umslopogaas, Nada the Lily.

Allan quatermain is the iconic white hunter. He can and has tracked his way across Africa into lands unknown to most white men. She (also known as "She Who Must be Obeyed) is the eternal seductress, the half goddess/half woman who cannot die. SHE is the ultimate in the spirit world. Allan, perhaps, can be seen as the ultimate in the world we call reality. She and Allan plays out this conflict between the material and spirit against the backdrop of the adventure of pushing into unknown darkest Africa. Not as well known, or as well done as "King Solomon's Mines" or "She" - then of course few books are-this is a worthwhile sequel to both.

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!!