(Resurrected from the archives! Great article.)
Research Begins in the Library
May 22, 2006
Collecting Indy Books from Europe
by Les David
If our favorite archeologist should be a learned scholar, it only makes sense that his adventures would inevitably be chronicled in books. From his earliest adventures as a child to his continuing predicaments after The Last Crusade, the 'expanded universe' of Indiana Jones is larger and more diverse than most people realize.
North American readers are familiar with the popular RL Stine "Find Your Fate" series, the original Bantam novels by Rob McGregor, Max McCoy and Martin Caidin, adaptations of the Young Indiana Jones Chronicles and the original young reader Young Indiana Jones series from Random House. These very popular books have been translated into many languages including German, Dutch, Hebrew, French, Polish, Japanese, Portuguese, Czech, Korean, and Italian. But what about the books from across the ocean that were never in English to start with?
Germany: 1990-94
In the early '90s Wolfgang Hohlbein wrote eight original Indiana Jones books. The novels are not connected to each other but the stories are all set after the three films. Hohlbein is a very popular German-language science fiction, fantasy, and young adult novel author. To date he and his wife have written over 200 books with sales in excess of one million.
Indiana Jones und die Gefiederte Schlange (Indiana Jones and the Feathered Serpent), 1990 -- Indiana Jones travels to South America looking for an American geologist who's gone missing. Locating him in a tiny village at the foot of the Andes that's surrounded by strange natives, the geologist gives Indy a golden talisman -- the Feathered Serpent -- before dying from illness. Indy learns that the Feathered Serpent belongs to the Mayan High Priest, and is reputed to bestow its owner with tremendous magical powers. On the run from a hostile tribe who wants the talisman back, Indy must escape before the natives -- or the talisman -- do him in!
Indiana Jones und das Schiff der Gotter (Indiana Jones and the Longship of the Gods), 1990 -- In 1939, somewhere off the coast of Greenland, an American research vessel discovers an enormous iceberg inhabited by an obsessive Dr. van Hesling, who believes the ancient ship of the Gods to be buried beneath the ice. Months later, an international research team led by Indiana Jones returns to the giant iceberg, named Odinsland, to uncover its secrets locked within.
Indiana Jones und das Gold von El Dorado (Indiana Jones and the Gold of El Dorado), 1991 -- Professor Korda, a friend and colleague of Indiana Jones, finds himself caught in a violent storm over the Bolivian rainforest. Forced to make an emergency landing, he makes a sensational discovery -- a meteorite crater that appears to be covered in pure gold! When Indiana Jones is called for help, the archaeologist-adventurer will discover that Korda has actually stumbled upon the legendary gold treasure of El Dorado! But with this legend comes a curse...
Indiana Jones und das Schwert des Dschingis Khan (Indiana Jones and the Sword of Genghis Kahn), 1991 -- Washington, Russian embassy: The beautiful Soviet commissioner Tamara Jaglova invites Indiana Jones to take part in an expedition to Outer Mongolia, where the legendary Sword of Kahn is being sought out in the hopes of restoring the Mongolian Empire to its former glory. Indy must compete with rivals from Russia, China, Germany and Japan in a race to find the sword that will span several continents.
Indiana Jones und das Verschwundene Volk (Indiana Jones and the Lost People), 1991 -- In Chicago of yesteryear, one must be prepared for anything. Killers and thugs are around every sleazy corner. It's no wonder then that Indiana Jones finds himself in cement overshoes shortly after colleague Professor Petryk makes a sensational discovery. A young Mormon, Zach, wants to sell Indy an old clay disk which belonged to the vanished culture of the Anasazi Indians. Fleeing from Chicago's criminal underground, Indiana Jones and his friends get caught up in an adventure of unexpected proportions within an ancient city of the legendary culture.
Indiana Jones und das Geheimnis der Osterinseln (Indiana Jones and the Secret of Easter Island), 1992 -- While in Washington, Indiana Jones is asked by a certain Mr. Franklin and Mr. Delano to take an expedition to Easter Island -- an expedition, Indy suspects, that won't be a pleasant research trip. There's something odd about Franklin and Delano -- they simply grin too much. One of their agents on the trail of German conspirators has gone missing and Indiana Jones needs to find him. His search starts on the atoll Pau-Pau, but this tropical isle is deceiving -- Polynesia may be a hell decorated with flowers on this suicidal mission.
Indiana Jones und das Labyrinth des Horus (Indiana Jones and the Labyrinth of Horus), 1993 -- Indiana Jones is a man who does not forget. Sixteen years ago, Professor Basil Smith saved his life, and now its Indy's chance to repay the debt. Receiving a wire from Smith in Istanbul, Indy quickly makes the trip to Turkey but arrives to find the professor missing. With clues leading him to Egypt, Indiana Jones meets an ancient, cruel force in the shadows of the pyramids that has waited for millennia to be released.
Indiana Jones und das Erbe von Avalon (Indiana Jones and the Avalon Inheritance), 1994 -- Odd coincidences abound: Near England's coast a submarine is rammed by an incredibly ancient boat. Near Liverpool a man is found who speaks a bizarre unknown language. And near Ghent, a Belgian and a German are studying a mysterious castle from the Middle Ages. It's 1940, and Indiana Jones is on the run from a Nazi henchman and a young Belgian resistance fighter -- until he discovers that these strange occurrences are all related to the sword Excalibur, the legendary sword of Arthur Pendragon, fabled King of Britain.
These eight novels have a pulp '50s paperback writing style that fits the Indy world setting very well. Most German speaking readers rank the Holbein books better than the US novels. They have only been translated into one other language -- Dutch.
Two other German non-fiction originals of interest are:
Das grosse Buch uber Harrison Ford und Indiana Jones (The Big Book About Harrison Ford and Indiana Jones) by Claudius von Zolkov. Published in 1989 by Edel. 98 pages, with lots of pictures, some in color. This book came out right after The Last Crusade and tells the story behind the making of the three films. It's an original researched book, not a compilation of previously published material.
Die Abenteuer des Jungen Indiana Jones (Young Indiana Jones Chronicles) by Elisabeth Blay. Published in 1993 by Heyne. 128 pages, with lots of color pictures. This is a tiny mini-book with info about the Young Indy television series. Ten chapters cover topics like "before the world discovers him, he discovers the world", notes from the TV series Young Indiana Jones Chronicles, and specific episodes like "The Mummy's Curse ", "The Curse of the Jackal", "Mata Hari", "The River of Death", "The Secret Peace" and "Revolution!"
