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Indiana Jones and the Dance of the Giants
The book is written by Rob MacGregor. In his Panama hat and his adventuring beard, MacGregor looks the part of a younger, hipper Indy. He has authored the novelization of Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade, and The Crystal Skull. If you need a guy to write Indiana Jones Novels, by all means pick a guy that writes travel articles that have appeared in the Miami Herald, Los Angeles Times, Boston Globe, and Newsday. He has organized tours to South America, and has taken U.K. journalists to the Lost City in the Sierra Nevada of the Santa Marta Mountains in Columbia. He looks the part. Yeah, I can see it.
When I picked up the book, I expected some grade school rendition, like TINTIN Comics, but I was surprised by the author’s ability to weave a tale worthy of Indy, and allow us to become part of Indy’s world.
Remember this quote from the movies?
Mutt: You’re A Teacher?
Indiana Jones: Part-Time.
This story starts at Indiana’s first teaching gig, and from there we are off to the races.
Reading this book (mostly in front of Starbucks) put me in an embarrassing situation. ‘N’ and I asked a guy walking out of Starbucks, “Hey, what ya reading?” We asked in a neighborly eccentric fashion. He stopped…a well dressed ‘hipster’ in corduroy pants and bowtie told us about his book about a women’s sexual journey in the wild nightlife of New York. He concluded his lecture (nice guy by the way) and asked, “What book are you reading?” He noticed the book I had on the table, with the cover facing downward.
I COULDN’T DO IT.
Yes, I could not say I was reading a novelization of Indiana Jones. I couldn’t do it. I’m sorry. I chickened out. However, as I read more and more of Rob MacGregor’s book, it has become clear to me that I was reading high brow literature. Reading this book took me to a world of adventure, and Indy’s first love with a fiery Scottish Girl, I was learning historical factoids along the way. Hey, we even got into the legend of Merlin. It’s damn interesting, Sir!
So if hipster comes back, and asks me again. I shall answer with pride. “I AM READING INDIANA JONES AND THE LAND OF THE GIANTS. SO WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THAT.”
Footnote1: I have a friend that is challenging me to watch Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. I’ll drop a 2nd footnote here on my impression of the movie. Stay tuned.
