This is really only the third Indiana Jones book that I have yet read, as of now. So, I was a bit surprised that it was the third time in as many books that I have read about his adventures with a Crystal Skull. Of course, the first book that I read was all about it, being the book version of the adventure from the last movie, back in 2008, so it was obvious why that had the Crystal Skull in it. But these other books? It came more as a surprise, at least to me, especially since it did not list anything about it in the book description, or anywhere else, until you actually read it in the book.
Not that I'm complaining. In fact, I learned a lot about these Crystal Skulls. There are only a few of them in the world, and I was disappointed to learn that I had missed the opportunity to see the one in a museum in Paris. I intent to see it, the next time I get to Paris.
In the meantime, it is enjoyable learning more about them, and getting the opportunity to imagine them in detail, through the adventures of Indiana Jones books.
***Spoiler Alert***
This book starts off with Indy paying the price for chasing after the skull, which has fallen into the hands of a foe that fans are familiar with from the first movie: Belloq. Yet, the book also begins with a scene quite similar on many levels to the third movie, when after the initial part with a young Indy, played by River Phoenix, has his first real adventure and gets his now famous fedora hat as a reward, we see Indiana Jones give a rather crooked smile as he is getting punched in the face by thugs. That is basically how this book starts out, as well.
The thugs work for Belloq, who has evidently gotten the Crystal Skull (don't ask me how, it must have been in an earlier book that I have not yet read -so more on this later, presumably. Stay tuned!). Belloq hands the artifact over to the Nazis, who have traveled by a new and powerful submarine. The Nazis seem to barely notice Jones, and it appears that this is Indy's first run-in with the Nazis as well, saying that he could some to hate these guys.
I will have to admit that Belloq is a character that I have mixed feelings about. Maybe I am just overly sensitive to the constant, almost automatic portrayals in American adventure movies of French guys systematically being the bad guys. But Belloq seems to fit the prototype just a little too closely, with his expensive wine and cheese, and his loud proclamations of the beauty (and presumably,, the superiority) of the French language and culture, and all things French, really). It just seems such a standard stereotype to play on, yet I keep seeing it, or versions similar enough to it, and sometimes, it just seems so damn cliche. Belloq, as a villain, is very cliche. A typical evil genius type, with a strong French accent. In that regard, he is rather cumbersome.
That said, he is an established character in the Indiana Jones story, and at least he came prior to the whole French bashing thing that became the flavor of the moment during the lead-up to the Iraq War, unlike some other renegade French guys, like the one in the last two Matrix movies.
In any case, Indiana Jones manages to escape Belloq and the Nazis that he has sold out to. But what he does not escape is the end of the relationship with Alecia Dunstin, the love of his life, apparently (at least, before Indiana Jones fans are introduced to Marion Ravenwood). The prophecy surrounding the Crystal Skull is that he who removes it from it's proper place will kill the thing he loves the most seems to be panning out, and we see Indy taking it hard, turning to scotch in his college office, when he is approached by a nun, with an unusual request.
This nun, Joan, tells Indy that her father has gone missing looking for some rare and priceless artifact in a far away land (of course). She trusts that Indiana Jones can help her, although he is hesitant. It should come as no great surprise that he eventually concedes, and agrees to help her. Another adventure for Indiana Jones!
So, it is off to China, where the team that has been assembled for this adventure can begin to make their way to the Great Wall of China, crossing it and into Mongolia, stopping at the newly named capital city Ulan Bator, en route to the desert and beyond, where they will hope to find Joan's father, and whatever priceless treasure that allegedly awaits them.
Indiana is teamed up with Granger, a fellow adventurer. Joan is there with them, and they have a few native Chinese for further assistance, as well.
When the team passes the Great Wall, they find a guard there, who works for General Tzi, a local warlord that no one on the team has ever heard of before. The guard has a vicious dog that he mistreats, and when Indiana Jones intervenes to prevent further abuse, the dog, who becomes known as Loki, feels Indiana Jones is his master, and remains loyal to him the rest of the way. The team moves on, and Loki follows them at a distance, but he will make an appearance later on in the story again.
Predictably, the team has a few run ins with General Tzi and his entourage. Also predictably, they manage to escape seemingly impossible odds, time and again.
Also, as it turns out, Joan is not a nun at all, but a reporter, and she evidently has quite the crush on Indiana Jones (of course)!
The team manages to get through the Gobi desert, but not without struggles, obviously. They almost run out of water, and are then attacked by a wicked band of warrior nomads, led by General Tzi. Still, they manage to make it to the other side, and it is there that they find numerous eggs, just like the one that Joan had shown and given Indiana Jones, which had been believed to be priceless. However, these hardly seem like ancient artifacts at all, but rather like recently hatched eggs. The mystery deepens.
