This great novel of African adventure continues to be a favorite among those who love a thrilling tale. Perhaps the reason for its enduring appeal is that it is a story filled with qualities close to the human heart: adventure, discovery, desire for immortality, terror, search for the primitive. As Kipling said of Haggard's work, "It goes, and it grips, and it moves with all the freshness of youth."

Haggard had lived for years among primitive peoples in Africa, and his knowledge of the Dark Continent was matched by few men. Yet beyond his personal knowledge of Africa, his experience of savage life and wild lands, and his ability to make us believe impossible tales, lies a feeling for the supernatural. Adventure alone was not enough for Haggard. As he said, "The thing must have a heart; mere adventures are not enough: I can turn them out by the peck."

Haggard's novels have been called parables, asking "What are science, learning, and consciousness of knowledge and power, in the face of omnipotence?" They have been called romance. And they have been called excitingly alive and imaginative by almost everyone who has ever picked up a volume.