No lost civilizations or ancient cities appear in Maiwa's Revenge. And neither are there seers with unlimited lifespans or tribal magicians. It is a straight out adventure that combines two storylines. It verges on realism--maybe even a little more, as it even seems to edge towards literary naturalism. (Some passages are downright grisly.) For, if anything, the two connecting stories, one of a hunt for buffalo, rhinos, and elephants and another of a war between two rival African kingdoms, anticipate the sort of tales that Jack London would relate in his Alaskan and South Seas short stories. Haggard is influenced by Darwin, and the hand of fate and the determination of the natural environment filter into the struggles between man and beast and competing chiefs.

This is a good tale. It's short and can be read over the course of a couple of hours. In form, it's much like Haggard's earlier novel, Allan Quatermain, where an initial adventure--the hunt, in this case--leads to a jumping off into an even grander exploit--where Allan sides with a native Chief and his daughter against a neighboring tyrant. Thrown in, too, is the rescue of a White hostage--another recurring theme in Haggard's works. ( )