King of the Khyber Rifles Talbot Mundy 9781484063309 Books
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King of the Khyber Rifles is a novel by British writer Talbot Mundy. Captain Athelstan King is a secret agent for the British Raj at the beginning of the First World War. Heavily influenced both by Mundy's own unsuccessful career in India and by his interest in theosophy, it describes his adventures among the (mostly Muslim) tribes of the north with the mystical woman adventuress Yasmini and the Turkish mullah Muhammed Anim.
King of the Khyber Rifles Talbot Mundy 9781484063309 Books
Very good stuff. The setting is the ever-lively Northwest Frontier of British India and the time is during World War I. India is being denuded of British and Indian Regiments so they can go fight the Hun in Europe. In response Germany and Turkey are equipping the lawless tribes of "the Hills" for a jihad against the increasingly defenseless British Raj. The tribes are gathering, the mullahs are exhorting, the rumors are flying, and the government needs to know what's really going on. Something is supposedly happening in the "Heart of the Hills" but no white man even knows if there really is such a thing, or what it actually is if it exists. A mysterious woman of great beauty and dubious loyalty claims to know things and to have influence with the tribes, but she can't be trusted on her own. The government needs to send in a man. And that man is Athelstan King of the Secret Service, scion of a long line of British India officers. Cool, competent, incorruptible.This is Haggard's "King Solomon's Mines" evolving into Fleming's "Dr. No". The beautiful, dangerous woman. The fantastic, mystical lair of the villains in the Khinjan Caves. His Majesty's man is on his own, surrounded by traitors and assassins. There's no one to trust and a mission to accomplish. And of course time is running out to save the Raj itself from certain destruction.
Mundey spent time in India, and it shows in the dialog, the characters, and their relationships. The free Kindle version is a scanned text with the usual typo and format issues but it's readable enough. Enjoyable reading.
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Tags : King of the Khyber Rifles [Talbot Mundy] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. King of the Khyber Rifles is a novel by British writer Talbot Mundy. Captain Athelstan King is a secret agent for the British Raj at the beginning of the First World War. Heavily influenced both by Mundy's own unsuccessful career in India and by his interest in theosophy,Talbot Mundy,King of the Khyber Rifles,CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform,1484063309,FICTION Action & Adventure
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King of the Khyber Rifles Talbot Mundy 9781484063309 Books Reviews
This was a great story and would be an excellent Spielberg project if brought to the big screen - sort of Indiana Jones-ish. really a fun read.
I saw this title and decided to give it a try. I had seen the movie King of the Khyber Rifles and wanted to read the story to see how it compared to the movie. Well there is a big difference. The book is only remotely like the movie. To go into details would spoil both movie and book. I did however enjoy the book. The story is set in India of the Raj at the beginning of World War I. King is sent on a mission to the Khyber Pass to stop possible rebellion among the hill tribesmen. So much for the plot anymore and I tell the whole story.
The author, Talbot Mundy, wrote this in the period of the Pulps. This is shown by the long passages, which are characteristic of writing from this period. If you are a fan of the Robert Howard non-Conan stories, which are set in a more modern era or a fan Kipling and his stories of India. Then by all means read King of the Khyber Rifles. It will show the high adventure of the Pulp Era of story telling.
Athelstan King prevents a German prompted Moslem invasion of British India during the early days of World War One. By today's standards, this is gloriously politically incorrect. Only you Dick Daring...
King of the Khyber Rifles won't rank among the greats of English literature, but it is an enjoyable romp through the myths of the British Empire's "glory days" before reality came crashing in. Written in 1916 and set in the period at the beginning of the First World War, it positively reeks with the "white man's burden" of maintaining rule over the benighted savages of India and Afghanistan. If you find that attitude offensive, even in its fictional form, you won't enjoy this book. Our brave hero, Athelstan King, is a secret agent sent up into the "Hills" (they always are put in quote marks) to head off an insurrection led by a mysterious woman known as Yasmini. It's interesting in part to read the book in light of current unrest in the same part of the world- somehow neither the British nor the Russians were able to subdue the Khyber Pass (the pass between India and Afghanistan), and now the US is having similar difficulties.
It's fun reading, if you don't take it too seriously. I first ran across it in the old Classics Illustrated comics. Not sure it qualifies as a "classic," but it certainly has enough intrigue, mystery, and atmosphere to carry the reader through.
Don't buy the ripped off version from the public domain! The book is huge and floppy, the text is all messed up. No-name publisher. I'm sure the book will be great once I find a copy that's readable!
Adventure fiction written anywhere from 1890 to 1944 is a favorite of mine. I DO love Rohmer, Howard and Burroughs and am constantly on the lookout for a new author. When a little bit of research led me to Talbot Mundy (and a little more research led me to Khyber Rifles) I was excited. I got over it. While the plot and story are passable, almost nothing happens. The entire novel is an exercise in "what happens next?" while nothing happens next.
My other complaint is in the character development. While the author creates many memorable characters throughout the book, Athelstan King, the principle character, isn't one of them. For the most part Mundy never really lets us "see" who King is. He tells us. Every other page has a paragraph telling us how witty he is or noble he is. I'd rather infer through his actions, personally.
On the plus side, Mundy truly creates the look and feel of India. If that is enough, you will enjoy this book. If you are expecting Haggard, you will not.
When asked about violence and sexual content, the reader must be aware that this book was copyrighted in 1916. Its writing and its content are marked by their time. So, if you like an elaborated and formal style of writing, it is great! If you like the more circumspect expressions of sex and violence, it's great! Talbot Mundy, the author, actually served in India, so this is his accounting of service in the British Empire at the end of the Great Game. It's all in the taste buds, folks.
Very good stuff. The setting is the ever-lively Northwest Frontier of British India and the time is during World War I. India is being denuded of British and Indian Regiments so they can go fight the Hun in Europe. In response Germany and Turkey are equipping the lawless tribes of "the Hills" for a jihad against the increasingly defenseless British Raj. The tribes are gathering, the mullahs are exhorting, the rumors are flying, and the government needs to know what's really going on. Something is supposedly happening in the "Heart of the Hills" but no white man even knows if there really is such a thing, or what it actually is if it exists. A mysterious woman of great beauty and dubious loyalty claims to know things and to have influence with the tribes, but she can't be trusted on her own. The government needs to send in a man. And that man is Athelstan King of the Secret Service, scion of a long line of British India officers. Cool, competent, incorruptible.
This is Haggard's "King Solomon's Mines" evolving into Fleming's "Dr. No". The beautiful, dangerous woman. The fantastic, mystical lair of the villains in the Khinjan Caves. His Majesty's man is on his own, surrounded by traitors and assassins. There's no one to trust and a mission to accomplish. And of course time is running out to save the Raj itself from certain destruction.
Mundey spent time in India, and it shows in the dialog, the characters, and their relationships. The free version is a scanned text with the usual typo and format issues but it's readable enough. Enjoyable reading.
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