A tall tale with a comic book quality. Thousands are slaughtered. The evil ones are dramatically destroyed. The good guys cheat death many times, of course, in order to come home and talk and write about it. A happy-ending adventure that the reader will gladly vicariously join. This incredible yarn is similar to "Treasure Island" but in very different interesting African setting.

Much of the story seems trite to a 21st century reader because its major plot points have been copied so many times in modern movies and books. For example, I was groaning when the main characters realized they could impress their captors by predicting the sky would grow dark -- i.e., solar eclipse would occur, and they had an almanac to tell them when. How many times has this trick been used? Regardless, the book is a great read, and one has to give credit to Haggard for creating so many enduring concepts. It's fast-paced and very hard to put down.

An interesting side note is how harsh Haggard (via the characters) was in his treatment of black Africans as well as animals, but I suppose that was commonplace for the era when the book was written. For example, the characters don't have any qualms about slaughtering any elephant for its ivory, and they treat the locals as clearly inferior, using terms for them that today would be extremely offensive in southern Africa.

My review here isn't about the book, rather this edition. Like most reviewers here, the book is fantastic--a thrilling yarn of a story. This edition--The Modern Library, have done a wonderful job updating this classic. The footnotes are very edifying and the introduction helps to contextualize the novel. Well done editors! This is the edition one should use in your book club or in class for students.

King Solomon's Mines is one of the best adventures ever penned. Even the Victorian-English-speak dialogue adds to the realism. A lost brother, a great treasure, an exiled black king, a pitched battle, heroes, death, a vast and dangerous wilderness, a doomed love, strong friendships, one of the strangest and most evil villainesses in all of literature, and echoes of antiquity -- what more could you want? You could want literary excellence, wonderful pace, and a slight element of the occult. Well, Haggard provides those as well. The films VERY loosely based upon this great tale are horrible. This is a dream. Go read it. Unfold Da Silvestre's fragile treasure map and take the unforgettable journey that is King Solomon's Mines.

King Solomon's Mines is a story of a man's search for his brother, and told from the point of view the famous hero and hunter, Allan Quatermain.

He is the man they turn to for help, and become is solid and steadfast companions. The search for the Mines, the battles, the evil witch woman and the African setting are all excellent.