Here, they run into Joan's father, who has become part of some local monk establishment. He explains that there are now three eggs remaining, and that these have actual, living creatures inside, that have become part of local lore. In fact, the creatures are that last remaining dinosaurs.
General Tzi remains in the picture, of course. Hell bent on revenge, he purses the team. But they manage to escape, using a little known, and well-hidden path that leads them to a place that seems otherwordly (it is referred to as the "Garden of Eden". There are not many natives, but those who live here have not had their lifestyles disturbed in millenia. The team is obliged to bring the eggs along with them, but in the process, two of them are lost. There is only one egg remaining, and Indy has it.
General Tzi and his forces remain in pursuit, and so Indy and Granger, wanting to preserve this paradise, as well as the eggs, decide to put themselves at risk, and divert Tzi. They do, and the subsequent chase proves costly. They are greatly outnumbered, and then surrounded. Tzi has them where he wants them, and is about to close the circle to kill Jones and Granger.
This is when Loki makes his appearance. He has grown loyal to Indiana, who has saved him, and he leaps onto Tzi and rips off his skin, drawing blood. The other dogs who worked for Tzi smell that blood and go crazy, tearing their own master apart, killing him, and satisfying their blood lust. The rest of the team withdraws.
Jones and Granger return in time to see the dinosaur hatch. It is being fed some rare flowers, which apparently is what these particular creatures had eaten. They are only to be found in this part of the world, this hidden Garden of Eden. Yet, for a little while, Granger seems intent on removing the dinosaur, and bringing it to the United States for scientific research, as well as for personal fame and fortune. Ultimately, he learns better. It is understood that the dinosaur belongs here and nowhere else, and that the best place for it is this hidden paradise. Indiana Jones and Granger retreat and go back towards China, and to rejoin the world, while Joan and her father decide to stay. Joan has made a proposition to Indy, wanting him to remain with her, but Indy turns her down.
Ultimately, before getting back to China, Indiana Jones has a reunion with Khan, who once again reaffirms his belief that they had met before, as Kublai Khan and Marco Polo, with Indiana Jones as Marco Polo.
Indy is given a gift by Khan, a knife that once belonged to his ancestor, Genghis Khan. There are etchings on the knife, and Khan admits that he has never been able to make sense of it. But within minutes, Indiana Jones has a rough sketching of what it says, and what it might imply, that it predates Genghis Khan, and that it may have belonged to the Chinese Emperor Qin-Shi-Huang, and seems to be a map, possibly, to his tomb, which legend has it, is filled with treasure. Of course, I already read, and reviewed, the book where he pursued this treasure some time ago. (See: Book Review: Indiana Jones and the Secret of the Sphinx, published October 17, 2012)
Indiana Jones goes from this adventure back to the place where this adventure started. The Nazi submarine had an accident and was sunk, and the Nazis back in Germany have no idea where they could find this submarine, having lost radio communication. That gives Indy seemingly all the time that he needs to explore the sunken submarine, and to look for the now lost Crystal Skull. It was placed in a yellow metal canister, and Indy finds it quickly. He resurfaces, but in the process, loses the yellow canister, only to find it again, floating on the surface of the water. He grabs it, but then another yellow canister appears. Then another, and another, and so on. There are hundreds of such canisters, and it is clear that Jones cannot grab them all. It seems the Crystal Skull remains lost after all!
One of the things that I like about Indiana Jones the character, in general, is that he is a learned hero. It is not just some mindless musclehead shooting up some enemy soldiers and winning a war all by himself, or anything like that. Indiana Jones is a learned man, an archaeologist of strong repute, with an incredible mind. He is a professor at Princeton, for God's sake! So, the focus is on the virtues of learning, and Indy has a good heart, to boot. He is not just a raider of tombs in order to simply sell on the black market and make his fortune. He is in it so that humanity can learn and better itself, a noble cause. He works for the betterment of all humanity, and helps by teaching the world more about these things, desiring these priceless artifacts to be placed in museums, so that they can be preserved for all time for future generations.
These books also delves into real scholars and their works, as well. When that happens, we are treated to learning a bit more about these real life figures. Case in point, at one point in this book, Joseph Campbell is mentioned, and we are offered a little bit more information about him and his life's work in the field of mythology. At the time that this book is supposed to have taken place, Campbell is still young, and still fresh in the field, formulating his now famous ideas and interpretations of myths and their relation to early human societies.
All in all, this is a good book, if you are into Indiana Jones novels! That said, I did not read these in the proper order, and that was to my detriment in understanding these adventures. I had assumed (wrongly) that his adventures would be individualized, and for the most part, they are. Yet, they are connected to one another, and it helps to know what is being referenced from prior works.
So, from this point onwards, I will continue reading these, but only in their proper order! First up, Indiana Jones and the Peril at the Delphi.
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