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Indiana Jones and the Peril at Delphi

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Indiana Jones and the Peril at Delphi is the first novel in the series published by Bantam Books. It was written by Rob MacGregor, and released in 1991. The U.S. cover of the book depicts a younger-looking Indiana Jones.

Publisher's summary[]

In 1981 a new hero like no other burst upon the scene. Over the next ten years and three films we grew to know and love the legend that is Indiana Jones: bold adventurer, swashbuckling explorer, he lives forever in our imaginations, unraveling the mysteries of the past in a time when the world was at war and dreams could still come true. Now, in an all-new series of novels officially licensed from Lucasfilm, we will learn what shaped Indiana Jones into the hero he is today!

INTO THE ABYSS OF THE SERPENT

For sixteen centuries the Order of Pythia has awaited the reappearance of the ancient oracle of sacred knowledge of Delphi. An earthquake, rending the earth beneath the ruins, has now heralded her return. Dorian Belecamus, a beautiful and bewitching archaeology professor, sees an opportunity to do more than dig into the past: This is her chance to seize control of her country's future—by becoming the Oracle of Delphi! And she's found just the man to help her consummate her scheme. He's brash, he's reckless, and he's fallen under her spell. His name: Indiana Jones.

The adventure spans the globe from Chicago to Paris to Greece where, bullwhip in hand, Indy descends into the bottomless pit of the serpent god and finds a sacred stone that holds the key to the oracle's prophecies. But Dorian has designed an even more sinister fate for young Indy: She means to make him her lover, her priest, her pawn in a plot to kill the king. Will Indy find the source of Pythia's powers—or find himself sacrificed at Dorian's altar, a victim of her deadly ambition and desire?

Plot summary[]

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Appearances[]

Characters[]

Artifacts[]

Locations[]

Animals[]

  • Army ant (Mentioned only)
  • Dolphin (Mentioned only)
  • Eagle (Flashback)
  • Fish (Mentioned only)
  • Goat
  • Horse
  • Snake (Vision)
    • Python (Mentioned only)
  • Turkey (Mentioned only)

Events[]

Miscellanea[]

  • Argonauts (Mentioned only)
  • The Blood Crystals (Mentioned only)
  • Bolshevik (Mentioned only)
  • Cadillac
  • Cornet
  • Dada
  • The Death Ray (Mentioned only)
  • "Down in the Quarter"
  • Fedora
  • Garlic
  • Bullwhip
  • Jazz
  • Linear B
  • Model T
  • "The Nature of American Patriots and Traitors"
  • The Odyssey
  • Order of Pythía
  • Pierce-Arrow
  • The Perils of Pauline (On poster)
  • The Poisoned Room (Mentioned only)
  • Punch
  • Seventeen
  • Tank
  • Ulysses

Behind the scenes[]

Development[]

After writing the novelization of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade and before the publication of his first original novel Crystal Skull, Rob MacGregor was approached by Lucasfilm Ltd. to write a series of Indiana Jones prequel stories.[1] Guidelines from George Lucas instructed the author to set his stories in the 1920s, before the Indiana Jones trilogy,[2] and to only use known mystical objects as the MacGuffins, leading MacGregor to utilize the Omphalos as the plot device for Indiana Jones and the Peril at Delphi.[1]

MacGregor was not permitted to use any characters from the film series outside of the titular protagonist and Marcus Brody—the latter of whom only appears through a vision in the finished novel—which prevented MacGregor from exploring the relationship between Jones and Marion Ravenwood.[1] To compensate for this, MacGregor established new recurring characters such as Jack Shannon, who was based on friends of the novelist with whom he went out to bars for the music.[3]

Originally Indiana Jones and the Peril at Delphi (and the series which followed) was intended to begin and end with the appearance of a ninety year old Indiana Jones narrating the story. According to MacGregor, he was told that no one would be interested in seeing Indy as an old man, so the idea was dropped. Soon after, the unused concept resurfaced in The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles television series created by George Lucas himself, who MacGregor believes was responsible for nixing his idea for the novel.[3]

Continuity[]

Peril at Delphi was originally published in 1991, one year before the premiere of The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles television series developed by George Lucas with the latter work introducing several continuity errors in relation to the novel. For example, the book begins with Indiana Jones graduating from the University of Chicago in 1920, when the show established that as the year he first started studying there. The book also mentions Indy, by October 1922, as having been a student at the Sorbonne for two years.

For the stories to co-exist, the dates given in the book were retconned. However, the timeline of Indiana Jones: The Ultimate Guide further complicated matters by placing events from the novel itself out of order. The assassination attempt on Constantine at the climax of the story was dated as being in May 1922 with Indy graduating from Chicago in the June and his studies in Paris beginning the following month.

Cover gallery[]

Notes and references[]

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Interview with Rob MacGregor at TheIndyExperience
  2. ↑ SW INT 132 Rob MacGregor author of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade! on YouTube
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Interview with MacGregor at GeoCities (Web archive)
Indiana Jones novels
Adaptations
Raiders of the Lost Ark · Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade · Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles: The Mata Hari Affair
Cancelled: Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings
Original stories
Indiana Jones and the Peril at Delphi · Indiana Jones and the Dance of the Giants
Indiana Jones and the Seven Veils · Indiana Jones and the Genesis Deluge
Indiana Jones and the Unicorn's Legacy · Indiana Jones and the Interior World
Indiana Jones and the Sky Pirates · Indiana Jones and the White Witch
Indiana Jones and the Philosopher's Stone · Indiana Jones and the Dinosaur Eggs
Indiana Jones and the Hollow Earth · Indiana Jones and the Secret of the Sphinx
Indiana Jones and the Army of the Dead
Overseas exclusives
Indiana Jones and the Feathered Serpent · Indiana Jones and the Longship of the Gods
Indiana Jones and the Gold of El Dorado · Indiana Jones and the Sword of Genghis Khan
Indiana Jones and the Lost People · Indiana Jones and the Secret of Easter Island
Indiana Jones and the Labyrinth of Horus · Indiana Jones and the Avalon Inheritance
Related
Young adult Indiana Jones novels · Timeline of novels
ADVENTURE TIMELINE
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August 1920 October 1922 1923
Young Indiana Jones and the Hollywood Follies Indiana Jones and the Peril at Delphi Indiana Jones et le Secret de la Pyramide
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