The Indiana Jones books. Which ones are the good ones to read?

Last time I was at Walmart was where I saw like a bunch of them not just the original novels being rereleased in the store like for Raiders, Temple of Doom and Last Crusade but some novels that I never heard of until now. Indiana JOnes and the Philospher's Stone which deals about the fountain of youth or whatever.

So I was just wondering which Indiana Jones books are good to have and to read?

 

I've only read the original novels. The first three came out here in the UK in a single volume when Indy 4 came out and I got that novel at the same time. I have a comic omnibus at home but haven't had time to read it. It also came out around film release time. The 4 film novels are pretty good.

 

Wasn't there like an old novel from the early 90s called Indiana Jones and the search for Atlantis which came out the same time as Heir to the Empire for paperback?

 

The Fate of Atlantis comic is in the comic Omnibus I mentioned above. You can see details here on Dark Horse's website. This should still be pretty easy to find in book or comic stores.

 

I've read The Mata Hari Affair, that was pretty good from what I remember though I was about 10 when I read it.

 

There's also a volume 2 of the comics omnibus that came out at the end of June. Dark Horse has the contents here.

 

Just read them all so you can be dorky and say that you've read them all. I wouldn't know because while I haven't read them I do want to. I do have a Marvel comics issue of Indy about one of the nails used for the crucification of Christ.

 

I got an Amazon UK delivery yesterday which contained the second IJ comic Omnibus and 4 of the novels: IJ and the Sky Pirates, IJ and the White Witch, IJ and the Hollow Earth, and IJ and the Secret of the Sphinx. Haven't read any of them yet though.

 

Okay, here's my opinion. I really liked the books written by Rob MacGregor and by Max McCoy, and I really did not like the ones written by Martin Caidin. So, I would say skip all the ones by Caidin, and read all of the other ones. They are enjoyable reads. These are the ones I'd recommend looking for, and I think most of them are back in print, except for the last two, which might be really hard to find:

Indiana Jones and the Peril at Delphi (MacGregor)
Indiana Jones and the Dance of the Giants (MacGregor)
Indiana Jones and the Seven Veils (MacGregor)
Indiana Jones and the Genesis Deluge (MacGregor)
Indiana Jones and the Unicorn's Legacy (MacGregor)
Indiana Jones and the Interior World (MacGregor)


Skip these two, as they really don't have the "Indy" feel:

Indiana Jones and the Sky Pirates (Caidin)
Indiana Jones and the White Witch (Caidin)


Read all of these as well, as all of these are back in print:
Indiana Jones and the Philosopher's Stone (McCoy)
Indiana Jones and the Dinosaur Eggs (McCoy)
Indiana Jones and the Hollow Earth (McCoy)
Indiana Jones and the Secret of the Sphinx (McCoy)

 

I could've sworn that there was an Indiana Jones and the Searth for Atlantis was made for paperback back in the early 1990s along with Star Wars Heir to the Empire

 

SS, I'd definitely agree with you. The MacGregor and McCoy (especially) books are worth reading...the ones by Caidin aren't up to par and don't portray Jones as who we know him to be. Plus he goes into WAY too much detail explaining the planes specifications. I thought I was reading an Indy adventure...not a flight manual.

My favorites are the Max McCoy books...the last four of the series. They all have a recurring plot, so read them in order. Philosopher's Stone and Secret of the Sphinx are great.

I also really enjyed Dance of the Giants, Seven Veils, Genesis Deluge, and Interior World from MacGregor.

 

Actually I like Martin Caidin as an author. I have a few of his books in my bookcases. I'm currently reading IJ and the White Witch and I'm enjoying it.

 

According to the link, this book features:

-a dinosaur
-Belloq
-Lao Che
-a triceratops
-Marcus
-A DINOSAUR!

Must. Read...


Also, Indiana Jones and the Philosopher's Stone unfortunately makes me picture Indy at Hogwart's...

 

Max McCoy's Books:

... And the Philosopher's Stone
... And the Dinosaur Eggs
... And the Hollow Earth
... And the Secret of the Sphinx

Are all great fun to read. I've heard nothing but bad things about Caldin's books, although I haven't read them... too bad, too, since I was hoping for some crazy Sky Pirate-Zepplin Storming-and Dirigible 'Sploding action...

-TJ

 

Thanks for the heads-up on the McCoy books being related. I had Earth and Sphinx in the reading pile but not the other two so I've ordered them from Amazon UK. They had all 4 in stock but I got the last copy of Philosophers Stone. (Hopefully they will restock soon. I think there were some marketplace copies available though.)

Edit - on a related note for UK folks, when I went on to Amazon UK I saw they now have the free shipping option for orders as small as £5.00. I think that only applies for deliveries within the UK. It used to be a minimum of £15.