Novel discussion

IndyBuff

Well-known member
Well, it has been a few days since I updated this but I'm now a little over half-way through my first reading of The White Witch and the book, while still good, has lost a little bit of the excitement that the first part had.

One thing I've noticed about Caidin's books is that he often makes Indy more of a detective or spy instead of an adventuring archeologist. That's not always such a bad thing but except for the fight in Indy's apartment near the beginning the book hasn't had any action and most of it is centered around theories and trying to track down Cordas and his group (I'll try not to spoil too much for those that haven't read this book yet). The beginning was promising but now it has taken the same turn that The Sky Pirates did, where there's more emphasis on setting up plans and contacts and less on adventure and mystery (although there is some of that still present). The story is easier to follow than that of The Sky Pirates but it's still slow in places.

I'm ready to see Indy explore a tomb or find hidden treasure instead of all this other miscellaneous stuff. It's still enjoyable but much like the previous book, the plot is beginning to drag a little. Don't get my wrong, I still love Caidin's books, but they both have the same flaws that cause them to be a bit weaker than they should be. Nevertheles, I'm anxious to read further and see what happens next. :whip:
 

IndyBuff

Well-known member
roundshort said:
so if you were going to read your first Indy book which is the best?


Good question. I would say that depends if you plan to read the whole series. If you do, then start with The Peril At Delphi and work your way up. If you're just planning on reading one or two then I'd recommend any of the books by Max McCoy and The Genesis Deluge by Rob MacGregor. They're all good but those are a few personal favorites. :)
 

roundshort

Active member
Thanks Indy,

I will look them up always need good fiction, I spend way too much time reading books about work, that sometimes a mindless novel is best. I am real purist, so I hope they try and stay true to the movies
 

IndyBuff

Well-known member
Your opinion of the books may vary. Some people love them (myself included) and others feel they're too far-fetched and poorly written (there are some places in the books where I would agree with that argument as well). Try one and see if you like it. If you do, then I'd recommend reading the others. :)
 

IndyBuff

Well-known member
My progress through The White Witch has been slower than usual lately due to school and work but I'm finally getting back into the routine of finding time to read it and the story is starting to pick up again. The fight on the zepplin was pretty neat and hopefully the action will pick up even more as the book continues. I'm trying to read quickly so I can start on McCoy's books.:D

Nevertheless, The White Witch is still holding up better than I expected it to. I'll try to read some more this evening and see what happens.
 

San Holo

Active member
Jay R. Zay said:
by now, i usually focus on original english books (i.e. in english) anyway. even if the book is deadly boring i can tell myself i'm doing something to improve my skills. ;)
Have you read any of Chuck Palahniuk's stuff? I read Fight Club, and some of his latest one.The man is insane and his stories are anything but boring.
 

IndyBuff

Well-known member
I was thinking of making this a seperate thread earlier but I guess I'll just post it here: what's your favorite Indy book? It can be any author or any series of books, whether focusing on Young Indy or the adult novels. Also, does anyone have a favorite cover or art design? I'm still in the process of finishing The White Witch but until then I thought this might pass the time (and hopefully keep this thread alive).;)
 

IndyBuff

Well-known member
Well, I was finally able to find time this afternoon and tonight after work to finish reading The White Witch. Overall, the book was decent and I enjoyed it a little more than The Sky Pirates but it did suffer a bit from the same problems (slow plot, little action, etc). I enjoyed reading it but now I'm looking forward to starting Max McCoy's books again and The Philosopher's Stone (a personal favorite of mine) is next on my list.

Like I've mentioned before, I still like Caidin's two Indy books but he's certainly my least-favorite Indy author. His stories and plots were pretty good but if he'd planned them out better and spent more time on the characters and Indy himself the books would have been better. These little flaws cause the books to be less than what they should be. Hopefully I'll be able to start the next book either tonight or tomorrow.
 

Aaron H

Moderator Emeritus
By the end of next week I should own every english Indiana Jones book in and out of print...except the Young Indy series.
I am so happy.:D
 

IndyBuff

Well-known member
Aaron H said:
By the end of next week I should own every english Indiana Jones book in and out of print...except the Young Indy series.
I am so happy.:D

Congrats on finally completing the series! I was pretty excited to finally track down every book and it's well worth the trouble, believe me.:)

I'm only a couple of chapters into The Philosopher's Stone but already I can remember why this is one of my favorite Indy books. The beginning is great and the artifact and traps that Indy encounters feels like something taken right out of the films (it reminded me a little bit of the opening to Raiders) and the story is already picking up. Hopefully I'll have some more time to read more of it this week. It just re-affirms my opinion that McCoy was the best Indy author.
 

Aaron H

Moderator Emeritus
My biggest problem now is should I read them (I've read them all once before me buying them) or keep them mint?

BTW, Amazon.com is your best friend...:whip:
 

IndyBuff

Well-known member
If I were you, I'd go ahead and read them again if you want to. The books should stay in good shape as long as you're careful with them. Some of mine are a little beat-up but they still look cool on my bookshelf.

