Rob McGregor's books

[Lord Excalibur]

Is they good. I want to buy The Genesis Deluge and Dance of the Giants. Is these two goods. It is others to, what do you think of 'em. DISCUSS!!!

[Strider]

I havent really read them, only scanned throgh them. Indiana jones and the Dinosuar Eggs seems like a good one though.

[Doc Savage]

I've read The Genesis Deluge, and so far it's my favorite.

[Kate]

Indiana Jones and the Dinosaur Eggs? Sounds goofy and random... I bet I would love it! Where can you buy it?

[Doc Savage]

Originally posted by Kate
Indiana Jones and the Dinosaur Eggs? Sounds goofy and random... I bet I would love it! Where can you buy it?

In my neck of the woods, Barnes and Noble Booksellers carry the whole set.

[Strider]

As random as it sounds it the plot actually seems to come together pretty well.

[Strider]

Sorry, my Grammer didn't go over well that last time.

[Kate]

i luv ya anyway...

[Shipwreck]

are filled with the little details and back story of our favorite character. Although, his books are difficult to find in most circles, due to them being out-of-print for so long, sometimes you can get lucky.

All of them are worth the efforts. You might also try some of his non-Indy books. Just do a search on Amazon.com for more info.

Also - have you read our ineterview with ROb and the other authors?

http://www.theraider.net/features/interviews/index.php

Shipwreck

[Kate]

anyone read the "Raiders" novelization by campbell black? it gives some great insight into the character of marion.

[Webley]

IJ and the Unicorn's Legacy.

[Attila the Professor]

Originally posted by Kate
anyone read the "Raiders" novelization by campbell black? it gives some great insight into the character of marion.

And Dietrich, from what I've read.

[grumpus]

hmmm i've never really been able to find any, next time im at the store im gonna have to be buying some

[VP]

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-handle-url/index%3Dstripbooks%26field-keywords%3Dindiana%252520jones%252520rob%252520macgregor%26store-name%3Dbooks/103-7892756-6028631

[Indy1936]

I got the entire series (Rob MacGregor, Martin Caidin, Max McCoy) from Barnes and Noble. The "Raiders" novelization does give more insight into Marion and Deitrich, but that's about all I think it's good for. Rob MacGregor's series is good, great characters and plots, definately worth reading. Martin Caidin's 2 novels are mostly about Indy's exploits with aviation. Max McCoy's are good adventure novels, but you need to read them in order to be able to get the sub-plot within them. I haven't been able to find the ToD or LC books as of yet.

[Jeremiah Jones]

Okay here goes, this is gonna be a long one. I finally got my hands on the Rob McGregor books, I'd gotten Peril at Delphi through to Seven Veils years ago, but they were always hard to get. So anyway now I;m living in London, they've been reissued, though still difficult to find as each shop seems to stock only one or two, a hollow earth here, a unicorns legacy there. Anyway. Heres my review of McGregor up to Unicorn's legacy. (The rest are in the post)

Indiana Jones and the Peril at Delphi
Apart from my brain rearranging alot of things indy says, the dates, and a couple of historical events to fit in better with Young Indy (my brains a bit obbsessive compulsive, and needs things to fit) I really enjoyed Peril at Delphi. However there are a couple of things Macgregor does which sort of annoy me. But first the good stuff.

I really enjoyed the artefact, the omphalos, delphi, phytia and all, and how grounded it was in mythology and history. Now I'm an archaeology and history graduate, and I remember when I first read this book years ago I memorised all those facts about Delphi, the fact that it means dolphin, and why, and would regurgitate them at anyone who'd listen. The educational factor is great. So too is Indy's characterisation, how he talks to himself all the time, the stupid risks he takes, and his gradual interest in archaeology. However, hes described as having the figure of a quarter back, but I've always thought Harrison Ford was almost verging on Lanky. Shannon's great too, and Dorian makes a great ambiguous villain.

