Peril At Delphi

Lao_Che

Active member
punisher5150 said:
I figured Lucasfilm wanted to keep the Indy Expanded Universe grounded in Young Indy era at the time.

The adult and Young Indy novels were given the pre-movie era and the comics and German books were given the time after(ish) if I'm remembering interview comments right.
 

StoneTriple

New member
Lonsome_Drifter said:
I have never even read the Max McCoy titles yet. I have read that his books are some of the best.....I hope that I am in for some good adventures that span beyond the movies?
Lao_Che said:
In what way? McCoy's novels can be said to be the ones that lean on the movies' conventions the most, but MacGregor's the guy for Indy's character development.

When I first read the novels, I also thought (as seems to be the consensus around here) that the McCoy books best represented Indy as we've always known him.

However, I've been reading them again this year and now find myself enjoying the MacGregor books more. They seem to be more about story & character and less like an Indiana Jones Movie Novelization.

I like both a great deal, but I suppose it's whatever I'm in the mood for. If I want to read an Indiana Jones movie, I'll go for the McCoy books. If I want a more cerebral Indiana Jones story, I'll go for the MacGregor books.

These days, I prefer the stories.
 
German Indy books

Lao_Che said:
The adult and Young Indy novels were given the pre-movie era and the comics and German books were given the time after(ish) if I'm remembering interview comments right.


I read at one time the German Indy books were never licensed by Lucasfilm. That could be why they treaded in the territory after Temple and Raiders.
 

AndyLGR

Active member
I decided to start reading the books in order again, starting obviously with this one. I haven't read this since I bought it when it first came out. This last 20+ years have flown by!

I can remember being disappointed with this when I first read it back then. Those feelings are still there now. It doesn't seem to flow quickly and some of the descriptions of the settings, especially in Greece I struggled to picture in my mind. The positive is that I think the books got better in the main after this one.
 

Stoo

Well-known member
This book is actually a pet favourite of mine from the Bantam series, mainly because its subject matter, the Oracle of Delphi, has always intrigued me. Nostalgia is also a factor since it was the 1st new Indiana Jones story (in English) after the movies, Marvel comics & Find Your Fate books, as well as the 1st peek at a much younger Indy.

Sure, the story is a bit slow but it picks up at the end and I like how Indy has the hots for his teacher. I also LOVE the cover! Struzan managed to capture the likeness of a youthful Harrison Ford.

After the TV show came out, I read the novel again and enjoyed it even more, although I couldn't help picturing Sean Patrick Flanery instead of Ford. Anyway, I like this book and it's the one that I've read the most (3 times).
 

whipwarrior

New member
Today I received (via eBay) first editions of Peril at Delphi, Dance of the Giants, and Seven Veils; Not to replace my own well-worn original copies, purchased in the mid-90's and read virtually dozens (if not hundreds) of times since, but to finally read the uncensored version of Peril at Delphi containing certain expletives which were subsequently removed for the consideration of younger readers. The Bantam editors, if I'm not mistaken, told MacGregor to tone down the offensive language in future stories, which may or may not preclude Giants, and Seven Veils.

Edits notwithstanding, I'm especially thrilled because these copies are nearly immaculate for genuine first prints (with embossed cover titles). I would've never believed these books could exist in such perfect condition in today's world unless I'd seen it for myself. Among my original Indy books, only Interior World is a first print. In searching the web for first editions of MacGregor's other Indy titles, I can't seem to find evidence that Genesis Deluge and Unicorn's Legacy also featured embossed covers. I know for a fact that the subsequent Indy novels had un-textured covers, because I bought each of them (beginning with Sky Pirates) as they were published new. Can somebody confirm this via their own first print editions?

14185670376_55f372bb7e_c.jpg
 

IAdventurer01

Well-known member
Cool stuff, whipwarrior! I can't speak to their authenticity, as I only have my own well-loved books from the 90's (originally purchased at the Indy shop at Disney, actually).

I'm not too familiar with the edit you speak of. Frankly, even if edited, I found the books to be raunchy enough already! I'm still curious as to the content of the originals, though.
 

whipwarrior

New member
It's been reported that Indy drops the F-bomb once or twice in the original edition of Peril at Delphi, which was edited out in later reprints.
 

Stoo

Well-known member
whipwarrior said:
Not to replace my own well-worn original copies, purchased in the mid-90's and read virtually dozens (if not hundreds) of times since, but to finally read the uncensored version of Peril at Delphi containing certain expletives which were subsequently removed for the consideration of younger readers. The Bantam editors, if I'm not mistaken, told MacGregor to tone down the offensive language in future stories, which may or may not preclude Giants, and Seven Veils.
Perhaps you're thinking of "Genesis Deluge"?:confused:

Check out this thread:
Genesis Deluge unedited vulgarity
 

whipwarrior

New member
I'm a regular contributor to the Genesis Deluge thread, Stoo. The censored expletives in Peril at Delphi were covered in another thread here, or possibly at the old IndyFan forum (it was a long time ago, and I can't recall exactly which Indy site the discussion occurred on).
 

