Pyramid of the Sorcerer/Mystery of Mount Sinai Scholastic novels

Mystery of Mt Sinai thoughts

OK, I finished the second young reader novel yesterday, but was too tired to post. Here are my thoughts on that one:

This one felt a little more like a young reader novel to me for some reason. Perhaps it was the cartoonish villain, which I was really looking forward to (mechanical arm Nazi on the cover). The PG-rated violence was still there. I definitely think this one hit its mark for the target audience. This was a fun read, and I think I liked it better than Pyramid of the Sorcerer, which I also enjoyed, but Mt. Sinai had a few problems that stick out.

**Possible Spoilers ahead**

The story is set just a couple of days after Pyramid of the Sorcerer. Indy is in full cooperation with Col Musgrove and Army Intel now. The set-up to the story is one of the areas I felt was a problem. Army Intel has lost sight of what the Nazis are doing and have no idea where to go now, and neither does Indy. So Musgrove simply tells Indy to follow his gut. Out of the blue he decides to follow in his old mentor Prof Oxley's footsteps because Ox had made connections between the design of the Mayan pyramids and the Egyptian pyramids. This set-up seemed a little convenient to me, but it is a young reader book so I gave it a pass. Anyway, Indy travels to a Mayan pyramid and finds a secret chamber that has some Egyptian and Mayan heiroglyphics intertwined. He seeks out the help of his dad, who gives him clues on how to translate them. The scene with Henry Sr was humorous, as Indy has brought along Bert, the female pilot from the first book. Needless to say Henry thinks more is going on between Indy and Bert and it leads to some humorous dialogue. Henry tells Indy his answers are locked away in Vatican City, which is in Italy. This poses a problem as Italy has sided with Nazi Germany in the war.

The scenes in the Vatican are original, but Indy's way of getting into the secret Vatican vault was a little too easy, considering it is a library that no one is supposed to know is there. Once again, like the setup, the library scene was a little too "convenient". But it was still fast paced and exciting.

As Indy escapes from Vatican City we are introduced to the villain. Very cool SS officer with a mechanical arm. This is very cartoonish, but I am sure was a homage to the original design of Toht from Raiders. However, my main problem with the book as an adult reader was that the villain's dialogue was way over the top and cartoonish. He always introduced himself using a string of titles and stating the medals he had won as a for Germany. But I can overlook this, as the book was intended for young readers. I just don't like comedy relief in a villain. I like menacing traits. Anyway, they end up in Egypt at Mt Sinai looking for a secret temple. I won't spoil the ending. I enjoyed it very much, as it hinted on some Babylonian mythology. It did stray into Graham Hancock/Zecharia Sitchin territory, but not too heavily.

All in all I liked this book. My biggest complaint was that along the way Indy and Bert picked up two stray kids in Italy that served absolutely no purpose in the story. I thought they might come in toward the end, but not really. They were used by the villain, but Bert was also in that position so I am not sure why the author had them in the story unless they play a part in a later book in the series. There are hints of another book. At the end Musgrove tells Indy they are going to lay off the Nazis for awhile as Japan has been tinkering in some occult activities, so Indy's next assignment was to head to the Land of the Rising Sun.
 

RaiderMitch

TR.N Staff Member
Great reviews... and to think I was in the Borders on Tuesday looking for something to read and found nothing... I had no idea these were out already..............
 
DIrishB said:
Not sure about Walker, but I asked, and I'm glad for the answer. So the first book begins late July, 1941, and the second book begins in August, 1941?

That's about the gist of it. The first book's timeframe only spanned a few days. The second possibly a little longer as he hopped around the world.
 

DIrishB

New member
punisher5150 said:
That's about the gist of it. The first book's timeframe only spanned a few days. The second possibly a little longer as he hopped around the world.

Cool. I should recieve mine from Amazon the middle of next week, can't wait.
 

Goonie

New member
I'm going to have to look in Chapters tomorrow for these. I probably won't get around to reading them for a while though as I'm making my way through the Bantam novels. Currently I'm in the middle of Sky Pirates, and contrary to what I'm reading on these boards about it, I actually like it.
 

Nurhachi1991

Well-known member
I'm on chapter 5 and this book seriously is amazing better than most Indy novel's I have read and this is only a middle grade fiction book.
 

lao che & sons

New member
I've finished "Pyramid" and am now starting on "Mystery" which I now have found out an amazing fact that I hadn't known before
SPOILER BELOW
10

9

8

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5

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3

2

1

Last Chance!

