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angus_mckeogh's review
3.0
Definitely had the feel of one of the movies. Mystery. Intrigue. Fight scenes. A love interest. Mythology put to the test. It’s nice to know Indiana’s adventures aren’t entirely over because I’ve only read the first one of these novels.
hawaiianbrian's review
3.0
I tried reading this book back in the early 90s, not long after it came out. I was 20 then and I couldn't make it past the 2nd chapter. Then, even more than now, I wanted extreme danger, lost ruins, ancient trap puzzles, Nazi punching, and so on. I didn't want to read about college pranks, and I *definitely* didn't want to read about jazz. (That's something that turned me off to the Young Indiana Jones series -- it was much more interested in history lessons than in Indy himself, so something that should have been like "Tales of the Gold Monkey" ended up more like an after-school special.)
Fast forward to now. I'm in my mid-40s and am feeling a renewed interest in Indiana Jones, so I decided to give this one a second look now that I have a better understanding of story structure (I have an M.A. in English and teach college writing) and am much more well-rounded. It still struck me as lacking some very important pulp tropes, upon which Indiana Jones adventures are hinged.
The book begins with Indy as a senior in college, caught pulling off a prank at his campus. The first few chapters feel like the author is congratulating himself on his knowledge of 1920s music and literature, name-dropping here and there. At least Indy doesn't meet anyone super-famous in this adventure! Soon he is a grad student at the Sarbonne, and probably no more than about 25 years old. He's studying linguistics, but we get the sense this is the adventure that turns him toward archaeology. He has a crush on a teacher, who picks him to travel back home to Greece with her for an archaeological expedition to Delphi, which recently had an earthquake and where strange gases are now seeping out of a crack in the ground. That isn't the extent of her goals, and the rest of the book is Indy getting sucked deeper and deeper into a conspiracy that involves her, her lover, another student, and two or three other factions of people all intent on turning the old site of the Oracle to their advantage.
The plot picks up about midpoint as the intrigue warms up. It never reaches the levels you'd want out of an Indiana Jones *movie*, with fistfights atop moving tanks, running from boulder traps, or being chased by Thuggees on mine carts, but then again Indy isn't that "deep in the game" yet. This adventure feels a little more realistic. One other reviewer speculated that the authors of these novels tried to ground Indy in realism, and I think he might be on to something. Perhaps high-octane pulp action works better on the screen than the page. But I'd like to have at least seen MacGregor *try*.
All in all, worth reading if you're an Indy fan, if you moderate your expectations a little bit and try to imagine a novice Indy.
Fast forward to now. I'm in my mid-40s and am feeling a renewed interest in Indiana Jones, so I decided to give this one a second look now that I have a better understanding of story structure (I have an M.A. in English and teach college writing) and am much more well-rounded. It still struck me as lacking some very important pulp tropes, upon which Indiana Jones adventures are hinged.
The book begins with Indy as a senior in college, caught pulling off a prank at his campus. The first few chapters feel like the author is congratulating himself on his knowledge of 1920s music and literature, name-dropping here and there. At least Indy doesn't meet anyone super-famous in this adventure! Soon he is a grad student at the Sarbonne, and probably no more than about 25 years old. He's studying linguistics, but we get the sense this is the adventure that turns him toward archaeology. He has a crush on a teacher, who picks him to travel back home to Greece with her for an archaeological expedition to Delphi, which recently had an earthquake and where strange gases are now seeping out of a crack in the ground. That isn't the extent of her goals, and the rest of the book is Indy getting sucked deeper and deeper into a conspiracy that involves her, her lover, another student, and two or three other factions of people all intent on turning the old site of the Oracle to their advantage.
The plot picks up about midpoint as the intrigue warms up. It never reaches the levels you'd want out of an Indiana Jones *movie*, with fistfights atop moving tanks, running from boulder traps, or being chased by Thuggees on mine carts, but then again Indy isn't that "deep in the game" yet. This adventure feels a little more realistic. One other reviewer speculated that the authors of these novels tried to ground Indy in realism, and I think he might be on to something. Perhaps high-octane pulp action works better on the screen than the page. But I'd like to have at least seen MacGregor *try*.
All in all, worth reading if you're an Indy fan, if you moderate your expectations a little bit and try to imagine a novice Indy.
ibnjah's review
adventurous
funny
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
jpahl32's review
1.0
Is it that hard to write an Indiana Jones story? The formula is sound. A big action set piece to open, then exposition about a mystical MacGuffin, an evil faction who wants the MacGuffin for themselves, and globe-trotting adventure the rest of the way.
So I don’t know what Rob MacGregor wrote with Peril at Delphi, but it’s not an Indiana Jones story. Does he think anybody picking up an Indiana Jones prequel novel is interested in the minutia of daily life in 1920s Greece? Or the behind the scenes work that goes into an archeological dig? This reads like a book written by someone whose entire knowledge of Indiana Jones is his stated occupation. The whole concept is, “What if an archeologist went to a dig site?” What a dry, boring piece of work. The lack of adventure is actually impressive. The big set piece that MacGregor teases in the opening pages, the one he builds up as the showstopper of the book, is Indy being lowered into a crevice to pick up a tablet. Thrilling… Or how about a truly bizarre opening scene where Indy hangs effigies of the Founding Fathers at his college graduation? All for a tortured treatise on free speech or something?
MacGregor introduces too many characters with too many alternate names, he never clearly defines his one major setting, and he spends way too much time on useless details (was it so important to know the exact minute that the vapors rose every time they are mentioned?). I don’t know what this book is, but a light, fun, summer Indiana Jones adventure it is most certainly not.
So I don’t know what Rob MacGregor wrote with Peril at Delphi, but it’s not an Indiana Jones story. Does he think anybody picking up an Indiana Jones prequel novel is interested in the minutia of daily life in 1920s Greece? Or the behind the scenes work that goes into an archeological dig? This reads like a book written by someone whose entire knowledge of Indiana Jones is his stated occupation. The whole concept is, “What if an archeologist went to a dig site?” What a dry, boring piece of work. The lack of adventure is actually impressive. The big set piece that MacGregor teases in the opening pages, the one he builds up as the showstopper of the book, is Indy being lowered into a crevice to pick up a tablet. Thrilling… Or how about a truly bizarre opening scene where Indy hangs effigies of the Founding Fathers at his college graduation? All for a tortured treatise on free speech or something?
MacGregor introduces too many characters with too many alternate names, he never clearly defines his one major setting, and he spends way too much time on useless details (was it so important to know the exact minute that the vapors rose every time they are mentioned?). I don’t know what this book is, but a light, fun, summer Indiana Jones adventure it is most certainly not.
rdyourbookcase's review
3.0
It was a fun read. It lost me a little at the end but I still enjoyed it, especially its hints at the future.
dough_boy's review
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.5
karkalalights's review
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
timgonsalves's review against another edition
3.5
Easy read with a fun, lively plot and some nice early Indy character development. For how simple the plot is, it often gets surprisingly and unnecessarily convoluted.
How Indy is it…
7/10 - Indy is coming into his own, and the story is a much smaller scale than the films in a number of ways. But the spirit and focus is completely in keeping with what you want from the series.
How Indy is it…
7/10 - Indy is coming into his own, and the story is a much smaller scale than the films in a number of ways. But the spirit and focus is completely in keeping with what you want from the series.