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k_winchester's review
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
I wasn't sure what to expect from this going in, as often times movie/tv tie novels can be pretty meh. This one was okay overall, I think, but there's a lot of asterisks here. 😂
Firstly, this is an older book and it shows - the style is very flat, very emotionless, very distant, very just simply telling a story with zero connection. Which is too bad, because there's a lot potential in this adventure for some truly great emotion. The distant/old style is not my cup of tea, but I also had kinda expected that style going on, so I give it some leeway there.
There was a lot of really cool history and intrigue, some stuff that felt richly researched in a good/story coloring way (not a shove-it-down-your-throat, look-at-my-research way). But also a lot of weird mystical, magical in the last 1/4 that did not fit Indiana Jones vibes at all (yes there's a certain amount of weird mystical/magical in the series, but the last part just really didn't fit for me). And also too much "oh you'll see" non-explanations or comments - a lot of things ultimately lead to nothing?
There was some great set up in the front half, some solid action throughout, but the ending was SO nonsensically abrupt. When I hit the last (clearly short) two chapters, I wondered how anything was going to get resolved in so few pages. It was not. It honestly felt like the last chapters were written in under ten minutes to a deadline and the "resolution" was borderline a handwave of "nothing matters, erase everything that happened so this technically can be canon, the end" in 3 pages or less.
Honestly, I'm baffled more than mad.
If the ending didn't feel like some weird chopped off/tacked on, non-explanation, non-resolution, then this would be a true 3 stars. As it stands, it's actually a very generous 2.5 because it was *mostly* a decent (if dry/old style) adventure. But literally what on earth was that ending, y'all. I'm just... what, who, why, how........
Firstly, this is an older book and it shows - the style is very flat, very emotionless, very distant, very just simply telling a story with zero connection. Which is too bad, because there's a lot potential in this adventure for some truly great emotion. The distant/old style is not my cup of tea, but I also had kinda expected that style going on, so I give it some leeway there.
There was a lot of really cool history and intrigue, some stuff that felt richly researched in a good/story coloring way (not a shove-it-down-your-throat, look-at-my-research way). But also a lot of weird mystical, magical in the last 1/4 that did not fit Indiana Jones vibes at all (yes there's a certain amount of weird mystical/magical in the series, but the last part just really didn't fit for me). And also too much "oh you'll see" non-explanations or comments - a lot of things ultimately lead to nothing?
There was some great set up in the front half, some solid action throughout, but the ending was SO nonsensically abrupt. When I hit the last (clearly short) two chapters, I wondered how anything was going to get resolved in so few pages. It was not. It honestly felt like the last chapters were written in under ten minutes to a deadline and the "resolution" was borderline a handwave of "nothing matters, erase everything that happened so this technically can be canon, the end" in 3 pages or less.
Honestly, I'm baffled more than mad.
If the ending didn't feel like some weird chopped off/tacked on, non-explanation, non-resolution, then this would be a true 3 stars. As it stands, it's actually a very generous 2.5 because it was *mostly* a decent (if dry/old style) adventure. But literally what on earth was that ending, y'all. I'm just... what, who, why, how........
Content Warnings
Minor: Cannibalism, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence
smillas_shelves's review
adventurous
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.75
timgonsalves's review
3.0
Starts really strong and exciting but unfortunately gets really lost in the weeds of the fictional lore of the lost city in the back half.
How Indy is it...
8/10 - The closest to a classic Indy adventure that McGregor has given yet, full of globetrotting action, adventure, tombs, booby traps, jungles, and Marcus Brody; although there is too much emphasis throughout on the mystical and fantastical elements.
How Indy is it...
8/10 - The closest to a classic Indy adventure that McGregor has given yet, full of globetrotting action, adventure, tombs, booby traps, jungles, and Marcus Brody; although there is too much emphasis throughout on the mystical and fantastical elements.
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