Now to my problems. Theres a way Macgregor introduces various characters at the beginning of the novel, Indy goes off traveling, and all the characters somehow become involved in the finale, even his history professor. Now I wouldn't mind if this was a one off thing, but its not it happens in nearly all of his novels. It kinda gets predictable, one knows Shannon will ALWAYS show up. My other problem is how brutally he kills people off, the father and son team, built up for chapters, then randomly shot. Sure its brutal, but just a bit wasteful. This happens a lot with Macgregor.

However its a good interesting fast paced read, with lots of real history, and lots of indiana jones.

Indiana Jones and the Dance of the giants
Indy moves to london, falls in love, goes to scotland and stonehenge, and gets involved with crazy druids.

Now maybe its just me, but I can;t stand stories about druids. Or celts for that matter, cos as an archaeology student I learned stories about an ancient 'celtic civilisation' united under one language, are hogwash, nothing but a creation of the greeks and Romans to simplify their geography books. Poor old Rob doesn't know this, and unfortunately, he doesn't know as much as he thinks he knows about Ogham, giving it Scandinavian roots, while it is in fact only found in my home country, Ireland, as an irish native copy of the Roman Latin texts they got from the priests. And the influence of nearby Roman Britain.

Now this sorta sabotages alot in this and the next book. But its still worthwhile. Deirdre is a great character, and sos her mother until she dies ridiculously suddenly, I like all the references to London locations, but here, Macgregor sorta does a thing he slackens off from in his later books, and thats explaining things a bit too much. I for one don't need to be told that Indy dipped his slices of fried potatoes into some vinegar, I know what chips are, most people do, but whenever anyone eats or drinks something, macgregor sort of describes them in a really crazy way. Theres this, and then the way he sort of throws in street names and shops, as though hes just names dropping, and sometimes it just seems silly.

Not that I disliked this novel, I enjoyed Indy's adventures in stonehenge, I enjoyed the reference to Inigo Jones, whose name I've always laughed at, but the ending is far too sudden, and indy gets captured and escapes far far too much, in the last third of the novel, thats all he seems to do. That and the problem I mentioned about the last novel, how everyone comes together rather implausibly, ie Shannon, I like shannon, but must he always appear from nowhere?

Indiana Jones and the seven veils
Another great cover, though not very indicative of whats going on in the novel. Indy with a Machete? Nope.
Professor Bernard.<sigh> like Harry Potter, Indy's latest new tutor/superior always turns out to be at least slightly evil, theres Bernard here, Deirdre's mother in the last book, and Walcott in Unicorn's Horn. One wonders about the standards of 1920s job interviews. Here Indy's off to find Percy Fawcett and the lost city of Z, and for the most part its great, at last Indy gets to go to some real Indy locales, i.e. the jungle. However there isn't as much jungle trekking as I would have liked.

As this is Macgregor lots of interesting characters are introduced, then killed off suddenly, I'm looking at you Oron, a whole redemption plot seemed to be stirring, and then, whoops, you're dead. Then theres the ace pilot, seems like a really cool indy like character, then dead. Even Bernard, the main villain? killed off screen.
And personally, the city of Z is not to my tastes, far too sci-fi, and far too heavily dependent on scandanavian ogham, which of course is nonexistant.
I can't help feel that the Z concept, one of histories coolest mysteries, was wasted a bit, all that veiling, it just wasn't that indiana jones for me.
Anyway, very tragic ending. Indy's Character is great, I love when he jumps out of the cable car and climbs hand over hand on an impulse, and then almost dies from stupidity. for me that sums up Indy, or at least younger indy, impulsive to the point of craziness. The whole Gandalf thing too is just silly, But okay. Not as daft as the Ogham.

Indiana Jones and the Genesis Deluge
Now my first problem with Genesis Deluge comes in the prologue. I found the depiction of Trotsky to be distasteful. This is Trotsky we're talking about, not Stalin, not even Lenin, but Trotsky. In fact the whole Bolshevik aspect of the book is misguided. Early Soviet history, pre stalin, was not defined by the brutality witnessed here. Its simply out of kilter with historical fact, and it bothered me somewhat, especially the depiction of Trotsky, who I must admit I'm quite a fan of.

