Nineteen-year-old David Crawfurd travels from Scotland to South Africa to work as a storekeeper. On the voyage he encounters again John Laputa, the...
read full description
reviews
Jan 02, 2009
K.
rated it: 
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
To view it, click here
0 comments
like
(3 people liked it)
Jul 16, 2010
Tony
rated it: 
Buchan, John. PRESTER JOHN. (1910; this ed. 1994). ***. Action! Adventure! Amazing escapes! African tribesmen! They’re all in this novel from Scotsman Buchan. When this novel was published in book form (it was first serialized in a boy’s magazine in a very different form) it was an instant bestseller, and launched Buchan’s career. In his lifetime, he wrote forty books – eleven of them novels. To date, I have only read three of them, including this one. The other two were: “The Thirt
More...
Feb 23, 2010
Heather
rated it:
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
To view it, click here
Jan 08, 2010
pinknantucket
rated it:
I got a bit confused reading this book because I kept getting mixed up between the author’s name and the name of one of the main protagonists. Too many Johns – what was the author thinking??
Most famous for his novel The thirty-nine steps, which has been made into a movie several times, this book sees our young hero, David Crawfurd, travelling to Blauwildebeestfontein (yes, that’s right, Blauwildebeestfontein – Monty Python couldn’t have done better if they tried) in sort of deepest d More...
Most famous for his novel The thirty-nine steps, which has been made into a movie several times, this book sees our young hero, David Crawfurd, travelling to Blauwildebeestfontein (yes, that’s right, Blauwildebeestfontein – Monty Python couldn’t have done better if they tried) in sort of deepest d More...
Jul 23, 2009
Tim
rated it: 
Published in 1910, this story about a Zulu uprising in South Africa as experienced by a young Scottish immigrant, is a good read, in the spirit of Rudyard Kipling or H. Rider Haggard: adventure in the furthest outposts of the British Empire.
But what makes this book worth reading is how many things the author takes for granted that we now know aren't so, and even find distasteful. The racism of the book is shocking precisely because it is so casual and thoughtless, the innate assumpt More...
But what makes this book worth reading is how many things the author takes for granted that we now know aren't so, and even find distasteful. The racism of the book is shocking precisely because it is so casual and thoughtless, the innate assumpt More...
0 comments
like
(2 people liked it)
May 31, 2009
Susan
rated it:
My fascination with John Buchan is growing thin. Prester John still has all the means of inspiration for the boy adventurer--acts of bravery told with a controlled and admirable dose of modesty, detailed strategies made on the fly, acknowledgement of missteps and miscalculations always righted through sheer will, and a straightforward mission that doesn’t leave the young hero room for doubting his sense of right.
The only problem is that Buchan’s love-fest with the “white man’s gift More...
The only problem is that Buchan’s love-fest with the “white man’s gift More...
Mar 25, 2011
^
rated it:
John Buchan writes adventure stories like none other; i.e. superbly well. The story of Prester John may be as politically incorrect nowadays as most of H Rider Haggard's output; but that doesn't prevent the pace, imagination, content, and sheer descriptive brilliance of his storytelling from totally wrapping up and enthralling his 21st century reader.
This is a book that I prefer to read in hardcopy; mine is a pocket sized Thomas Nelson green cloth hardback of 1945 (first published More...
This is a book that I prefer to read in hardcopy; mine is a pocket sized Thomas Nelson green cloth hardback of 1945 (first published More...
Jan 14, 2012
Steve
rated it: 
A standard Buchan with lots of boys-own style adventures. Unfortunately it's very difficult to forgive the explicit racism and colonial empire viewpoint even given the sensibilities of the time. Heinlein and Buchan would have gotten along well I think. Furthermore when it comes to female characters, unlike Tolkien who just didn't 'get' female characters, Buchan just doesn't include them at all.
Overall worth a read if you're looking for a bit of an adventure, but it's not up to his More...
Overall worth a read if you're looking for a bit of an adventure, but it's not up to his More...
Sep 18, 2011
Graham
rated it:
With this novel I have now completed all of John Buchan's novels. This one is not a Richard Hannay story but one concerning a young adventurer, David Crawfurd. Only three of Buchan's novels involve Hannay.
In Buchan's story, the title character, Prester John, is one of the last kings of Africa, in which it differs from the established myths concerning this character. The story starts early in Crawfurd's life, where he encounters a visiting African preacher carrying out secret rituals More...
In Buchan's story, the title character, Prester John, is one of the last kings of Africa, in which it differs from the established myths concerning this character. The story starts early in Crawfurd's life, where he encounters a visiting African preacher carrying out secret rituals More...
Jan 07, 2008
Adam
rated it:
Nineteen-year-old David Crawfurd travels from Scotland to South Africa to seek his fortune as a store-keeper. On the voyage he encounters John Laputa, the celebrated Zulu minister, of whom he has strange memories. In his remote store David finds himself with the key to a massive uprising led by the minister, who has taken the title of the mythical priest-king, Prester John. David\'s courage and his understanding of this man take him to the heart of the uprising, a secret cave in the Rooirand. Th
More...
Oct 08, 2009
Charlotte
rated it:
This is a gripping adventure story set during the British Empire mostly in South Africa. As a consequence of this, and when it was written (1910), the language is both racist and patriarchal. Written totally in the first person, from the perspective of the hero, the narrative is taut and each paragraph brings new revelations. There is a strong feeling of movement and energy throughout, which is probably why it is so easy to read and why it was so hard to put down. All in all a good adventure sto
More...
Apr 25, 2011
Kent
rated it:
One of the best opening paragraphs ever. This could have come straight from Robert Louis Stevenson:
"I mind as if it were yesterday my first sight of the man. Little I knew at the time how big the moment was with destiny, or how often that face seen in the fiftful moonlight would haunt my sleep and disturb my waking hours. But I mind yet the cold grue of terror I got from it...."
"I mind as if it were yesterday my first sight of the man. Little I knew at the time how big the moment was with destiny, or how often that face seen in the fiftful moonlight would haunt my sleep and disturb my waking hours. But I mind yet the cold grue of terror I got from it...."
Feb 02, 2012
Pat
rated it:
It's almost 50 years since I read this book but I well remember how much I enjoyed it as a youngster. I'm looking forward to reading it again one day soon, now that I have managed to get a free copy via Project Gutenberg.
www.gutenberg.org
I wonder if I'll still enjoy it?
www.gutenberg.org
I wonder if I'll still enjoy it?
Jan 07, 2010
Signe
rated it:
I think I missed a lot of what this book had to offer. I need to read more of Buchan to get "into" the allusions and themes that he weaves into his writing. I have read The 39 steps and loved the story, but missed all of the allusions. I felt the same way about Prester John. I'm giving Witchwood a go next.
Jan 09, 2011
Joan
rated it:
Prester John was published in 1910 and written by JOhn Buchan. A boys adventure book set in very early Africa. A young lad goes to Africa to work and becomes embroiled in an uprising, treasure, and other adventures. I enjoyed this book and would recomend it.
Jul 28, 2011
I read this book about 46 years ago when I was a a high school student attending John Burke High School in Grand Bank . It was when I was in Grade 9 . I haven't seen it since .
Apr 09, 2011
James
rated it:
Very much a boys own yarn. Enjoyable enoigh once you get over the explicit racism and imperialism.
Nov 30, 2011
D
rated it:
Old fashioned but entertaining adventure yarn, but demonstrates a very colonial world view that I found troubling.
Feb 10, 2012
Feb 09, 2012
Feb 05, 2012
Jan 27, 2012
Feb 04, 2012
