“For sixteen centuries
the Order of Pythia has awaited the reappearance of the ancient oracle of
sacred knowledge at Delphi. An
earthquake, rending the earth beneath the ruins, has now heralded her return. Dorian Belecamus, a beautiful and bewitching
archeology professor, sees an opportunity to more than dig into the past: this
is her chance to seize control of her country’s future-by becoming the Oracle
of Delphi! And she’s found just the man
to help her consummate her scheme. He’s
brash, he’s reckless, and he’s fallen under her spell. His name: Indiana Jones.”
-Indiana Jones and the Peril at Delphi Back Cover Synopsis
If you hang with me for a while, you’ll catch on that I’m a
big time Indiana Jones fan. So it’s no
surprise that I was not satisfied with just the movies.
Now vaguely throughout my childhood I was aware of the
series but never actually watched the movies till Junior High. I quickly became attached with the series and
Raiders of the Lost Ark has become
one of my favorite of all time movies.
It was in High School though that I really got into the
series. With the ads for Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings
and its new Euphoria Engine, I was
excited. I couldn’t wait to take control
of Dr. Jones on one of his adventures.
Sure I had Fate of Atlantis….but
none of my computers could play it.
Unfortunately Staff of Kings didn’t live up to its hype;
neither did the fourth movie for that matter.
However during this mess, I did discover at my High School Library the
Indiana Jones Book Series….er…novels…..
….
You know what? The
series is Just Indiana Jones. No other
name to it. So we’ll just call them the Indiana
Jones novels.
I forget what book I started with, and I forget how many I
read of them. However I do know that
there are twelve of them. And they all
started with Indiana Jones and the Peril at Delphi, by Rob MacGregor.
(Included the Indiana Jones theme music in case you felt it was needed)
The book starts off like any good Indiana Jones adventure
with Indy already in trouble on an adventure.
And of course like all good near-death experiences, Indy flashes back to
how he got into this predicament.
The book then jumps two years earlier to what I call a Character
Drop Chapter, a chapter in a book that does little more than establish which
characters are important to the story.
We find out Indy is just about to graduate College. However our dear friend Henry Jones Sr. does
not wish to attend the ceremony. This
leaves Indy feeling indifferent about the whole thing. That’s when his good buddy Jack Shannon (*cough*
Character Drop *Cough*) dares him to go to the ceremony without pants, offering
him a “pint” if he does. Now reminder at
the time this story takes place Prohibition is in effect. Jack and Indy end chased by cops and some
other stuff that really don’t have anything to do with the plot. Then you meet Ted Conrad (another character
drop) who keeps Indy from being expelled at the last second for something
completely unrelated to the previous adventure.
Again, Character drop chapter.
Two years later, Indy is now studying in Paris. And he’s fallen for his Archeology professor
Ms. Dorian Belecamus, who is known as the Ice Queen. However….from the moment the reader actually
meets her, she doesn’t do anything to live up that reputation. She seems overly…uh…”friendly” with
Indy. Even inviting him to travel with
her to Delphi in Greece for some Archeological discovery in which she wants him
to be a major part of even though he is studying languages and not Archeology
(why that requires and archeology class, I have no idea). Indy is reluctant at first but after talking
to Jack (who followed him to Paris for some reason….) and then a Ted Conrad
(who he bumped into randomly, neither knowing the other was there) Indy decides
to take her up on this offer.
Then you get a train ride where Indy falls for his professor
more while we get a little insight that something fishy is going on (Language
student….archaeological dig…….WHY!?).
Also Dorian apparently implied to knife a guy on the train ride (to
Delphi from Paris) with an Ice pick of sorts.
Then Indy and Dorian get chased by weirdoes who Dorian
explains might be trying to kill her because her father got banished from
Delphi and possibly Greece.
Then Dorian and Indy……
…..
Let’s say the Venice Scene from Indiana Jones and the Last
Crusade (I promise nothing Graphic, but still…it feels awkward since he’s her
student).
Anyway we’re now at Chapter 8, where the story can truly
begin. You meet the bad guy, Dorian’s
Boyfriend who is bent on taking over Greece using Indy as the scapegoat, some
order of fanatics who want to kill off all the “outsiders” in Delphi and bring
back the Oracle, and the arrival of “the King” who wishes to see more. Also Indy discovers the Omphalos, the
supposed source of the Oracle’s Power, gets dropped into a giant hole, rescues
Jack and Ted who have in the meantime discovered Dorian’s past history (through
Jack Shannon’s apparent Chicago Mob connections…..in Paris……) of getting young
male students killed after ….uh……, uncovers the plot, gets held at gun point,
steals a car, nearly ran over by a tank, and manages to warn the King about
Dorian and her Boyfriend’s plot.
YAY.
Okay, I have to say the story is actually pretty good. It just seems like there is a lot of
character build-up but not a lot of action, but considering this is the first
book in the series, it doesn’t really surprise me. Also while Ted Conrad is boring as I’ll get
out (he’s supposed to be), Jack Shannon turns out to be a pretty cool
character, having moral dilemmas of his own (family being in the mob) and the
having an ear for a certain type of music that was being frowned upon, jazz.
Heck, that’s actually the reason for Jack following Indy to
Paris: To start his own Jazz band
without the influence of “the family business”.
Ted….he’s just sorta there.
He’s okay, but beyond being the wiser/older member of the main group of
heroes he doesn’t really do anything.
However, that’s what he’s intended to be there for. Wanting to help, but not really being able to
do much.
There is also a Nikos.
A young Greek kid who is fascinated with America and starts to
hero-worship the American “Archeologist” who comes to his village. And he proves himself to be pretty useful and
informative. Though not much.
If you haven’t guessed the main antagonist of the story is
Dorian. She manipulates Indy, her
boyfriend, the group of crazies, her own archeological crew, and even the King
through various means. While her
boyfriend is the real bad guy, he mostly sits back and tells Dorian what to do,
up until she betrays him. She also kind
of falls for Indiana Jones and has a slight change of heart near the end of the
book, but considering how many people she’s lied to/tried to get killed through
the course of the story, you are unsure if it’s real or just another one of her acts.
Like I said before, the biggest downfall seems to be there
is tons of Character development but and little action. Heck, Indy even mentions he left his whip in
Paris during the course of the adventure (though Jack manages to bring it to
him, Indy doesn’t really use it).
Another downfall is there are a lot of useless
characters/events that seem to happen.
Examples include Dorian’s archeological team leader who basically is
just there till he dies, Indy’s ex-girlfriend from Paris and her new Boyfriend
who are really just there, and the whole chase scene at the beginning when Indy
and Jack try to get some alcohol. They
don’t really further the plot other than making the story a bit longer.
Also the mystical artifact seems to not really be all that
important to the overall plot of the story, but don’t worry, it becomes much
more important in the next book, but that’s another review.
Overall I’d have to give the book a 7/10. I’d like to give it an 8, but compared to the
later books in the series by MacGregor, I just can’t justify it. Though clearly not the worst in the series (I’m
looking at you Indiana Jones and the
Dinosaur Eggs and Indiana Jones and
the Hollow Earth), it does give us a rocky start to Indy’s adventures.
But I’ll tell you this much:
No Aliens, decent historical accuracy, and a good villain who has better
mind reading powers then Spalko, I call this a win.
It isn’t the age, it’s the mileage.
Bang.
-TheRedAuthar
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