Anyway, on to the book itself. All the character stuff is great, Macgregor shows remarkable restraint by not having the hotel porter guy and Al Capone follow them up Mount Arafat, and thank god for that. I'm not sure about Shannon, and his sudden bible waving, it just rubbed me up wrong somehow. Istanbul was great, and again I enjoy the history where hes correct, though the Janissaries were never that evil. Sufi mystics were a victim of Ataturks quest to homogenise his country, not some evil cult. I enjoyed all the new characters, especially the turkish cousins, and the chase through cappacdocia was great. However, I've been in the cities they describe, and theres one image I simply cannot picture in my head, its this:

'Hasan stepped into a narrow room with a long rectangular window at head level. There were at least a dozen rooms in different parts of the city that were identical to this one, and months had passed since he realised their purpose. They were specifically built for observation, and through this particular window he could see five or six levels above him and at least a dozen paths'

What? How? Maybe its just me, but I simply cannot imagine this. Explanation please? Anyway, my two main issues with this novel are the ridiculously random death of the two evil bolsheviks, I mean getting killed off screen by a bear does not a good villain make, imagine if that happened to Belloq? That and the ending, its like, 'look the ark, oh no Janisarries, argh! avalanche, we're alright! The end' Its crazy, all that time to see the ark, and they don't even explain the interior, then theres the random talk with Noah? Just like Gandalf. And just as silly.

Its alright though, exciting and fast paced, but the ending sucks.

[Jeremiah Jones]

Indiana Jones and the Unicorns legacy
Right, the one location novel, This has my least favourite cover of all the Macgregor books. Drew for the first time ever, as far as I know, didn't draw good. Drew Draw bad. Though I love the depiction of the horn.

Nice to have a villianess for a change. Now Anasazi culture is my blind spot in Archaeology, so I found this all very interesting, though Indy's examining of the art seems a bit amateur archaeologist to me. I dunno why. I really liked the history of the horn, and though it was the most fictional of relics in all the macgregor books thus far, it was the one I could imagine the most vividly. So that was great. Its also nice to see Indy happy enough in college, though possibly being a bit too cool, his lectures always seem way cooler then the ones you'd expect out of Indiana from Raiders, that and full of not very funny jokes everyone laughs at.
I thought the Indian stuff was handled well, not being an expert on that, but I already said that. Again the principle villian died too randomly and quickly, as did EVERYONE shannon and Indy met. I was glad Shannon didn't go to Rome with Indy, it would have been silly, you wonder why noone ever calls the police, as it would have been a good idea when they knew alica was kidnapped. Her betrayal was a surprise, her fathers wasn't though his off screen death was terrible.

My favourite part of the book was when Indy ran off heroically, only to fall into a pit and knock himself off. Great, much needed Humour, something Macgregors not that great at. Not sure about the magical anasazi portal, and theres no way in my mind Marcus Brody would have planned that ludicrous plan to take the staff back in Rome. Then, as is usual, it all wrapped up far far too quickly.

So thats how far I am, I am enjoying them they're not the best novels in the worlds, they're fairly predictable, but Indy's character is consistently indyesque, off screen deaths of developed characters annoy me a lot, and sometimes its very brutal. But theres a lot of good stuff, and despite what I've gone on about above I'd still recommend them to Indy fans. Just watch out for those ridiculous endings.

[Lambonius]

Thanks for these reviews! I've been thinking about picking up a couple of the books, but had heard mixed responses to them. Your reviews are informative and as far as I can tell, unbiased. Based on what you've said, they definitely seem like a worthwhile purchase, something I'd really like. Kudos! :hat:

[Jeremiah Jones]

Well just finished
Indiana Jones and the Hollow earth
So heres my follow up review.

