Long Odds

by H. Rider Haggard

"Long Odds" by H. Rider Haggard. Published by Good Press. Good Press publishes a wide range of titles that encompasses every genre. From well-known classics & literary fiction and non-fiction to forgotten−or yet undiscovered gems−of world literature, we issue the books that need to be read. Each Good Press edition has been meticulously edited and formatted to boost readability for all e-readers and devices. Our goal is to produce eBooks that are user-friendly and accessible to everyone in a high-quality digital format.

Genres: Adventure, Fiction, Classics, Short Stories, Africa, Historical, English Literature

94 pages, Paperback

Published July 27, 2017

About the author

Sir Henry Rider Haggard, KBE was an English writer of adventure novels set in exotic locations, predominantly Africa, and the creator of the Lost World literary genre. His stories, situated at the lighter end of the scale of Victorian literature, continue to be popular and influential. He was also involved in agricultural reform and improvement in the British Empire.

His breakout novel was King Solomon's Mines (1885), which was to be the first in a series telling of the multitudinous adventures of its protagonist, Allan Quatermain.

Haggard was made a Knight Bachelor in 1912 and a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1919. He stood unsuccessfully for Parliament as a Conservative candidate for the Eastern division of Norfolk in 1895. The locality of Rider, British Columbia, was named in his memory.

Reviews

[Louie the Mustache Matos · Rating 4 out of 5]

Before I begin a review of an H. Rider Haggard piece, I generally say that I love Haggard's work in order to immediately convey my feelings about the writer. I always try to be objective, but there are times I know that I fail. My initial caveats as always remain when discussing classics over 100 years old. The cultural milieu in which this story was written was vastly different from the present. It should serve as a trigger warning that cultural, racial, gender norms have changed in the interim. It behooves the modern reader to recognize the historical realities of the past, and if the reader's sensitivities are ill-equipped to deal with them, tread carefully here, or not at all.

This story is about Allan Quatermain, a white, British, subject of the throne, hunting a family of lions in Africa. A family of lions, not a pride. I am not a hunter. I don't understand the mindset. I don't get the thrill of pitting my skills against a beast. I would prefer to never experience those moments, but I thoroughly enjoyed this story for the adrenaline rush of escapist fiction it is. Despite not understanding the appeal, Haggard does a great job of relaying the entire experience in a way that one might find if not enticing, at least covetous of the milieu.

[Mloy · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a more stereotypical African Safari story where ***SPOILER ALERT*** the main villain was a lion. The narrator's tale this time around was a bit grander than the first H.Rider Haggard novel I read and his character's less engaging and unlike the other Alan Quartermaine story didn't really make me feel sympathy for the protagonist; quite frankly, I didn't feel anything at all. It was just an okay tale about a guy who went to Africa to hunt some lions... the end; on the whole, not really all that exciting or profound. It's not exactly boring either but nothing extraordinary.

[Alastair Hudson · Rating 3 out of 5]

The third short story that was published with 'Allan's Wife'. Again, it's about lions. It must have been something he had to get out of his system before he led Allan off into the metaphysical wilderness of the later stories. Certainly enjoyable and a good 'adventure' story in it's own right but lacking any depth that would have justified it being expanded to a full length tale... So just right. And we get to know how Allan got his 'gammy leg'.

[William · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful listening 🔰

Due to eye issues and damage Alexa reads to me
A will written adventure thriller novella about relationships between fellow hunters in Africa. The story line is about a hunters guide being killed by loins and the hunters killing of the loins. I would recommend this novella to anyone looking for a quick read. Enjoy the adventure of reading 📚2021

[Erik · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5 stars. Only 9 pages was my copy.

[Matt Kelland · Rating 2 out of 5]

A well written but fairly pedestrian and very dated story about killing a lion.

[Tony Ciak · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great story by great author and narrated by a great narrator.

[Sara Best · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was fun to picture the countryside, as I have travelled through Middleburg many times, though I prefer watching the lions in the wild rather than killing them.

[George · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short story in which Quatermain tells his friends how he got the lion bite in his thigh which has plagued him for years and responsible for his slight limp. He tells this story which happened many years earlier, March, 1869, just prior to starting off on his final adventure which is told in the novel Allan Quatermain.

[Joseph · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another short story about Allan Quatermain. This one tells of the encounter with a family of lions that left him limping for the rest of his life.

[Sneh Pradhan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Okay ... i didn't like it too much !

[Eija · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pienet mahdollisuudet - Portti 1/2013

[Dave · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a bad story, of a hunter in Africa.

[megan donaldson · Rating 2 out of 5]

It is a short story and it boils down to the Hunter and the hunted. I listened to it with my son. having a "yarn" told to you as a story teller would improved my overall feelings of it. My son, who is 7 years of age said; "Why did he have to hunt and kill the lion family? They were only being lions and eating a cow and he hurt them on purpose!" It was a good teaching moment on sport hunting (which has popped up on the news he calls poachers, bad guys who hide) and hunting for food. I am interested to find more stories with Quartermane, this came up under classics.