Entry 8: The Dance of the Giants

Indy Timeline: 1925

Indiana Jones and the Dance of the Giants is the second book in the line of novels from the early 1990’s.  Like “Peril at Delphi”, “Giants” is written by Rob MacGregor.  I was a fan of the first book because it was a character study of Indy as a young man that was (relatively) realistic and included engaging historical information about the locations he was exploring.  The supporting characters were colorful and fit well into the Indy canon. 

In “Dance of the Giants”, MacGregor has succeeded in replicating this “Indy vibe” and sense of adventure, danger and excitement.  Taking place shortly after the events in “Delphi”, the story picks up as Indy is making his way to London, where he has landed his first teaching gig following graduation from the Sorbonne.  Indy comes across as a bit older and less prankish than he did in “Delphi”, but is still far from perfect. 

The first half of the book focuses mostly on his academic life in London, and includes historical information on famous locations like the Tower of London and discussions of Stonehenge.  Characters from “Delphi”, such as Indy’s musician roommate from Chicago (Jack Shannon), return here or are at least discussed (Dorian Belecamus), which add to the feeling like this is the next episode in this Indy serial (in novel form).  There are some new characters as well- such as the absent minded academic, and friend of Marcus Brody, Leeland Milford; a new (Scottish) love interest- Indy’s gifted student Deirdre Campbell; and a vile enemy in the nefarious member of parliament, Adrian Powell. 

I found further exploration of Indy’s academic life interesting, but to keep it from getting “slow”, MacGregor throws in some action sequences including a fight in a library and some creepy incidents involving spiders and scorpions.  Things really pick up, however, when Deirdre’s mother Joanna (who happens to be the Chair of Indy’s department) selects Indy to accompany her and her daughter on an archeological dig in Scotland.  There is a great deal going on behind the scenes in this sleepy town, and the protagonists soon find themselves in mortal danger due to a conspiracy involving druids, a quest for Merlin, and the origins Stonehenge itself. 

MacGregor throws in a number of twists here- some of which I liked a lot (tying in events from “Delphi”) and others I did not (a sub-plot involving incest seemed a bit out of place).  The group also gets captured and escapes one too many times, but whatever, it is an adventure novel.  There was also a surprising twist involving Indy proposing to Deirdre- a seemingly major moment in the life of the character.  She says “yes”, but the book’s ending implies that their future may be stormy.  I will have to stay tuned for the next adventure to find out what happens…

In summary, MacGregor has once again delivered a solid Indy adventure that is pretty well written and fun for Indy fans.  I might not agree with all the plot points, but the book is an improvement over “Delphi” in that it increases the action and adds depth by continuing the storyline.  An intriguing chapter in the Indiana Jones back story-

Indy Rating: 8.5/10