Now I have to say this is my least favourite Indiana Jones cover, Indy, extreme closeup, his hat in the bushes, and just looking plain weird. That and the natives who don't appear in the story.

Story started off pretty good, with Indy on Easter Island, Rongo Rongo tablets, and then the islanders choosing Indy as their chosen translator, for some vague reason, I felt was odd, but this is some weird red herring thats never referred to again. As its of to Chiloe with Marcus.

This part of the story had me hooked, as, since its not really based on Archaeology, I simply had no clue what was going on. A house full of fish egg collectors? An intelligent dog? Marcus's friend's evil twin? A ghost ship? Wha...? Although alot of this is apparantly an illusion, and the villian introduced here will later inexplicably try to strangle Indy before vanishing from the story, I found this all compelling stuff, as for the interior world.. I have to say, I dunno, part of me was almost hoping it was all a dream, its just such a fantasy concept, and I found it hard to visualise Indy there somewhat. Its very different from other McGregor, because here its not revealed at the end at all, instead the entire novel virtually takes place in this Interior world... So how you feel about it affects how you feel about the novel in a very real way. And its quite an imaginative leap we're taken on, at least comparitively speaking.
But still, maybe it was the lack of Ogham, but I found this far more palletteable then the veiling stuff in seven veils, maybe it was because Rob didn't need to shoehorn his fantasy into myth, I dunno. Still I loved the Labyrinth stuff, real Jason and the Argonauts, and here I could see Indy, though not hear the music.

McGregor was definetly learning from his mistakes in this book, no unnessesary descriptions, a great end battle with the villain on top of the statue of liberty, a mimimum of random deaths, there may have been a few dead ends, but alot of Mcgregorisms that annoyed me in the other books were gone.

And I'd recommend this book.

Its just, I don't believe it. Indy tends to stretch the limits of my belief simply by the nature of his adventures, but this had it snapped almost instantly. Its a fantasy novel, a very enjoyable one, with labyrinths, Giants, and Dragons, but its not really Indiana Jones. Character wise hes as well written as always, though his scepticism goes on a bit too long, but this never happened to Indiana Jones. I mean really.. Really? A frog man who IS a living labyrinth? Really? Still good though, but... more crazy fantasy.

[muttjones]

Could someone list the entire series in order please. I really want to read these but I need the names first :hat:

[Jeremiah Jones]

Indiana Jones and the peril at Delphi
Indiana Jones and the dance of the giants
Indiana Jones and the Seven Veils
Indiana Jones and the Genesis Deluge
Indiana Jones and the Unicorn's Legacy
Indiana Jones and the Interior World

and thats all Mcgregor, then theres Caidin

Indiana Jones and the Sky Pirates
Indiana Jones and the White Witch

and then Max MCcoy

Indiana Jones and the Philosophers stone
Indiana Jones and the Dinosaur Eggs
Indiana Jones and the Hollow Earth
Indiana Jones and the secret of the Sphinx

[muttjones]

^^ thanks that helps alot. not to mention the 2009 Mcgregor novel: IJ and the Staff of Kings.

[Junior Jones]

Well just finished
Indiana Jones and the Hollow earth
So heres my follow up review.
...I'd recommend this book.

Its just, I don't believe it. Indy tends to stretch the limits of my belief simply by the nature of his adventures, but this had it snapped almost instantly. Its a fantasy novel, a very enjoyable one, with labyrinths, Giants, and Dragons, but its not really Indiana Jones. Character wise hes as well written as always, though his scepticism goes on a bit too long, but this never happened to Indiana Jones. I mean really.. Really? A frog man who IS a living labyrinth? Really? Still good though, but... more crazy fantasy.

I agree. The whole interior world is not just implausible, but impossible. (By the way, you've mixed up the titles. Hollow Earth by Max McCoy was really good, in my opinion; Interior World is the one we're talking about here.)

[Jeremiah Jones]

Oh yeah, hollow earth, Interior world.. its funny cos I haven't even read the former yet.

In the middle of sky pirates. And I have to say its living up to its reputation, the sentence construction is unbelievably poor, and Indy's like some superhero, as opposed to flawed making it up as he goes Indiana Jones, hes the head of the forces of the world against an agency with name EVIL.. wha..?? Can't wait to get onto Max

[Lao_Che]

Can't wait to get onto Max

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/74/Kodiak_Bear_in_Macks_Sport_Shop_in_Kodiak.JPG/450px-Kodiak_Bear_in_Macks_Sport_Shop_in_Kodiak.JPG

"Not if I have anything to say about it!"

[Attila the Professor]

Ah, the bear <I>was</I> a disappointing death scene. Laurels for making a joke about, Lao_Che.

[Jeremiah Jones]

Is That... !! The sheer shock of a deadly robotic Kodiak bear!! What I want to see is an indiana jones novel, maybe called, Indiana Jones and the attack of the Robo Kodiak Bear, or AOTRKB for short, where Indy enlists the help of Abraham Lincoln, and the rest of the Disney Animatronics, to defeat said Kodiak Bear in an epic brawl atop Mount Rushmore.

Yeah, that'd make sense

[deckard24]

I just finished Peril at Delphi, and not realizing it read Hollow Earth about a year ago completely out of synch chronologically with the rest of the stories. All in all Peril at Delphi was not bad, but I agree with the criticisms listed here: killing off of characters in a rushed fashion, the description of Indy, characters from the beginning of the story magically reappearing in the final act, etc... To be honest I though it was a somewhat weak story McGuffin wise, but I did like the fact that the Omphalos had prophetic powers and ended up in Brody's museum(nice touch!). I just started Dance of the Giants, and I have all of the novel reprints waiting on my bookshelf to get through. If anything I've found myself surprisingly interested in revisting The Young Indy Chronicles, so once I get though these books that will be next on my list.

[indyclone25]

IJ and the Unicorn's Legacy.
i just got done reading unicorns legacy , was pretty good , more of a mystery than action adventure but still a good read , love the part where indy is captured by the villain and totured, yeah you have to read that ,

[Dyonus]

I have a question: Are Mac Gregor's other IJ books are dull as Dance of the Giants? I mean I liked the classroom parts, I liked the archeological stuff, but it needed more action. There wasn't really any in that book. There was a climactic part, but even then that didn't have any action in it.


And I don't like Deirdre.

So are the other books of his more interesting? Do they have more action in them? I know action isn't what makes a book, but it's Indiana Jones. It needs action.

Also, since I'm a fan of the anime series Full Metal Panic and the book series Harry Potter, I am really looking forward to IJ and the Philosopher's Stone.

[punisher5150]

I was always a little disappointed with MacGregor's books. I thought they had some good ideas but were never executed very well. Then came Martin Caiden. I was excited to see a new author, and boy, were they a HUGE letdown. Those books were more like Doc Savage than Indiana Jones. I didn't have a lot of hope when the series was turned over to yet another author, Max McCoy. But holy crap, he definitely got the spirit of Indiana Jones right. And it was about time! Philosopher's Stone is still my favorite, and it was his first outing. The only scene that bothered me in that entire book was when Indy for no real reason uses his whip to catch a ride on a hot air balloon. Other than that, EXCELLENT book. Dinosaur's Eggs was pretty good. Unfortunately I don't remember much of Hollow Earth. I think I should go back and re-read it. And finally, Secret of the Sphinx was pretty enjoyable, however the editing was extremely weird. I heard there was a time travel sub-plot in the original draft and Lucasfilm had it taken out. But some parts of it were still there (unexplainable memory loss, references of deja vu, etc).

MacGregor did set up a pretty decent backstory for Indy, and his books weren't terrible, just a bit bland, in my opinion. Peril at Delphi wasn't bad. I was very dissapointed with Dance of the Giants and Seven Veils. Then came my favorite MacGregor outing, Genesis Deluge, but a lot of people don't seem to like that one for some reason. This one was followed by the Unicorn's Legacy, which I don't remember much about, but I seem to remember that Genesis Deluge, Unicorn's Legacy, and Interior World were kind of a loose trilogy. Despite having elements from the previous two books, Interior World turned out to be completely ridiculous. I thought MacGregor was hitting his stride about the time Genesis Deluge was released, but capping off with Interior World broke that idea. Maybe the next one he does, the Staff of Kings, will be better, and a return of the Indiana Jones we like so much. I wish more adventures were set in the 30s and 40s, compared to the "Young Indiana Jones" years. That's probably why I liked Max McCoy's books so much better.

[Dyonus]

So should I read them in order? Because I was disappointed by the lack of action in Dance of the Giants. I'm kind of wanting to read the Max McCoy books now. But I've only read #2 of the MacGregor books (reading 1 now...it's a long story of why I read 2 first.)

[Morning Bell]

So should I read them in order? Because I was disappointed by the lack of action in Dance of the Giants. I'm kind of wanting to read the Max McCoy books now. But I've only read #2 of the MacGregor books (reading 1 now...it's a long story of why I read 2 first.)

You don't have to read them in order but it helps, especially because there are some recurring characters in some of the books. Max McCoy's four novels all involve a crystal skull (not the one from the film) and its story-line plays a (very) minor role in the books.

The first time I read the novels I read them out of order and didn't have too much trouble. However, I find them to be the most satisfying when read in chronological order.

[Goonie]

So should I read them in order? Because I was disappointed by the lack of action in Dance of the Giants. I'm kind of wanting to read the Max McCoy books now. But I've only read #2 of the MacGregor books (reading 1 now...it's a long story of why I read 2 first.)

I started with #2 as well because it was the only one I had. Then I finally got the rest and started with Delphi. Right now I'm in the middle of Interior World. I would recommend reading Unicorn's Legacy before Interior World, they seem to be the two that go together the most; basically a part one part two story.

[Dyonus]

Yeah, I noticed there were mentions of Peril at Delphi in Dance of the Giants and it kind of spoils Peril at Delphi for me. I just didn't know that worked across authors, though.

[deckard24]

I just finished Dance of the Giants and The Seven Veils, and all in all they were so-so! I liked DotG better considering I already have a strong interest in Celtic mythology, but even though Veils tapped into similar themes it just didn't feel like an Indy story, it was just way too out there! There's definitely some good moments, and I found it interesting to know where Indy learned to fly... but not land.;) Hopefully they'll get better!

One thing is for sure the covers are great, but they usually don't mesh with the story at all, and not mention they're covered with pictures of Ford not Flannery. Also they're all just painted stills from the original films, and I honestly would've liked to have seen Struzan stretch his artist's chops a bit, much like Dave Dorman did for the Dark Horse comics.

The Genesis Deluge is next.

[The Magic Rat]

I just finished Dance of the Giants and The Seven Veils, and all in all they were so-so! I liked DotG better considering I already have a strong interest in Celtic mythology, but even though Veils tapped into similar themes it just didn't feel like an Indy story, it was just way too out there! There's definitely some good moments, and I found it interesting to know where Indy learned to fly... but not land.;) Hopefully they'll get better!

One thing is for sure the covers are great, but they usually don't mesh with the story at all, and not mention they're covered with pictures of Ford not Flannery. Also they're all just painted stills from the original films, and I honestly would've liked to have seen Struzan stretch his artist's chops a bit, much like Dave Dorman did for the Dark Horse comics.

The Genesis Deluge is next.

I think you'll like Genesis Deluge quite a bit. It feels much more like an Indy adventure.

[deckard24]

I think you'll like Genesis Deluge quite a bit. It feels much more like an Indy adventure.
Cool, I've heard good things about that one!