As for The Philosopher's Stone, it just keeps getting better and better and it certainly ranks as one of my top-favorite Indy books. Has anybody else read it and if so what did you think?
 
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Doc Savage

New member
As if I needed another reason to dust the paperbacks off and start again...

I've read Philospher's Stone, Secret of the Sphinx, Genesis Deluge...a couple of others. I was reading Dance of the Giants and am now resolved to finish it. Oh, yeah...Dinosaur Egg and Hollow Earth. Overall, I like McCoy's characterization and MacGregor's scope the best. As we've all agreed, these aren't great literature, which is part of the fun. The believable presence of Henry Jones, Jr., is enough to incite my curiosity...

By the way, do the Moderators allow fan fiction in the Raven these days?
 

IndyBuff

Well-known member
Doc Savage, I'm glad to see there's yet another fan of the novels here. I'm currently re-reading The Dinosaur Eggs and hopefully I'll be able to read the last two books soon.

As for fan fiction, you might try posting something in the Fanwork and Activities thread. You might want to post it as a link if it's really long but you should probably check with one of the mods on that.:whip:
 

IndyBuff

Well-known member
Yes, I hear all the horrified screams as I once again bring back this thread, but before it dies I wanted to make one final statement.

Last night I finished re-reading Indiana Jones and the Secret of the Sphinx, thus completeing all 12 Indy books in order (and reading many for the second time). All I can say is that these are great books and I only hope we will get more in the future. Sure, some were better than others, but overall they're all enjoyable and I loved every one. If you consider them as cannon (as I do), then they give you great insight into Indy's past and many of his adventures. If you don't like them or don' t consider them as cannon, then they're simply fun adventure novels that any Indy fan will probably get some level of enjoyment from.

Max McCoy is easily my favorite of the authors and all four of his books were simply brilliant. Rob MacGregor was also great and The Genesis Deluge is probably my favorite in the entire series (a spot that was previously held by The Philosopher's Stone). Martin Caiden, while being my least favorite, did have some good stories and I still enjoyed reading his books.

I was going to attempt to rank them but that would probably be too hard for me so I won't. I'm sure I'll end up reading these books again for the second and third time somewhere in the future. Again, I loved reading these books and I hope someday a new author will get the chance to write some more and let us once again join in the adventure.:whip:
 

Violet

Moderator Emeritus
My Opinion on the Indy novels

I have read all the Rob McGregor novels, one Martin Caidin and three of the Max MacCoy novels. Personally, I think Caidin sucked because of the settings and pacings of the storylines. It's less archaic than the others. McGregor and MacCoy are far better. Both have the humour and pacing of the films and Indy is more Harrison Ford-like. There should be more novels and they should be more avaliable in Australia. The Americans can get their hands on them and I can't! Same with any other spin offs and merchandise!
 

Chris Jones

New member
I haven't read any of the books, are any of them good? Which ones do you think are the better ones, by which author? Cause i am interested to see if the books are worth reading.
 

IndyBuff

Well-known member
CMNeir said:
I haven't read any of the books, are any of them good? Which ones do you think are the better ones, by which author? Cause i am interested to see if the books are worth reading.

Personally, I would recommend reading all 12 novels because they're all well done and give a lot of insight into Indy's past and his many adventures. However, if you're just looking to read a few then I would recommend the first four books by Rob McGregor. They tell about how Indy choose archeology as his profession and how he was a married for a brief time. All of Max McCoy's books were great and most fans consider him to be the best Indy author (me included). Martin Caiden's books were good but I'd recommend those only if you're planning to read the entire series. Again, I'd recommend the entire series of books. They're not the most complicated or deep books out there but they're fun to read and any Indy fan will probably get at least some enjoyment out of them.

The following list is all of the books in the series. The :whip: icon indicates the books I'd recommend if you're just looking to read a few. Also, read them in order because some characters are used in multiple books and references are made to past adventures that might be confusig if they're read in a different order (I read them in order the second time and everything went together very nicely). Overall, I loved all of the books and hopefully you'll give them all a chance.:)

Rob McGregor:
Indiana Jones and the Peril at Delphi:whip:
Indiana Jones and the Dance of the Giants:whip:
Indiana Jones and the Seven Veils:whip:
Indiana Jones and the Genisis Deluge:whip:
Indiana Jones and the Unicorn's Legacy
Indiana Jones and the Interior World

Martin Caiden:
Indiana Jones and the Sky Pirates
Indiana Jones and the White Witch

Max McCoy:
Indiana Jones and the Philosopher's Stone:whip:
Indiana Jones and the Dinosaur Eggs:whip:
Indiana Jones and the Hollow Earth:whip:
Indiana Jones and the Secret of the Sphinx:whip:

I hope that helps.:)
 

Chris Jones

New member
Thanks, i'll look into them, Is there any order is that the order? I'll read Rob McGrego books and see how i like the series, if i like them i might just go and finish the whole series, who knows. Thanks.
 
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