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paul_cornelius's review against another edition
3.0
Clever as it was for Haggard to resurrect some of his favorite characters as well as rejuvenate Allan, his effort ultimately just quite doesn't achieve its desired results. The Ancient Allan seems to lack much of the energy of the earlier novels. To be expected, of course, as Haggard was working on his tenth iteration of Quatermain and doing so as an elderly writer whose spirit clearly did not match that employed in the earlier adventures of Quatermain. Nonetheless, it's a passable read. And it's satisfying to to see Lord and Lady Ragnall once again, albeit in different guises. And very much enjoyable to encounter Hans as the Ethiopian monarch, Bes. Of course, there is also Allan, once more in the prime of his life.
Haggard has written an appealing series. He's done so even as he telegraphs every event ahead of time, at the beginning of every book and every chapter. There are no surprises in his novels. There are moments of fulfillment, instead, as there should be in genre fiction. After all, for close on to three decades, readers of Haggard would have already known Allan's final fate, which was written of in 1887, in Allan Quatermain. It's all just a matter of getting back there. And that is what always leaves such a melancholy feeling after each novel.
Haggard has written an appealing series. He's done so even as he telegraphs every event ahead of time, at the beginning of every book and every chapter. There are no surprises in his novels. There are moments of fulfillment, instead, as there should be in genre fiction. After all, for close on to three decades, readers of Haggard would have already known Allan's final fate, which was written of in 1887, in Allan Quatermain. It's all just a matter of getting back there. And that is what always leaves such a melancholy feeling after each novel.
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