[DIrishB]

I definitely recommend reading them in order, though it can be difficult maintaining interest for casual fans all the way through. MacGregor's novels are all ok, some much better than others, but none are terrible. Still, by the sixth one, even his brisk pacing and absorbing style as an author (which worked so well early on) was wearing thin. However, I still enjoy MacGregor's run overall. Some really good stuff came out of those six novels.

Then came Martin Caidin, who wrote flight manuals with light shadings of Indiana Jones as James Bond. WTF? It took me more time to read these two novels than the other 10 combined, merely because they were so ludicrously boring, the characters unbelievably uninteresting (and Indy not being Indy at all), and the writing was paced like a crippled snail.

Max McCoy's were all quite good, easily the best author overall. Everything that's been said about McCoy's has been said, but its worth reading these four novels.

If you can't be bothered to wade through the first 8 books to get to McCoy's final four in the series, then just skip MacGregor's and Caidins (skip Caidin's no matter what, you'll be better off for it) and read McCoy's. Again, overall, though, MacGregor's six books are all worth at least a read.

[Morning Bell]

I think you'll like Genesis Deluge quite a bit. It feels much more like an Indy adventure.

Genesis Deluge is excellent. Not only is it my favorite of the MacGregor novels but it might just be my favorite Indy novel period. I enjoyed all of his Indy novels but that one really stuck out for me.

[deckard24]

I definitely recommend reading them in order, though it can be difficult maintaining interest for casual fans all the way through. MacGregor's novels are all ok, some much better than others, but none are terrible. Still, by the sixth one, even his brisk pacing and absorbing style as an author (which worked so well early on) was wearing thin. However, I still enjoy MacGregor's run overall. Some really good stuff came out of those six novels.

Then came Martin Caidin, who wrote flight manuals with light shadings of Indiana Jones as James Bond. WTF? It took me more time to read these two novels than the other 10 combined, merely because they were so ludicrously boring, the characters unbelievably uninteresting (and Indy not being Indy at all), and the writing was paced like a crippled snail.

Max McCoy's were all quite good, easily the best author overall. Everything that's been said about McCoy's has been said, but its worth reading these four novels.

If you can't be bothered to wade through the first 8 books to get to McCoy's final four in the series, then just skip MacGregor's and Caidins (skip Caidin's no matter what, you'll be better off for it) and read McCoy's. Again, overall, though, MacGregor's six books are all worth at least a read.
Thanks for the insight!:hat:

I'm starting book 4 of MacGreor's series so I'll most likely read through book six, but regarding Caidin that's not at all the first time I've heard it, so maybe I'll skip them. I read Hollow Earth a while back and enjoyed that, so I'm glad to hear more positives regarding his other books.

[Morning Bell]

Thanks for the insight!:hat:

I'm starting book 4 of MacGreor's series so I'll most likely read through book six, but regarding Caidin that's not at all the first time I've heard it, so maybe I'll skip them. I read Hollow Earth a while back and enjoyed that, so I'm glad to hear more positives regarding his other books.

Caiden's book were okay but just lacked the excitement of the others. The White Witch is the better of the two, in my opinion, but I just never felt like he did a very good job really capturing the character and spirit of the others. They have some good parts that you might enjoy but they do require some patience to wade through.

[DIrishB]

Caiden's book were okay but just lacked the excitement of the others. The White Witch is the better of the two, in my opinion, but I just never felt like he did a very good job really capturing the character and spirit of the others. They have some good parts that you might enjoy but they do require some patience to wade through.

White Witch is better than Sky Pirates, I agree. Both are easily the worst of the twelve Indy novels (released so far), but White Witch is far and away better than Sky Pirates.