Indy's dad is in it! :eek: :sick: :dead: :confused: :sleep: :hat: :gun: (y) :whip: :D That's right the great henry jones Sr. Isn't just mentioned in it but is actually a main character. Looks like Indys dad is really getting the spotlight this year, ie: staff of kings, and now this. I can't wait for short round to be in something besides temple of doom!:gun:
 
Anyone else's thoughts on these books?

I'm curious as to what the general impression with this series is from others who have read them? I tore through each book in just a couple of hours each. It was good to see Indy back, and like my reviews said I was pleasantly surprised at the PG action. Some of the dialogue was watered down for young readers, but overall I enjoyed them both.
 

DIrishB

New member
punisher5150 said:
I'm curious as to what the general impression with this series is from others who have read them? I tore through each book in just a couple of hours each. It was good to see Indy back, and like my reviews said I was pleasantly surprised at the PG action. Some of the dialogue was watered down for young readers, but overall I enjoyed them both.

Same here. Nice light, easy reads full of Indy action. Granted, they're no Raiders, and certainly not the best Indy novels (MacGregor's & McCoy's books are still the best), but they're worthy attempts. I loved the fact that both novels made attempts to mention previous Indy adventures (both Raiders and Fate of Atlantis are specifically mentioned), and Henry Sr appearing in the second book was very cool. Really looking forward to these, as I like the fact Indy is working for the US government during the WWII era...its a perfect set-up for adventure! Can't wait to see more of these.
 

dr.jones1986

Active member
I was skimmin through "Monsters of Mount Sinai" in my local borders and I noticed it mentions Oxley...can anyone here confirm if he is in the book or did Indy just mention his name?
 

James

Well-known member
*spoilers ahead*

dr.jones1986 said:
I was skimmin through "Monsters of Mount Sinai" in my local borders and I noticed it mentions Oxley...can anyone here confirm if he is in the book or did Indy just mention his name?

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.
 
Looking ahead

I'm really interested in Indy exploring some Japanese culture. The ending of Mt. Sinai has him going there next, so if the series continues we'll see Indy in a place none of the other Indy stories have really covered.

I'm glad to see other people getting some enjoyment out of the series. Let's hope they sell well enough for more. They really are a nice diversion until the Staff of Kings and Army of the Dead come out.
 

indyclone25

Well-known member
i just finished reading the pyramid of the socerer, and it was actually very good , grat story kept the action flowing great villian ( which i figured was the villian after first reading about him) and to tell the truth i could see it as a indy comic book . i think i will start working on that myself . would be nice to see . but all in all a very nice book . if you havent picked it up yet do so and have fun reading it .:whip:
 

Indy's Fist

New member
Damn, I passed these up on Mother's Day at Boarders. I thought it would be selfish to buy for myself on Her day. I'll have to go back after seeing these reviews.
 

Icybro

Member
Might as well add my praise to the pile: both books are pretty fantastic. They're quick, exciting reads, and both manage to work in a bunch of references to various other Indy stories (mostly the films and YIJC, but as DIrishB mentioned, Pyramid even gives a nod to Fate of Atlantis.)

One continuity gripe: Pyramid refers to Indy as a professor from Barnett College, while Mystery (which takes place immediately after) says he's at Marshall College. (n)
 
Barnett College/Marshall College

I missed the Barnett College reference. As far as continuity goes, he taught at Marshall College during the Raiders era, then went to Barnett College during Last Crusade era. By the time KotCS came about, he was back at Marshall College.

I don't think anything ever mentions why he changed.
 

Icybro

Member
Yeah, Indy authors seem to have a hard time keeping Marshall and Barnett straight. Secret of the Sphinx (which takes place in 1934) ends with the implication that Indy leaves his post at Princeton for one at Barnett, when we from Raiders he's at Marshall just two years later. Similarly, Grimoire Maudit (which Stoo is busy translating (y)) has Indy at Barnett mere weeks before Raiders. Of course he winds up at Barnett for Last Crusade - an old version of IndianaJones.com said he made the switch in 1937 - and then back at Marshall sometime before KotCS.

Sorry for the off-topic rant. Those new books sure are great! ;)
 

indyclone25

Well-known member
just finished reading mystery of mount sinai------------------ another great story , glad to see "dad " in it, and great to see imam from raiders in it also , now we just have to wait for the next adventure hopefully they will have those ready by years end. sad to see bert leave the story line too, well i guess it will make it avaiable for a new possible love interest. well like i said before if you haven't bought these books yet , please do your self a favor and pick em up , and get any young readers to read these also!!!
 

Goonie

New member
I just picked up the two books today. Since Pyramid is #1 and Sinai is #2, what is the official name of this new series of books? Is it just known as the Scholastic series? Are there more planned?:confused:

Can't wait to read them, but I'm in the middle of Sky Pirates right now.
 
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