Reviews for Ancient Allan

The average rating for Ancient Allan based on 2 reviews is 4 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2016-01-24 00:00:00 Kristal Duffy During the 80's and 90's, TV writers often resorted to certain methods of padding out a season whenever they found themselves running short on story ideas. One such method was to incorporate the idea of reincarnation and have cast members play past/future versions of themselves. WALKER: TEXAS RANGER did this by going back to the 1800's and introducing a Walker stand-in named Hayes Cooper. XENA: WARRIOR PRINCESS did it by having all the main characters reincarnated into the modern day. With a couple exceptions (XENA, for one), such episodes were boring and generally came across as obvious "filler." Which is why I was so trepidatious about THE ANCIENT ALLAN, since, from the book description, you'd think Haggard was really scraping the bottom of the idea barrel here. The concept of Allan Quatermain smoking a hallucinogen and experiencing his former life as an Egyptian royal made me initially think that the series should've ended with THE IVORY CHILD (possibly the best pure adventure novel I've ever read, by the way). Surprisingly, though, despite having all the hallmarks of a series about to jump the shark, THE ANCIENT ALLAN never feels like a throwaway effort. It may not rank among the very best of the series, but it certainly manages to capture that unique brand of fun and magic that makes Quatermain's adventures so special. The time-bending plot line works because (1.) the book was written back in the 1920's before the whole past lives thing had been done to death, (2.) setting the story in Egypt serves as an interesting and novel approach, (3.) the Bes/Hans character is a constant source of amusement, and (4.) the idea for the story was set up in the previous Quatermain novel and feels like a natural extension of the series, as opposed to something that Haggard cobbled together to fulfill a contract. As usual, Haggard's prose is excellent, and the story moves along at what even by today's standards is a breakneck pace. I'm sure sensitive readers in today's PC climate will criticize Haggard for certain racist comments and sexist portrayals, but it can't be ignored that the cleverest and most interesting character in the book is Ethiopian. I also like the scene where the beautiful Egyptian girl is ridiculed by the Ethiopians for her "ugliness," showing that standards of beauty fluctuate from culture to culture. THE ANCIENT ALLAN would've been an easy story to get wrong, but H. Rider Haggard does a masterful job of providing Quatermain fans with a satisfying combination of the familiar and the new. All the familiar elements are there, just transported into an Egyptian setting. In a lesser writer's hands, this book might've been the very definition of an unnecessary sequel, but Haggard proves that he is able to turn a very iffy premise into storytelling gold.

Review # 2 was written on 2011-08-23 00:00:00 Swedee Alkhafaji In this book, one of the 14 that H. Rider Haggard wrote that treats of the adventures of Allan Quatermain, our hero--through the use of the inhaled Taduki drug--views one of his previous incarnations. During that lifetime he was Shabaka, in the age when Egypt had been conquered by the Persians. This book is a direct continuation of the previous Quatermain novel, "The Ivory Child" (which itself is a continuation of "Allan and the Holy Flower"), and a reading of that previous novel is fairly essential when going into this book. Lady Ragnall returns in this one, and shares Quatermain's drug-induced vision. While not as battle intensive as other books in the series, this novel is always interesting, and does feature, amongst other things, a lion hunt, a blind wizard in a cave, a visit to Ethiopia, a fight with a crocodile, and a rousing climactic battle between the forces of the Persians and the allied Egyptian/Ethiopian armies. And for fans of Hans, Quatermain's Hottentot sidekick, there is a previous incarnation of that great character, as well. It's all fascinating and exciting stuff; never a dull moment, and all that. So seek this one out...you won't be disappointed!