Reading Sky Pirates convinced me that Martin Caidin loved planes so much he wanted to marry one and make sweet, sweet love to it...wait...is that the Cylons' plan? ;)

[deckard24]

Caiden's book were okay but just lacked the excitement of the others. The White Witch is the better of the two, in my opinion, but I just never felt like he did a very good job really capturing the character and spirit of the others. They have some good parts that you might enjoy but they do require some patience to wade through.
Well maybe I'll check them out, and if they're really poor I can always skip ahead to McCoy! Thanks for the insight!:hat:

For you guys that have read them, aside from MacGregor do you need to read all the stories sequentially, or with Caidin and McCoy can you skip around?

[Morning Bell]

Well maybe I'll check them out, and if they're really poor I can always skip ahead to McCoy! Thanks for the insight!:hat:

For you guys that have read them, aside from MacGregor do you need to read all the stories sequentially, or with Caidin and McCoy can you skip around?

Caiden's two books feature the same female character, so it helps to read them in order but it's not absolutely necessary. McCoy's books features a small sub-plot with a crystal skull (not the one from the film) that flows throughout the four novels and makes more sense if you read them in order.

You can read them in any order you like but I find it easier to keep track of everything when they're read chronologically.:)

[Dyonus]

Peril at Delphi seemed to have more action towards the end than Dance of the Giants did, but it was very brief. Cool, but way too brief. I guess I'm expecting too much because I keep expecting stuff like the tank battle in Last Crusade or the convoy battle in Raiders of the Lost Ark.

At the VERY least, I would like just a boss battle (I call them that because of my experience with video games, but I mean like...the technician in Raiders, the big Thuggee in Doom, and...not sure about Last Crusade or Crystal Skulls).

It's not because fighting is difficult to describe in books. Some authors have character duke it out pretty well. Fists, guns, magic, etc. MacGregor doesn't do that much.

But I started the MacGregor books, I plan on finishing them. I may go to McCoy before the second guy and come back to the second guy later, but I want some action!
Dyonus is online now Edit/Delete Message

[Goonie]

I finally finished reading the 6 MacGregor books (that is, until the new one comes out). I think I liked Seven Veils, Genesis Deluge, and Unicorn's Legacy the best. Interior World was a little bizarre. The first one I had of the six was Dance of the Giants and read that one first. Then I ended up getting a copy of Delphi and read the rest in order. Gonna read Caidin's books next. From reading the back of Sky Pirates, the premise sounds a little like Sky Captain.

[Irfaan]

I finally finished reading the 6 MacGregor books (that is, until the new one comes out). I think I liked Seven Veils, Genesis Deluge, and Unicorn's Legacy the best. Interior World was a little bizarre. The first one I had of the six was Dance of the Giants and read that one first. Then I ended up getting a copy of Delphi and read the rest in order. Gonna read Caidin's books next. From reading the back of Sky Pirates, the premise sounds a little like Sky Captain.

That's what I did. I recieved books 2,4,5,6 of Rob MacGregor and have only read 2 a while ago. After all the references dance of the giants did to the first book I had to buy 1 and 3 because I never knew there would be a chronological order making references. I have all of max McCoys (except for Dinosaur eggs) and all of the other author.

I just received Peril at Delphi and Dinosaur eggs (which i wasn't going to buy until you guys recommended, thanks) from the same ebayer (good timing because I ordered on Friday!) and the seven veils I ordered from amazon so that should be coming soon as well.

Thanks for all the help raveners! Can't wait to start Delphi!

[oliverjones18]

MCgreagors books are fantatic! You just have to get a little in to them. They are rather boring at the begining and they take a little reading to really relate to the story but give them a chance they really great.

[StoneTriple]

The first one I had of the six was Dance of the Giants and read that one first. Then I ended up getting a copy of Delphi and read the rest in order.

I read the MacGregor novels in that same order. That's not a tough out-of-order read at all because Peril At Delphi makes a nice sort of prequel to Dance of the Giants. The McCoy novels, on the other hand, are a little tougher to follow if you go out of order.

[Morning Bell]

MacGregor's novels work best when read in order, although it's not absolutely necessary, with the exception of Dance of the Giants and The Seven Veils, mainly because of Deirdre.