Indiana Jones and the Dance of the Giants

A student comes to her professor, Indiana Jones. She wants to write a paper about Stonehenge being the burial site of Merlin. This intrigues him and he gives her permission. But then he finds himself stalked by someone and when he approaches his stalker, the man simply tells him to stay away from this particular student.<br /><br /><br />There are a lot of different scenes in the beginning with quite a bit of info dumping about Stonehenge, Merlin, Arthurian legends, … The writer does his best to disguise them and spread them out a little a bit, so it isn’t too obvious. But because there are so many of them, it’s not exactly hard to spot them. And because there’s so much info dumping, there isn’t much action to be found in the first third of the story.<br /><br /><br />Basically the story is stuck in first gear in the first third of the story. Then there’s an explosion. The story finally shifts to second gear and things get more interesting. But it isn’t until we get to the third and final part of the story that it’s actually exciting to read, with action and suspense. It finally starts to feel like a proper Indiana Jones adventure. And then it ends. To be fair, the ending is pretty good and does feel reminiscent of the movies. But the road getting there is very long and winding.<br /><br /><br />Overall, not a bad story but it doesn’t really feel like an Indiana Jones adventure until we get to the end. The pacing is quite slow and there’s a lot of info dumping in the beginning. There’s also too much focus on the relationship between Indiana Jones and his student, instead of the action and adventure the Indiana Jones character is so known for.

This is my second foray in to the prequel world of Indiana Jones and I must admit although it does not have the same energy of the films - and at times feels a little too fantastic (which is quite a surprise considering there the franchise films go).<br /><br />However the characters do "fit" in to the world of Doctor Jones and you can see the character we know and love from the films slowly being shaped (first the bull whip and now the Webley revolver) the character is slowly coming together. <br /><br />I think for me the whole Indiana Jones appeal is one of exploration danger and the unknown. In a world where it feels every corner has been mapped, photographed and categorised it seems there is little room for mystery and the supernatural. However in the world of Doctor Jones there is always room for something strange around the corner.<br /><br />The books are set in the 20s and chronicle the formation of what Doctor Jones is to become - the films set a decade later really build on what we see here. These stories are part of the chronology of famous archaeologist even though they are not referenced in the films. <br /><br />This said do not expect some earth shattering revelations or hidden secrets - these are true to form rip roaring adventures - and all the more fun they are for it. Lets see what the next instalment has to offer.

Rob MacGregor's second novel about young(er) Indiana Jones is heavily tied to what happened in the first, <i>Indiana Jones and the Peril at Delphi</i>, but it isn't a must to read that book before <i>Indiana Jones and the Dance of the Giants</i>. Back from his excursion to Greece, where he unearthed a relic of supreme power called the Omphalos, Indy has landed his first temporary professor job, at London University. Thanks in part to the influence of his father's old friend Marcus Brody, Indy was chosen for the position ahead of other qualified applicants, and if he impresses Dr. Joanna Campbell this summer, he may be offered the job permanently. Henry Jones, Jr. knows linguistics and archaeology, but British history isn't his forte, so he can't ignore when a girl in class, Deirdre Campbell (daughter of the boss), shows off comprehensive knowledge of the subject while he's lecturing, surpassing Indy's own knowledge. Keeping Deirdre happy and treating the rest of the class fairly is a shaky balance, but Indy tries to maintain objectivity even as he forges a closer bond with his star pupil.<br /><br /> Indy isn't the only guy with an eye on Dr. Campbell's redheaded daughter. A former flame of Deirdre's, Adrian Powell, is skulking around London and having Indy tailed, and the young professor won't tolerate that. Indy suspects that a pair of potentially lethal tricks he's been on the receiving end of are Powell's doing, but the man isn't just an off-kilter ex-boyfriend jealous of Deirdre's new beau. Adrian Powell is a member of Parliament and leader of the new Druids, who plan on reviving the glory of their order at an eclipse ceremony to take place at Stonehenge soon. The ancient monolith site is Deirdre's area of expertise, and she's been attempting to construct an academic argument that the legendary sorcerer Merlin was an actual historical figure responsible for erecting Stonehenge. Deirdre's original and informed research makes her invaluable to what Powell wants to do before the eclipse, when the world order is set to shift seismically.<br /><br /> Dr. Campbell, Deirdre, and Indy set out to investigate a dig not far from Stonehenge, aiming to locate a fabled gold scroll that could prove whether Merlin truly lived. But they'll have to watch their backs every second of the search. Multiple interested parties are ready not only to foil the dig, but kill the three archaeologists in the process. Indy isn't yet the awesome action star he is in <i>Raiders of the Lost Ark</i> and subsequent movies, so he relies more on guile and serendipity to survive the traps set for him, his boss, and his new love interest. A cataclysmic showdown is taking shape at Stonehenge, and you can bet Indy will be there in the end to face down an ancient evil that threatens the world after millennia of covert existence. Will a surprise supernatural entity intercede and help Indy save the day?<br /><br /> There's a lot of intricate academia in this book, maybe too much for some readers. It requires concentration to follow, but you'll be lost later if you go on mental vacation during these sections. The strength of the novel is its characters, from megalomaniacal Adrian Powell to smart, attractive Deirdre Campbell, from wildly eccentric Dr. Leeland Milford (perhaps a stand-in for the meshuga Marcus Brody of <i>Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade</i>?) to the man himself, the incomparable Indiana Jones. Harrison Ford's presence in the character is what brings him to life in these pages, and imagining John Williams's brilliant music score from the movies playing during important scenes of <i>Indiana Jones and the Dance of the Giants</i> is a must. I'd give the book one and a half stars; it's less thoughtful than <i>Indiana Jones and the Peril at Delphi</i>, but there are a few decent action sequences. If you're an Indiana Jones fan, reading about his adventures may be the next best thing to watching him dominate villains on the silver screen. Have fun!

