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Type of bind: Mass Market Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 813
EAN num: 9780553561975
ISBN number: 0553561979
Label: Bantam
Manufacturer: Bantam
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 197
Printing Date: 1999-02
Publishing house: Bantam
Release Date: February 02, 1999
Sale Popularity Level: 26285
Studio: Bantam
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Editor's Notes and Comments:
Product Description:
It is the most coveted of all ancient artifacts. In it is written the history—and the fate—of every human being. And he who owns it writes his own destiny. Now Indiana Jones follows a trail of danger, magic, and archaeological mystery through the war-torn Orient, from Rangoon to the Egyptian desert, searching for the secret underground hiding place of the all-powerful Omega Book. But with a beautiful woman seeking her missing magician husband, and a vengeance-crazed Japanese spymaster hot on his heels, Indy is running out of time. If the Omega Book falls into the wrong hands, not only his own fate but the fate of the world will be at the mercy of a madman bent on writing humanity’s final chapter!
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Rated by buyers -
In this last installment of the IJ series written in the 1990s, Indiana Jones, circa 1934, has travelled to China to enter an old Chinese tomb. After a run in with some Imperial Japanese soldiers, Indy makes his escape from Manchuria with the aid of Faye Maskelyne and her teenage daughter Mystery. The two are magicians that have been looking for Faye's missing husband. The adventure finds the trio shipwrecked from a typhoon and moving across Asia towards Iraq on the spur of the moment lead that Faye's hsuband was seeking the Staff of Aaron and the Omega Book. After the trek to Iraq, they head for Cairo to meet up with Sallah and to secretly dig into a chamber found at the Sphinx. Of course, they're not alone as the revenge seeking Japanese chase them across the continent.
As an Indiana Jones story, this one is the most movie adventure like. There are problems in the book you have to get over like the author's inability to use contractions to form believable dialogue. Also this entry seems to contradict earlier books in Indy claiming to have never been married but previous books say he was and his wife died. There are some plot holes but nearly every serial adventure line has them in abundance. The last chapter regarding the Crystal Skull was odd and I found it sloppy and unnecassary other than to close the ongoing book-to-book subplot of the object. Overall, it was a quick story to read, I had fun with it, and I felt it fit in with the religious themes of the very first three movies.
Rated by buyers 
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I am a great big fan of Indiana Jones movies and books.Here is another great read.Every thing is so believable,and the way the characters interact with each other is great.The action is very well written,and timed well.This is a good book.
Rated by buyers 
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Most important advice before you buy: you evidently have to read these novels in order. Whoda thunk? This was my first, and I did not thunk, and it revealed the death of some unknown, but apparently important, character in a previous installment. Whoops.
(Before I criticize, here's my full disclosure: I'm an Indiana Jones meganerd; I'm an adult; and genre fiction is primarily what I read -- that is, I'm no literature snob.)
I think anyone would agree that tension, excitement and spectacle are three things any Indiana Jones story needs to do right. There's one early scene that's successful at building excitement, but it's all downhill from there. The climax had begun and ended before I realized anything had even happened, and what it lacked in tension it did not make up for in dynamism. What should have been incredible set pieces were fulfilled tersely, workman-like, as if the author was meeting a quota.
On the more practical side of criticism, Max McCoy seriously needs to embrace the contraction. "You will," "did not," "I have," and so on don't make for exciting (or authentic) dialogue.
On the bright side, Indy does visit a couple of interesting, exotic locales. Unfortunately, they're wasted (one in boring, unimaginative execution, and the other in brevity).
I wouldn't recommend this book even to fellow die-hards, but I guess if you're a daydreamer it might help fuel your fantasies. If nothing else, it might challenge you to do better. (And you might be able to.)
Rated by buyers -
This is the last of a series of books written after Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade and leading up to the Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.
In order to make sense of these series of books, you need to read them in order. As near as I can make out, this is the order of the books:
Indiana Jones and the Peril at Delphi (Indiana Jones, No. 1)
Indiana Jones and the Dance of the Giants (Indiana Jones)
Indiana Jones and the Seven Veils (A Bantam Falcon Book)
Indiana Jones and the Genesis Deluge (A Bantam Falcon Book)
Indiana Jones and the Unicorn's Legacy (Falcon)
Indiana Jones and the Interior World (A Bantam Falcon Book)
Indiana Jones and the Sky Pirates (Indiana Jones)
Indiana Jones and the White Witch
Indiana Jones and the Philosopher's Stone (Indiana Jones)
Indiana Jones and the Dinosaur Eggs (Indiana Jones)
Indiana Jones and the Hollow Earth (Indiana Jones)
All of these books are available from Amazon - many being reprinted to take advantage of the May 22nd release of Indy 4.
The last 10 to 15 pages of my 1999 paperback edition are an afterword of short chapters from author Max McCoy discussing whether or not magic is real, the Staff of Aaron actually existed, and why he placed the final chapter in the Sphinx. In between he discusses the Omega Book, apparently the original title of this tome. On page 193 he states, "The title of MY BOOK comes from the last character of the Greek alphabet." I use capital letters since Amazon doesn't have a way for me to use italics.
This book has much to recommend it to the Indy fan. There's a lot of action, predictable dialogue and a strong female and teen character.
That said, it can be a little disjointed in parts. The setting jumps from China to Calcutta to Egypt in rapid succession. Since one of the characters is a teenager, (the significantly named "Mystery Maskelyne") you know that she's going to be bright, agile, and gifted with total insight - more than her mother and a professor of anthropology. It left me with an eye-rolling "are you kidding me" feeling as she revealed clue after clue that our intrepid Dr. Jones failed to see.
***WARNING: Spoilers ahead. If you haven't read the book - stop now! ***
The strong female in our tale is Faye Maskelyne, who manages to discern the secrets of Aaron's Staff and bring down the plagues of Egypt on the villains, including frogs, flaming hail, and a rain of blood. After dispatching with Indy's adversaries she simply discards this token of ultimate power and walks away. Indy and Sallah agree to keep this a secret, assuming, against all reason, that no one will discover the staff and find a way to misuse it.
Chapter 12 is entitled "The Crystal Skull" and refers to plot lines in earlier books in the series, "Indiana Jones and the Philosopher's Stone" and "Indiana Jones and the Dinosaur Eggs."
Setting all that aside, this is a great book for fans of the Indiana Jones series. It has evil villains, virtuous characters and the ever enduring character of Indiana Jones.
I hope that there will be a similar series of books to sustain us through the long years following the release of the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
Rated by buyers -
Indiana Jones, an archeology professor at the London University, has a fascination for ancient artifacts and finding them. In this heart-thumping page-turner Indy finds himself plunging into another dangerous adventure.
Jones, a magician, and her assistant join Jones after certain circumstances. The team begins to look for the all-powerful Omega book. The book can control his fate and the fate of the entire world!
Unfortunately, on their tail is a vengeance-crazed Japanese spymaster. Though, they aren't the only things in their path to the Omega book. Lepers, hurricanes, the Yezidi people, and the crazy Japanese will or will not stop the fearsome trio. Will the Japanese get him very first or will Indy and his companions stop the Omega book from fall into the wrong hands? The only way to find out is to read Indiana Jones and the Secret of the Sphinx.
My favorite part is when the author, Max McCoy, describes the single tear rolling down the magicians face. It's just the power and description of that moment and what's happening around her before and after the moment occurs.
I love this book and I think you will too! You can't put it down after you pick it up. It's full of nonstop action, adventure, and amazing detail. Once you read this book you'll want to read it again and again!
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