Here is another tale of traveling somewhere exotic in the world with the world's most famous (and fictional) archaeologist, Indiana Jones.
***Spoiler Alert***
In this one, Indiana Jones has received a teaching gig at London University, but the subject matter is not his specialty. He feels out of his element, and compounded to that is a very attractive girl, Dierdre, that is in his class actually appears far more knowledgeable than him, and is not afraid to show it. She seems to capitalize on every opportunity to upstage him, or so it appears to Jones. Her mother is Joanna Campbell, a noted archaelogist of Britain. Joanna notices young Indiana, and knowing that his field experience in the subject is still limited, she invites him to Whitmore in Scotland to search for traces of the legendary Merlin, since she believes that he really existed, and wants to prove it, once and for all. So, the search is on for the golden scroll, a legendary message that was supposed to have been written by none other than Merlin himself.
Jones decides to go ahead and, wouldn't you know it, as the day arrives, Joanna is somehow in dispose, leaving handsome young Indiana Jones to go alone with Dierdre, the beautiful young daughter.
But here's the thing: Indiana Jones has specifically been given warnings against getting too close to the girl. In particular, he has been sent a package filled with poisonous spiders, and then found his apartment ransacked and filled with deadly scorpions, which were also of the arachnid family. It does not take long before he, and his roommate Jack Shannon (who was a part of the first book in the series, The Peril at Delphi - see the review that I wrote on December 2, 2012), make the connection, and understand that all of this is linked to legend, as well - the legend of arachnids. The man who is so fixed on that, and sees himself as the new Apollo, a god, is a conservative member of the British Parliament named Adrian Powell, who also is not just a member, but a prominent leader, of a secretive druid sect. Powell is against the soon to be established British Commonwealth, as he sees it as a threat to the British Empire, and British power overall. He wants Britain not only to retain it's power, but to have more power than the rest of the world, to in effect rule the world. Of course, he wants to be the Prime Minister when Britain is at the peak of it's power, so he's looking for world domination.
Dr. Jones also received help from the eccentric Dr. Milford, who plays the part of Indy's mentor, being seemingly all-knowledgeable on the subject of ancient British history.
So, when Jones and Deirdre arrive at Whithorn, they start digging, while the inevitable romantic feelings between them begin to arise. Just as they are truly culminating in the digging cave, someone blows up the entrance in order to try and bury them alive. Obviously, somebody wants them to stop digging, to preserve the legend of Merlin as a legend. This winds up being Father Byrne, the local Catholic priest who wil stop at nothing to protect the scroll, and the legend, knowing full well what powers it has, particularly when coupled with the Omphalos, the ancient Greek relic from the Delphi, and which Indiana already is connected to from his previous adventure (again, see the review of "Peril at Delphi" from December 2, 2012).
The young couple survive, but barely. Now, they know beyond any shadow of a doubt that someone does not want them there, and is willing to kill them, if necessary. Still, they decide to resume the dig anyway, and not simply be intimidated away.
It is then that we really find out the connection between Deirdre and Adrian Powell, the powerful leader of a druid sect, who himself is looking to take the Golden Scroll, having already stolen the Omphalos from the New York museum that it has been housed in. So, he has one piece out of the two things that, legend has it, will have enormous power when put together, the Omphalos and the Golden Scroll. Powell believes that, when coupled together at the most sacred site of Stonehenge, they will serve to make this ancient place the portal for the Gods between their world and this one, and which will make Stonehenge the most important and powerful place on Earth as a result. But the Golden Scroll is still missing.
In the meantime, Indy and Deirdre have, once again, been targeted. Some thugs, who we later find out work for Powell, have broken into Deirdre's room. When they hear Indy in the next room, they attack him, setting out to kill him. He survives, largely when his old roommate, Shannon, picks that moment to happen to show up. Jones and Deirdre know that it was Powell behind the attack, and know what he is looking for. They also find out that there will be a gathering of druids at Stonehenge, on the occasion of a solar eclipse, and that Powell surely will be there. So, they decide to go. They need to stop Powell, no matter what.
But things are never easy. Shannon has been sent before Indy and Deirdre, who are still physically recovering from the attack, but he suddenly and mysteriously vanishes. As it turns out, he has been taken by Powell and his goons, and soon, Indy and Deirdre are caught along with him. Jones and Shannon are reunited, although they will soon be killed, while Deirdre is set to be the sacrifice at an upcoming druid event at Stonehenge!
It is making their escape during this imprisonment that they find a secret room, with no windows, but with a chimney that has a secret passage. They have to climb up to make their escape, and it is here that a secret room is discovered. What do they find here in this secret room, but (surprise, surprise!) the Golden Scroll!
But they are soon taken, and Powell now has the Golden Scroll and the Omphalos. He now has everything that he needs to carry out his dastardly deeds, and obtain world domination.
Of course, there is a twist. The real Omphalos was hidden away, and what Powell has is a fake. Indy is given the real one, and so that serves as the card up his sleeve. When Indy makes an attempt help Deirdre escape sacrifice, they are all caught, and now all of them are to be sacrificed. Yet, Powell's arrogance and hunger for power blinds him, and this proves very costly. He soon finds himself the victim, while Indy and his group make their escape!
This is another good Indiana Jones book. I really like the writing style of Rob MacGregor, who delivers almost as well as he did with the Peril at Delphi. This is an exciting adventure, and it can also serve as a bit of a history lesson, to boot! If you are a fan of Indiana Jones, or of history and archaeology mixed with some adventure, than this comes highly recommended!
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