The Eye of Istar

Interesting story about Africa and conditions in the Arabic north. The narrative perspective around the begining of the 20th century is reflected in the language. Pretty solid adventure garn.

Author William Le Queux is best known for his paranoid theories about a supposed German invasion of England, and the elaborate hoax that he perpetrated via one of his espionage novels, in which thousands of British citizens were fooled into believing that a network of underground tunnels were concealing German soldiers right beneath their feet. In the case of \”The Eye of Istar: A Romance of the Land of No Return\”, Mr. Le Queux tried his hand at the Lost Race genre, with delightful results. \”The Eye of Istar\” stands out from others of its kind by featuring a hero who is neither an intrepid scientist nor a golddigging ne\’er-do-well from a Western nation, but one Zafar-Ben-A\’ziz, a.k.a., al-Motardjim, a North African dervish in the service of the Sudanese Mahdi. In order to please his Hausa mistress, al-Motardjim travels south into the central African jungle, perseveres through a series of life-threatening misadventures, and eventually arrives at Ea, the spectacular lost city and last outpost of ancient Babylonian culture. Not only do the delirious, ersatz Arabian Nights prose, feverish melodrama, and vivid, exotic tableaux make \”The Eye of Istar\” a masterpiece of late nineteenth century decadent Orientalism, but Mr. Le Queux keeps the reader on the edge of his/her seat with imaginatively conceived and skillfully executed escapades for al-Motardjim. Similar praise can also be applied to Mr. Le Queux\’s \”The Great White Queen\”, another Lost Race romance which is very nearly as good.

Galaxyaudiobook Member Benefit

- Able to comment

- List watched audiobooks

- List favorite audiobooks

- Bookmark will only available for Galaxyaudiobook member