Pyramid of the Sorcerer/Mystery of Mount Sinai Scholastic novels

Short Rounded

New member
DIrishB said:
But they're listed as being 176 pages, so I'm assuming right now they'll be aimed at young teens like the older, original Young Indy novels (Ghostly Riders, Curse of Ruby Cross, etc).

I read Pyramid of the Sorceror...it is only 136 pages.:confused:

And I thought Pyramid of the Sorceror was good. Mystery of Mount Sinai was kinda boring, so i started Dance of the Giants (old novel) instead. DotG is better that Mount Sinai in my opinion.
 

Goonie

New member
Does anyone know if they'll be continuing this series? And is there an official name for this series or is it just known as the Scholastic Indy Series?:confused:
 

kongisking

Active member
James said:
*spoilers ahead*



The story mentions him, but he doesn't actually appear. Indy uses Oxley's South American research as a starting point for the adventure but later acknowledges they have recently had a "falling out". (Remember, the story is set in 1941.) It's a nice touch that maintains continuity with KOTCS.

I enjoyed Mount Sinai more than the first book, mainly because the author is clearly a fan of the character. He includes a lot of references to the films and tv show, while also fitting in a bit more history than "Pyramid".

The main drawback is one that was previously mentioned: The setup is surprisingly weak for what ultimately becomes a fairly imaginative story. There's no MacGuffin and no real discussion of what the US wants Indy to do. He's basically told, "We assume the Nazis are after something bad and you should try to find out what it is...somehow." It's about as generic a setup as you could possibly imagine. I'm not sure why the author took this approach, since the big "artifact reveal/finale" is actually pretty good.

Both books are quick, entertaining reads. Even though they're shallower than the Indy novels, they're about on par with what we've seen in the comic series. However, the decision to have each adventure lead into the next seems a little odd. I guess the idea is to cover Indy's missions in WWII, since that's one period of time the films can no longer explore. Still, it's weird to think of Indy checking in with Musgrove after each adventure, only to be immediately sent out on the next.

Yet another homage to 007! Musgrove is Indy's "M"!!! Then again, so is Marcus, but still...:cool:

I've read both books and they are truly fabulous. I'm just bubbling with love and excitement for this new series! AWESOME! Keep them coming, LucasBooks!!!

And ResidentAlien, since when is a robot arm acceptable in Indiana Jones but UFO's and aliens are not? :confused:
 

DIrishB

New member
I really hope we get more of these, the first two showed a lot of promise! Figured we'd have heard about a third one by now... (n)
 

Moedred

Administrator
Staff member
Pyramid of the Sorcerer combined the traveling underground caverns from Interior World with the Omega Book from Secret fo the Sphinx. Rather silly, with "innumerable sheres hurtling through space" ...should have been called Indiana Jones and the Space Balls.

Mystery of Mount Sinai was much better, and just when I thought Scholastic wouldn't allow gunplay, it climaxed in a bloodbath. Bit off a little too much with the gold and the alchemy. Annoying to read Henry Sr. consider the grail a possible bloodline. More Dan Brown stuff in the Vatican's secret library (labeled "Secret"!) and Gump moment with the Duce and the Pope (Indy even rides a boat named Jenny).

So, who are Indy and Peku talking about, regarding the Contessa and Backlum Chaam?
Edit: he's the Mayan god of male sexuality, so I suppose Indy's joking aobut getting an erection for the Contessa in Barcelona (see Espionage Escapades). How would Peku know about this story?
 
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Finally got my hands on these, here are my thoughts

Indiana jones and the Pyramid of the Sorcerer
Surprisingly compact geographically for an Indiana Jones novel, really only taking place in Northern South America and Central America. I enjoyed the use of Musgrove, and Indy's mistrust of him, the Macguffin was good, if it was a little similar to the one from secret of the Sphinx. Nice to see places like Uxmal in an Indy novel. Theres lots of espionage escapades in this one, regarding the US, with a traitor involved, however I found this particularly weak as I realised who the traitor was in their very first scene, I suppose it is for kids though. Good fun, good action set pieces, some nice Young Indy references too. Oh and some good Indy goof moments

Indiana jones and the Mystery of Mount Sinai
Bit of an odd starting point to this one, with the US military not entirely sure what they want Indy to do, so off he wanders, stops in a random town and out of the blue thinks of 'Lawrence' who died in 1935. While I appreciate the Young Indy reference, I doubt Indy would refer to T.E. as 'Lawrence', but more likely 'Ned' the name he consistently calls him in Young Indy. Found that a little jarring, but its nice to see Ned mentioned, here and in various other parts of the book. Twould be nice to see how Lawrence's death affected Indy actually, considering how neatly the event intersects with the movies. On the whole Young Indy is referenced quite extensively.. Indy finds himself reminicing about Norman Rockwell and Picasso while in the Vatican, while he mentions Miss Seymour to a bunch of kids he picks up.