Stoo

Well-known member
whipwarrior said:
I'm a regular contributor to the Genesis Deluge thread, Stoo. The censored expletives in Peril at Delphi were covered in another thread here, or possibly at the old IndyFan forum (it was a long time ago, and I can't recall exactly which Indy site the discussion occurred on).
Thanks for the reply, Whip. It could have been some other forum because I don't recall ever reading about this before. Interesting news!:hat:

Mine were all bought back in the day, starting with "Delphi" but it definitely doesn't have any expl*t!ves in it! I'm curious to know what & where they are so let us know when you find them.:)

(As for the embossed covers of "Genesis" and "Unicorn", I'll check my copies when then are close at hand next week.)
 

whipwarrior

New member
I ordered first editions of the other three MacGregor books from the same seller, so I'll have my answer when they arrive. I'm 99% positive that the Peril at Delphi censorship discussion was on the IndyFan forum back in the day, so it's buried somewhere in the archives. I'll make notes of the pages where the offending words crop up and post it here.
 

whipwarrior

New member
Okay, I finally collected the whole set, all first edition printings. However, there's a glaring inconsistency: Unicorn's Legacy does not have an embossed logo cover like the others. Why would Bantam skip this one, but continue the trend with the next book? Certainly there must exist an embossed edition of Unicorn's Legacy. What gives? :confused:

14283667972_2a10904b74_c.jpg
 

Icybro

Member
Also interesting: for Genesis Deluge, only the "Indiana Jones" logo is raised, not the whole title, like in the others. FWIW, my copy of Unicorn's Legacy from September 1992 has no embossing either.

Have you been able to rediscover the differences between the first edition of Delphi and later editions?
 

Stoo

Well-known member
whipwarrior said:
Okay, I finally collected the whole set, all first edition printings. However, there's a glaring inconsistency: Unicorn's Legacy does not have an embossed logo cover like the others. Why would Bantam skip this one, but continue the trend with the next book? Certainly there must exist an embossed edition of Unicorn's Legacy. What gives? :confused:
Whipwarrior, thanks for the post. This topic is begging for more investigation. Due to all of the variations, it would be a good idea to have a thread specifically dedicated to the embossed covers. Yes? Feel like starting one? (If you don't, I will. :))
Icybro said:
FWIW, my copy of Unicorn's Legacy from September 1992 has no embossing either.
Hey, Icybro! In case you're not aware, the date tells when the book was first published but it doesn't indicate which printing it is. For that info, you need to look at the printer's key at the bottom of the page. The lowest number signifies which printing you have.

Ex. my non-embossed copy of "Peril at Delphi":
OPM 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4

Mine is the 4th printing even though it says January 1991, as the earlier ones would. (The 3 letters are the printing house.)

---
Aside from that, my "Delphi" is looking really ragged but I kind of like it that way. It looks all used and worn, in true Indy fashion. There's even a tea stain on the first few pages. It's also littered with magazine clippings of photos, etc. that I put in there to help illustrate the story.

I'd never replace it but now I want that embossed cover!:)
 

whipwarrior

New member
The printer's key in my copy of Unicorn's Legacy is: OPM 0 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1, so it is, indeed, a true first printing from September 1992. Every Google image of UL shows flat, un-embossed covers. So maybe Bantam never made a textured logo for that particular Indy novel. Also, as noted with Genesis Deluge, the covers are selectively textured. Why is the camozotz mask textured on Seven Veils, but not the intricately-patterned omphalos on the Peril at Delphi cover? I'm 2/3 of the way through the novel and I still haven't encountered the offending word, but I'm positive that somebody mentioned it before. And yes, Indy's "F*** the sultans!" line does appear in my copy of Genesis Deluge.
 

Icybro

Member
Stoo said:
Hey, Icybro! In case you're not aware, the date tells when the book was first published but it doesn't indicate which printing it is. For that info, you need to look at the printer's key at the bottom of the page. The lowest number signifies which printing you have.

Ex. my non-embossed copy of "Peril at Delphi":
OPM 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4

Mine is the 4th printing even though it says January 1991, as the earlier ones would. (The 3 letters are the printing house.)

Thanks for schooling me, Stoo! I apparently have first printings of all the MacGregor books, except "Genesis Deluge," which is a 2nd printing. (You may recall I cracked the spine on that one in order to post a pic of page 168, showing off Indy's, uh, colorful language. I feel less guilty about that now that I know it wasn't a first printing. I'm kinda surprised Lucasfilm didn't catch that text before the 2nd printing, though.)

Embossed covers are such a delightfully nerdy thing to get excited over. Now I gotta check my whole Indy library looking for those raised letters.
 

whipwarrior

New member
Well, I just finished the novel and I didn't find the f-word anywhere. Now I'm just confused, because I'm almost certain it was discussed way back in the day. Either that, or I'm confusing it with the well-documented profanity in Genesis Deluge. :(
 
Top