Petition to Eliminate Martin Caiden Indy Books!

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Indy_Jones88

Guest
Lord Excalibur said:
I agree, I haven't read Caidin's books but I will give the White Witch a try (only because it's about Excalibur). C'mon these adventures are in the Indy universe too. He died when he wrote the goddamn Indy books so give the man a break will ya. If you don't like them why the hell read them!!!!! :(

Amen to that :whip: :D
 
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Indy_Jones88

Guest
Sorry Didnt mean to qoute people twice but those are very good points.

And IndyJohan, Stop whining about these books so much. They arent that bad, and if you dont like them TO BAD. Im sorry if im being a jerk, but I cant stand it when people whine.

"Do You want some cheese with the whine?"
 

Canyon

Well-known member
Although Martin Caidin's Indy books are not my favourites I have nothing but respect for the late author.

Okay, I know that these novels were not the greatest Indy adventures ever written, but saying this, there was something about those books I liked.

They had some great scenes and although they were not your traditional pulp novels or like McCoy's or McGreggor's novels they were still fun to read.

I particularly liked the romantic scenes between Indy and Gail Parker and I quote from a recent article that I wrote, Indy's Relationships With Women Part 3-
"It is now 1930 and Indy meets a lady called Gail Parker and they immediately bond. I feel that their relationship is a very interesting one as these two are very alike and admire and respect each other equally. Gail becomes a good friend of the archaeologist, and during their two adventures, The Sky Pirates and The White Witch they become closer. For anyone who has read these two books by the late Martin Caidin you will notice that the relationship between these two characters change. For instance, there is a part where Gail asks herself the question: Is she falling for Indy? Later on, Indy asks her to dinner on a date and she is momentarily confused by his offer. Some time later as Gail is swept up in wild abandon, she kisses Indy full on the lips which confuses him, and then near the end of the particular adventure she tells him: ??I love you.? During the second adventure, as Gail is tending to Indy?s injuries, she tells herself not to appear too affectionate towards Indy. Obviously, she likes Indy a great deal, but at the same time, it seems to me as if she is holding back. It would have been very interesting to look into their relationship further, but unfortunately, only two books were written featuring these two characters together."

I also liked the fact that when Caidin wrote about Indy, he wrote about him as the respected archaeology professor and I thought that was great because it felt to me that people in the adventures were giving Indy the respect that he deserved.

Just my thoughts. ;)
 

Shipwreck

Moderator Emeritus
IndyJohan said:
Where did you cut and paste that??

Actually, the majority of that 'rant' did come from a Caidin fan site I found a long time ago - PRIOR to his death - while doing research. The rest is from information gathered from private sources when posed with the right questions ;-)

I wanted to share with you something about the man behind those particular books. I respect that you respect his works. I wasn't trying to curtail your like/dislike for the books. But I thought that too many 'dis' the works of others without understanding the difficulties.

In this case, unlike other authors, he had to face a real enemy while writing the books. Perhaps if you review them again, you will pick up a sense of his pending fate and perhaps hear the last words of a greater fan than I. That is what places his works apart from the others. They were a last will and testament, if you will allow, for those who asked him to create another glimpse into Indy's world.
 

monkey

Guest
Wow!

Thanks Shipwreck for that great info on Martin Caidin. I knew that he had achieved a great deal in his life, but I had no idea that it was that extensive!!

And I didn't know that he was actually fighting terminal cancer even as he was writing his two Indy novels.

Writing a novel is difficult enough, but to find inspiration and creativity while staring death in the face is something that is truly amazing.

I have new and greater respect for the man.

When I first became re-interested in Indiana Jones a few years back (2000), I read through the MacGreggor Indy novels, and then I picked up "Sky Pirates". I must admit that I got half way through it and chucked it, which is something that I rarely do with a novel. I just didn't like it. Mainly because I didn't recognize Caidin's version of Indiana Jones. So I skipped his other novel, and then read the McCoy books.

I think now that I may have to go back and give Caidin's two books another shot.

Thanks again Shipwreck for the great info.
 

Johan

Active member
If you guy's would read closely...I said I respect him as a writer. I'm not whining, ALL I WANTED TO DO IS SEE IF THERE ARE OTHERS THAT SHARE MY VIEW OF THE BOOKS. Anyway, I got what I wanted...some controvercy and feedback. Thanks Guys!
I enjoyed getting other peoples views. We need to understand that Indiana Jones means different things to different people, and what Caiden potrayed was not the Indiana Jones I liked! I hope you guys don't all hate me now...its just a discussion.
And hey! May Caiden Rest in Peace...he has made some wonderful contributions to the airline industry in education and art!
 
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Indy Benson

New member
I read his Indy books: they were tough to get through. However, his life sounded interesting. Did he write an autobiography, or did anyone write about his life?
 

Aaron H

Moderator Emeritus
No need to eliminate the books, just do what most fans do with stuff they don't like...ignore them.
 

Glider

New member
Hey All,

First let me say that I have never read an Indy Book. Was not even aware there was such a widespread group of followers let alone a forum on the subject. I came across your forum here while doing a search for some rare Martin Caiden books. Apparently little is known about him by your readers. I cannot speak to the quality of his Indy books (did not know about them) and will accept the majority's opinion that they suck.

Having said that Martin Caiden is an icon in the Aviation and Space writing category. If any of you happen to be WWII aviation buffs he is THE MAN in that arena. His book Samurai about Saburo Sakai is the best account of Japanese fighter pilots of all time. His books "Whip" & "The Last Dogfight" are without parallel in WW2 Aviation fiction. You guys being Indy fans, and as such fans of action books, I believe would find the books mentioned above a very worthwhile and exciting read. He wrote over 80 books, most about aviation and space. His book series Cyborg was the basis for the 70's TV series "Six Million Dollar Man". His book Marooned was made into a movie as well and is one of the early Space classics.

All writers have their "off days" and it sounds like he should have stayed away from the Indy series. Check out some of his books though... I heartily believe that you will find them a worthy read.

Oh yeah- he does not write flight manuals... never wrote a single flight manual that I am aware of. Did write plenty of non-fiction Aviation and Space books though... ;)

You guys have me curious now... I will have to check out an Indy Book. Which one should I read first?
 

Webley

New member
The first Indiana Jones book I ever read was Indiana Jones and the White Witch by Martin Caidin it is one of my favorites
But if you are going to read tham all start with Indiana Jones and the Peril at Dephi by Rob MacGregor.

You can go here and take a look at all the Indy books.
http://indianajones.ugo.com/print/books/


unfortunitly you will not find Short Round in any of the book and that sucks becas we all know THAT SHORT ROUND IS COOLER THAN INDY!
 

moondrifter

New member
No way is shortround cooler than indy! Are you kidding? Indy is too high in the rankings to even be entered into the coolest guy contest...
 

IndyBuff

Well-known member
I'll admit that I thought Caiden's books were the two weakest in the series; neverless, I still enjoyed them. The stories were interesting and the characters were great but Caiden just wasn't suited for writing Indy stories.

Still, I think they're good books.:whip:
 

tycobb2522

New member
Wow! What a Bunch of GEEKS!

Like another poster, I stumbled on this site while searching for Caiden books. I just had to let you all know that you, collectively, constitute one of the biggest Geekfests I've ever seen. I think there are more weirdos here than at a Star Trek convention. Do any of you have girlfriends? Do any of you have a tan? May I suggest that you get lives?
 
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