Plot wise it really picks up from the somewhat bizarre opening, and I definitely preferred this one to PotS, though that was good too. Though perhaps Indy was a bit too proficient, in one sequence in Rome we see him rack up quite a body count as he blows the place to smithereens while riding a large block of ice somehow chucking kerosene tanks here and there, had difficulty imagining this actually, how do you carry 3 or 4 really heavy kerosene tanks at once? Still some great Indiana Jones moments, and while I initially worried about the Macguffin going down a Van Denikin route, it didn't, and led to a fairly good Last Crusade esque finale.

My favourite bit of both books though was his meeting with Henry Snr back home where Henry bemoans the fact that Indy hasn't settled down, bringing up Marion as that 'girl you fought nazis with' who ' you were going to marry' Indy gets quite angry at this. Really liked this bit, as with hindsight its quite tragic, knowing Henry Snr will never see his son happily married.

In general I really liked these books, I started each while leaving for work in the morning, and had them finished by lunch time. Though they're marketed as kids books I challenge any 12 year old to make sense of all the obscure historical references, I got them all of course, but theres alot of stuff relating to pre war American politics that I doubt many kids know a whole lot about. Quite violent stuff too, as I said, Indy racks up an impressive body count... guess hes on the road to being a James Bond Super Spy.

Hope the series continues. Enjoyable and Recommended. Nicely ties Young Indy to the Films and the original trilogy to Crystal Skull :whip:
 

Irfaan

New member
Jeremiah Jones said:
Finally got my hands on these, here are my thoughts...

Thanks for telling me, I wasn't going to get these but since they actually sound decent I'm purchasing them right now...

Thanks again, Jeremiah Jones :-D
 
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Well they mention Indy going to Japan I think at the end, so hopefully these will sell well enough to get a #3.

I still didn't quite get the ending of MoMS.
 

Crack that whip

New member
Well, it took me way too long to get around to reading these; once I finally started, they went by in a flash! I have to admit, they're very fun page-turners. Mystery of Mount Sinai seemed a little more outlandish than even, well, the "usual" Indy adventure, but it's certainly great fun.

I'll post more detailed thoughts later, I think...
 

Crack that whip

New member
DocWhiskey said:
My buddy gave me Mystery of Mt. Sinai a few days back because he didn't like it. Can't wait to read it!

Have you read Pyramid of the Sorcerer yet? As someone else noted earlier, the stories are distinct enough to be enjoyed separately (i.e., you don't have to have read the first book for the second to make any sense), but there are lots of links, and reading the second book first will spoil at least some parts of the first book.
 

DocWhiskey

Well-known member
Crack that whip said:
Have you read Pyramid of the Sorcerer yet? As someone else noted earlier, the stories are distinct enough to be enjoyed separately (i.e., you don't have to have read the first book for the second to make any sense), but there are lots of links, and reading the second book first will spoil at least some parts of the first book.

I have not! Thank you for filling me in there. I was going to read it this weekend. I'll try to find Pyramid first.
 

Col. Detritch

New member
I have to say I was a little sceptical at the thought of a scholastic?s Indy novel but I was pleasantly surprised. They were both great! Mystery of Mount Sinia was my favourite of the two but Pyramid was very entertaining too. I too can?t wait for a sequel to Mystery. I?ve heard a lot of talk about the next booking being about the Japanese operation, which was obviously set up at the end but I?d just like to mention that ? SPOILER ? Mephisto is still alive at the end and witnesses something very strange. Could it be possible that the plot will continue with Mephisto as the villain (Having escaped) and that the operation in Japan will be the opening adventure of #3! Maybe Mephisto will go after Bert?...
:hat:
 

LawgSkrak

Member
So does this have serious continuity problems with Secret of the Sphinx?

And I guess they're not making any more?
 
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