You know this must have been a good book because it wasn't all that long ago that I read it, maybe two years, and I can't even begin to remember the plot. <br /><br />Still, I marked it as okay, so it must not have completely sucked. I'm guessing it was a typical Indiana Jones novel -- pulpy, weak, and just a little too much like Indy from Last Crusade (thus missing the darkness that made the Raiders and Temple of Doom Indy great).

I read a couple of reviews on the Indiana Jones books awhile back &amp; the readers just bashed the hell out these books , so I was sorta' "iffy" on reading them.<br /> Well today I read " Dance of the Giants " in one sitting. I thought it was an incredibly fun read !<br />My advice to anyone is, if you have any interest in a book ,dive right into it &amp; dont worry about what everyone else says.Remember Siskel &amp; Ebert gave Star Wars two thumbs down !

I admit it. I watched the whole "Young Indiana Jones" series when it was on TV. Lucas has created an enduring character and McGregor and McCoy do him justice in these cheesy, easy action (and mythology &amp; history) packed books.

I think I liked these stories much better when I read them years ago. Found this one OK and also found that it heavily relied on the reader having read the 1st Indy book. While it wasn't completely necessary, it helped with understanding some of the incidents in the story. <br /><br />I found some of it slow moving which surprised me as I'm a big fan of Merlin/Arthur legend. <br /><br />And I'm beginning to see a pattern with Indy always picking the wrong woman...<br /><br />I'll continue on the re-reads but am honestly not rushing to them. Really wish this story could have been better for me.

it was a fun look into indiana's earlier years and felt true to the character. like any good indiana jones story, there is plenty of mystery, magic and adventure. a beautiful dame and some interesting characters to help and thwart indy in his search for merlin, and the truth behind the relics of stone henge.

I was dissapointed at fist that this was series that had to be read in order but I must say that I loved the way MacGregor tied this story back to "The Peril at Delphi." I also loved the commbination of Celtic and Greek mythology to form a very complex and intreging plot.<br /><br />

I reviewed the first book in this series "the Peril at Delphi" so this review won't be very long since a lot of what I said about Peril at Delphi carries over to this book. However, I didn't like this book as much compared to the first. If I could, I would rate it 2.5, since it was probably more than ok, but I certainly wasn't blown away by it.<br /><br />This time around, Indy finds himself tied up in a plot of druids, Stonehenge and Merlin, of all things. It was certainly an interesting premise, and at the start I was very interested in what they would do with it. For about half of the book, this plot continued on well, especially with the introduction of the intriguing and mysterious Adrian. But then for some reason it didn't go much further, and by the end it seemed pointless and odd- which is all I can say without revealing anything.<br /><br />We are treated to TWO whole female characters this time round- Deidre, one of Indy's students, and Joanna, her mother. Joanna was by far the more interesting of the two, and her mysterious and knowledgeable air made it seem like she would be the match for Indy. But no, instead this book pairs him with Deidre, who more often than not came off as annoying. In fact, most of the characters in this book are not very memorable at all, but again I may be expecting too much from an Indiana Jones book.<br /><br />I did like how this book ties to the first, however. I expected these novels to be very standalone, but it was interesting to see how they link together so far. I should also again praise the fact that this book at least accomplishes what it sets out to do- and that is tell a cheesy, history-inspired action adventure. While much shorter on the action than the first novel, there is still plenty of history abound, though I do admit there seemed to be a lot of creative alterations to historical fact to suit the novel. While I wouldn't usually complain about this, some of them seemed out of place and far fetched, even for Indiana Jones.<br /><br />I did enjoy reading this book as a fun, easy get away from other novels, but it did not capture me like the first one did. Again, I can only recommend this to Indiana Jones fans. Unlike Peril at Delphi, I don't think this book would really appeal that much to history buffs because of the creative license it takes, although if you are interested in druids and Stonehenge, it might be an intriguing read.