23 of 23 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
A RIPPING GOOD YARN!, Jun 4 2001
By s.ferber - Published on Amazon.com
This is another of the 14 Allan Quatermain tales from the pen of that great adventure fantasist, H. Rider Haggard. This novel is a direct continuation of "Allan and the Holy Flower," and it does help to have read the previous book. Also referenced are other Quatermain novels such as "Marie," "Child of Storm" and "Allan's Wife," and while a knowledge of these earlier books will make for a richer experience, "Ivory Child" can certainly be read on its own. In this one, Quatermain goes on a quest to find his buddy's kidnapped wife (in that respect, it is similar to "Holy Flower"), but also gets involved in a lost tribe's civil war. Thrown into the mix are a gigantic and evil elephant god, a monster snake guardian (the possible inspiration for all those snake gods in Robert E. Howard's Conan tales), several great battle scenes, psychic visions, drug use, a hailstorm, Egyptology, a shooting competition, a sandstorm, etc. Haggard throws quite a bit into this one to ensure a good time. And for fans of Hans, Quatermain's heroic and amusing Hottentot sidekick, this one provides quite a little tearjerker ending. It's all wonderfully pulpy and quite amusing; a ripping good yarn, as they used to say. So seek this one out on Amazon it'll reward your efforts!
5.0 out of 5 stars
Another fun book by Haggard., Feb 23 2012
By Samuel J. - Published on Amazon.com
As with my other reviews of Haggard's Quartermain books, this one was fun and entertaining, though not particularly deep. Written with the sensibilities of the days in which Haggard lived.
2 of 7 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
A good read., May 4 2010
By O. yasin "i dont know what the O. stands for" - Published on Amazon.com
It's a nice book, but there are some mistakes and sometimes it's boring. A good free book.