Book Anatomy · King Solomon's Mines
King Solomon's Mines: Pace
16 lenses on pace for King Solomon's Mines by H. Rider Haggard. Count lenses are exact for our text. AI lenses are our reading and cite only quotes that passed a word for word check.
Jump to: D1 D2 D3 D4 D5 D6 D7 D8 D9 D10 D11 D12 D13 D14 D15 D16
D1. Chapter length in words, as a chart. Count
20 chapters, median 4,000 words. See the full lens on the book page.
D2. Mean sentence length per chapter. Count
Mean 20.8 words. See the full lens on the book page.
D3. Paragraph length per chapter. Count
Paragraphs average 53 words.
Mean paragraph words, chapter by chapter
D4. Scene against summary: how much is shown live? AI
Most of the book is shown live in scenes. Chapters 4, 5, 6 use summary for travel and hardship, but key moments like battles, the eclipse, and treasure discovery are dramatised fully.
Chapters: Ch 4, Ch 5, Ch 6, Ch 13, Ch 14, Ch 17
D5. Action against reflection, per chapter. AI
Action dominates early chapters (hunts, desert crossing, battles). Reflection increases in later chapters, especially after the battle and during the escape from the treasure chamber.
Chapters: Ch 1, Ch 4, Ch 13, Ch 14, Ch 17, Ch 18
Truly wealth, which men spend their lives in acquiring, is a valueless thing at the last. (Ch 18, para 3)
D6. Tension score per chapter (1 to 5) as a curve. AI
Peak 5 of 5, mean 3.9. See the full lens on the book page.
D7. Emotional arc of the whole book, matched to the six shapes. Count
Man in a hole (fall then rise). See the full lens on the book page.
D8. Chapter endings: cliffhanger, question, reveal or quiet close. AI
15 of 20 chapters end on a hook. See the full lens on the book page.
D9. Chapter openings: in scene, in summary, or after a time jump. AI
Most chapters open in scene with immediate action or dialogue. Chapters 4, 5, 6 open in summary after time jumps. Chapter 20 opens in scene at the oasis discovery.
Chapters: Ch 1, Ch 4, Ch 5, Ch 6, Ch 7, Ch 13
D10. Do chapters and sentences get shorter near the climax? Count
In the last fifth, chapters run at 0.78 times the length of earlier ones, and sentences at 0.92 times. So things speed up near the end.
D11. Dialogue density against pace. Count
Link between dialogue share and chapter length: 0.08 (1 is a perfect match, 0 none). Between dialogue share and tension: 0.08.
Dialogue % per chapter, chapter by chapter
D12. Time jumps and how they are signalled. Both
15 time jump phrases in the narration, such as 'next morning' or 'years later'.
| Where | Phrase |
|---|---|
| c2p12 | next day |
| c2p14 | A week passed |
| c3p22 | Next day |
| c5p40 | Next day |
| c5p55 | next day |
| c6p33 | the following day |
| c6p33 | next morning |
| c8p48 | the following morning |
Time jump phrases, chapter by chapter
Ch 2, para 12: “Well, I laughed at this story at the time, though it interested me, for the Diamond Fields were not discovered then, but poor Evans went off and was …
Ch 2, para 14: “A week passed, and I got the better of my fever. One evening I was sitting on the ground in front of the little tent I had with …
Ch 3, para 22: Next day we went ashore, and I put up Sir Henry and Captain Good at the little shanty I have built on the Berea, and which I call …
Ch 5, para 40: Next day we made our arrangements for starting. Of course it was impossible to drag our heavy elephant rifles and other kit with us across the desert, so, …
Ch 5, para 55: All next day we rested and slept, and at sunset ate a hearty meal of fresh beef washed down with tea, the last, as Good remarked sadly, we …
Ch 6, para 33: Having filled both ourselves and our water-bottles as full as possible, in far better spirits we started off again with the moon. That night we covered nearly five-and-twenty …
Time jumps are signalled by summary passages describing travel and hardship, especially in the desert crossing (chapters 5, 6) and the journey through Kukuanaland (chapter 8). The escape from the treasure chamber uses physical markers like hunger and exhaustion.
Chapters: Ch 4, Ch 5, Ch 6, Ch 8, Ch 18
if we did not find water this day we must perish miserably. No human creature could live long without water in that heat. (Ch 6, para 2)
D13. Info dump spots: long runs with no action or speech. Both
2 stretches of 900 words or more with no speech at all. These are where description, summary or backstory pile up.
| Starts at | Words | Paragraphs |
|---|---|---|
| c1p9 | 1175 | 8 |
| c4p35 | 1106 | 10 |
Chapter 2 contains a long info dump about the legend of Solomon's Mines and da Silvestra's history. Chapter 8 has exposition about Kukuana politics and Twala's rise. These are broken by dialogue but remain heavy on backstory.
Chapters: Ch 2, Ch 8
I heard that he was starting for Solomon’s Mines. (Ch 2, para 3)
Why, the old Dom, José da Silvestra, of course—who else? (Ch 7, para 13)
D14. Reading time per chapter. Count
About 5.5 hours to read at 250 words a minute. The longest chapter takes 25.1 minutes.
Minutes per chapter, chapter by chapter
D15. Micro tension in quiet scenes. AI
Quiet scenes gain tension through dialogue and revelation. Chapter 3 builds tension through Quatermain's agreement to join. Chapter 15 uses Foulata's nursing of Good and Gagool's forced cooperation to create unease beneath calm surfaces.
Chapters: Ch 3, Ch 8, Ch 15
We are men, thou and I. (Ch 3, para 57)
And now, Infadoos, choose thou. Wilt thou put thy hands between my hands and be my man? (Ch 10, para 27)
D16. Section breaks per chapter. Count
0 section breaks marked in the text, in 0 of 20 chapters.
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