Indiana Jones and the Seven Veils

by Rob MacGregor
-Indiana Jones Series, Book 3-
(New York: Bantam Books, 1991)
Paperback, 291 Pages, Fiction
ISBN: 9780553293340, US$4.99

ABCD Rating: BACKLIST

From the Cover: Having barely survived a hair-raising archaeological dig in Tikal, Guatemala, Indiana Jones has returned to New York just in time to get caught up in a controversy. The mysterious writings of Colonel Percy Fawcett, a missing British explorer, have turned up, and what they describe could revolutionize history—and make or break several scientific reputations, for Percy paints a tantalizing picture of a lost city in the Brasilian jungle and a mythical red-headed race who may be the descendents of ancient Celtic Druids. … No one loves mystery or adventure more than Indiana Jones. So with his trusty bullwhip in hand and the lovely Deirdre Campbell firmly in tow, he sets out for the wilds of the Amazon. But Indy has more enemies than he knows, including a bunch of hard-nosed thugs and a cannibalistic Indian tribe who are out to make him instant history. And if he survives what they throw his way, there’s still the fabled city itself … where the inhabitants practice the magic of the “seven veils” and no one leaves alive!

My Review: I first heard about this book when I was listening to David Grann read his book The Lost City of Z. In Z, Grann mentions the impact that Colonel Fawcett has had on popular culture, including—most notably—Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Lost World and Indiana Jones. Grann mentioned that in 1991, Indy was able to “meet” his progenitor in Rob MacGregor’s novel Indiana Jones and the Seven Veils, in which a reluctant Indy is pressed into finding Colonel Fawcett and the Lost City of Z by Marcus Brody. Adventure ensues. I was captivated by the story of Colonel Fawcett, one that reads like a great Hollywood cliffhanger serial, and with the possibility of Indiana Jones thrown in for good measure, it was all too good to pass up, so I order a copy of The Seven Veils and now, here we are.

That is not to say that I did not have some trepidation as I picked the book up and started to read. It is, after all, based on a film character, and often novels like this fall flat … being but poor imitations of their silver screen counterparts, with the film novelization being one of the worst types of books to be written. However, The Seven Veils starts off with typical Indy flair … on a dig in a booby-trapped temple in Guatemala where Indy soon finds himself surrounded by incompetent superiors, grave robbers, and a damsel in distress. From there he is catapulted into the hunt for Colonel Fawcett, and the action is pretty much non-stop.

With a few exceptions, the book has a fairly blistering pace that compels the Reader to want to read “just one more page.” MacGregor does a fine job of making Indy and Marcus (the only two characters from the films to make appearances) similar enough to their film counterparts while making the characters his own; make no mistake, that is a fine line to walk, and one that has sunk better authors than MacGregor. Also, there are some great additions to the cast, most notably Deirdre Campbell who is every bit as spunky and resourceful as Karen Allen’s Marion Ravenwood (from Raiders of the Lost Ark and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull).

For the most part I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It is every bit as exciting and engaging and thrilling as any of the Indiana Jones films. There were a few aspects, in particular the book seems to become a completely new story once Indy and Deirdre find Colonel Fawcett and the Lost City, more supernatural and “spacey,” like Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, that I did not like—I prefer my Indy to be a little more historical (like the Ark of the Covenant, the Cult of Kali and the Holy Grail) and a little less New Age-y (like crystal skulls and lost Atlanteans) but, as I said, on the whole, this is a delightful adventure novel and a lot of fun; perfect for the end of summer as I get ready to head back to the world of academia.

Also, as one last endorsement for this book: Indiana Jones and the Seven Veils is book three in a twelve book series that predates the films (so, coming before Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom) and I fully intend to get my hands on the remaining eleven. It is a fun book, and looks like it will be a fun series.

And with that, I leave you with this in parting: