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Indiana Jones: Prequels #3

Indiana Jones and the Seven Veils

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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 Brazilian jungle, and a mythical redheaded race who may be the descendants 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 that is out to make him instant history. And if he survives what they throw in his path, there’s still the fabled city itself . . . where the inhabitants practice the magic of the “seven veils” and no one leaves alive!

304 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 1991

About the author

Rob MacGregor

134 books106 followers
Rob MacGregor is author of 19 novels, 14 non-fiction books, and has teamed with George Lucas and Peter Benchley. He is a winner of the Edgar Allan Poe Award for mystery writing, and has been on the New York Times best-seller’s list. He writes both adult and young adult mysteries, adventure, and science fiction/fantasy. He’s best known for his seven Indiana Jones novels. He co-authored The Fog with Bruce Gernon, and with his wife, Trish, co-authored three books on synchronicity. His latest book is Aliens in the Backyard: UFO Encounters, Abductions, and Synchronicity. In his spare time, Rob teaches yoga and meditation.

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5 stars
252 (22%)
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363 (32%)
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397 (35%)
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80 (7%)
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23 (2%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 68 reviews
Profile Image for Andrew.
2,363 reviews
February 24, 2018
This is the next in the Indiana Jones prequels (the title does sort of give that away I know) but here I feel that the books are finally finding their stride. I feel that the magic and wonder I experienced when watching the films are now finding their way in these pages.

SO for that I am really pleased -after all its starting to feel like the Indiana Jones I remember and love so much. However then there is the subject of Deirdre which considering my own self imposed rules of no spoilers does make discussing a little bit of a challenge - but I agree with the other reviews out there - it was all rather rushed.

Anyway that aside this book is starting to feel a lot more familiar - I am not sure if its the start of mentioning other supporting characters like Marcus or references to his father but the book feels like is an episode in the franchise I missed rather than some hastily tacked on story to give flesh out a back story - after all the series did start with Indiana just finishing and receiving his PhD.

There are quite a few titles it would seem in this series - I will admit that the first two have me wondering how far I was willing to work at it - however after this book I have changed my mind and I want to see and learn of the events that shaped the man we see in the films.
Profile Image for Whipwarrior.
1 review
November 2, 2008
If Harrison Ford is the physical embodiment of Indiana Jones, then Rob MacGregor is his heart and soul. In 1989 he wrote the novelization to Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Over the next two years, he would take us on a journey that explored the life of the globetrotting archaeologist in a time before the films occured. It must have seemed like a daunting challenge, but MacGregor tackled the project with confidence. His greatest attribute lies in the fact that he transformed Indiana Jones from a larger-than-life movie hero to a regular person, not so different from the rest of us.

When I first discovered the series, I was overwhelmed by the number of books in it. I selected Indiana Jones and the Seven Veils because I thought that it had the most attractive cover art. I wasn't sure how it would compare to the movies that I loved so much. Once I started reading, however, I could not put it down. Immersed in the story, I could almost see and hear Harrison Ford. But the author's writing transcends even that. MacGregor becomes Indiana Jones, writing the character with such breathtaking ease that it seems as if he created Indy, rather than George Lucas.

A globe-spanning tale in which the intrepid Indy winds up trekking through the Brazilian jungle in search of a lost city, Seven Veils is vaguely reminiscent of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. The enchanted city of Ceiba is not unlike Pankot Palace, whose sheer walls tower from the craggy mountain face in a waning twilight which permeates the latter part of the story with an inevitable, almost timeless quality. Rob MacGregor captures the essence of the 1920's in a contemporary style that resonates with the reader. Like the films which inspired it, I have enjoyed this imminently rereadable book literally hundreds of times, and it is without a doubt the most unique Indiana Jones adventure ever written.
Profile Image for Paolo Calabrò.
128 reviews
June 22, 2017
Same as the previous two books, entertaining but very messy.
This time around there's also very little history but a lot of "magic", foggy visions and collective dreams.
The villains have confusing, sometimes unbelievable motives and the secondary characters don't last long enough to make an impression on you.
It feels as though the author wrote this book just because he didn't want to lose his contract.
Profile Image for Thomas.
2,028 reviews81 followers
November 5, 2020
This book is probably more like 2.5 stars, but I rounded up because it wasn't terrible; it just ended suddenly, and left too many plot points unresolved.

Like the first book in the series, the bulk of the story was fun and full of adventure, but the ending was disappointing. MacGregor is still building off of the earlier books in the series as he goes, which is interesting, but it's not like there's an overarching story here that he's telling; he's just using details from previous books to help with the plots of the later books.

(Which, now that I think about it, is a little like cheating, especially here, where it acts a bit like a deus ex machina.)

One thing I've enjoyed about these books, though, is how MacGregor uses real places, real mythology, real history, and real culture when he writes these stories. I've been fact-checking some of the things he's used in building his plots, and they all check out. The author bio in the back of the book mentions that he's well-traveled, and I like that he's using some of that in his stories.
Profile Image for Amy.
35 reviews10 followers
April 27, 2020
Overall 2.5*. Enjoyed it more than the other Indy books I've read (I read it quicker at least). Rounded up to 3* as that ending left me feeling so sorry for him. I mean, how could you? :'(

Preferred the adventure pre-Ceiba, as when the party arrived at the lost city it all got a bit too weird for me. But I suppose Dr Jones' stories always end with more than touch of the supernatural so I shouldn't have been surprised .

Not certain I'll read another, although I'm sure I said the same thing last time, and yet here I am again; still hoping maybe one in series will capture the charming Indy I love.
Profile Image for John DiBiase.
6 reviews
August 30, 2022
I like the Indy books, but this was a slog fest at times. It took me forever to get through. Sometimes it was a page-turner, other times I was fighting to get to the next paragraph. I recently decided to read the books in order through the series, but I’ll need a break after this one. And I agree it ends very suddenly. And for a long book with plenty of boring sections (like the journal entries), it seems unnecessary to end it with a lack of resolution. I’d say it’s more of a 2.5 star rating but I decided to round down.
Profile Image for Terrance Layhew.
Author 3 books52 followers
December 11, 2023
The fact it took me a month to finish this is part of the reason it has three stars. An adequate adventure, but not one which I’ll remember.

Indy’s relationship with the girl from the last book makes it to marriage, which means you know from the start it isn’t going to last.

Nothing about the book is terrible, it just fails to remain gripping or sufficiently memorable.
Profile Image for Emiliya.
713 reviews15 followers
December 1, 2019
Много трудно намерих пълната версия на книгата.
Profile Image for Jose Vidal.
155 reviews3 followers
February 1, 2023
Leí esta novela hace años y la relee ahora, mientras repaso ciertas cosas sobre Percy Fawcett y he tenido que revisar mi demasiado generosa nota muy a la baja.

En primer lugar Indiana Jones no posee nada de la personalidad del personaje y es un personaje mayormente pasivo que es arrastrado de un lado a otro. Las escenas se suceden sin saber proporcionar dialogos memorables, pero tampoco escenarios de aventura salvables. En uno de los ejemplos más absurdos, de intentar subir las apuestas sin ningún objetivo real, Indy monta en el teleférico que sube al Pan de Azúcar en Río, y ante una parada (que resulta ser normal y no una trampa) decide salir, subirse al cable, casi caerse dos veces y luego volver a entrar sin que la escena haya servido para nada, ni siquiera para plantear un peligro bastante vacío.

Deirde Campbell, la novia escocesa (luego volveré al fetiche celta del autor), de esta serie de novelas de Indy es aún más pasiva y realmente, por momentos, parece completamente estúpida (cayendo en trampas vergonzantes) y posiblemente sea una de las peores estudiantes de arqueología de la historia, ya que no parece saber nada sobre nada.

Por otro lado la obsesión de Rob MacGregor con lo "celta" y la pseudohistoria hace que no solo convierta a Brody en protavoz de ideas "dudosas" sino que además decida que lo mejor que puede hacer para meter una civilización perdida en el Amazonas, es convertirlos en refugiados atlantes-celtas (blancos, por supuesto) que utilizan ogham (un alfabeto celta que en realidad es, como mucho, tardoantiguo). Es decir, una de las novelas anteriores se sitúa en Delfos (que al fin y al cabo tiene su conexión hiperbórea, a través de la leyenda de Apolo, y céltica, tras al conquista de los celtas de Breno) y el segundo en las Islas Británicas, ¿pero es realmente necesario recurrir a lo mismo (que además no está presente por ningún lado en el Indiana Jones cinematográfico) en una aventura situada casi al 100% en Brasil?

Lo mejor que sigo encontrando a la novela es parte de la descripción de la sociedad de esta ciudad perdida selvática, con el uso de poderes de ilusión y una sociedad en que el rango social viene determinado por el poder sobrenatural cuyas terribles implicaciones apenas son exploradas.
Profile Image for Erica.
101 reviews2 followers
August 17, 2017
I recognize, going into books of this calibre, that I shouldn't be expecting a five star storytelling job, but I'm disappointed to find my beloved character and guilty indulgence tainted by overt racism and the mollifying of sexual violence.

Any author as late as 1991, when this book was originally published, should know better than to use language such as "negro" when describing a character. The charade of rape masquerading as the savior for a thinning population is disgusting.

The language should be accessible to most readers. I didn't find the prose confusing.

****Spoilers Ahead!****

The plot contained holes. What happened to Indy's gun when he nearly lost consciousness in the rapids? I know from later books he still has it, but it was never mentioned again after his fight with the guardians in the river. Did he drop it? How was he able to carry out two handed tasks after that if not?

Why would limiting the gene pool also limit the population's veil stength? You'd think bringing in outside blood would weaken it. How is the population so sparse if Indy sits at the top of the tower and spies a vast city if thousands of people?

Fawcett claims, save for their treatment of him, the Ceiba civilization is more advanced than modernized societies, in part, because crime has been eliminated, but they condone raping men and women regularly? Sexual violence isn't a crime to them? I wouldn't call that too advanced.

It seemed like Deidre went from a capable character in the last book to a meaningless plot thing in this book. Then she's abruptly killed off for no real reason and we're left with unanswered questions about how the plane lost all of its fuel. Annoying.

The idea of the lost city and the veils was cool.
Profile Image for Christopher.
1,510 reviews48 followers
June 13, 2019
Indiana Jones and the Seven Veils cracks on straight after the previous book! :D Colonel Percy Fawcett sets Indy and Deidre off having to trek of to the Amazon to track down the legendary explorer Colonel Percy Fawcett! :D At the same time they have to investigate the same mystery that Fawcett is after, investigating the mysterious Celts who have set up shop in the Amazon! :D Indy's reaction to the his request from Marcus Brody is what anybody would react like! :D Frankly its bonkers is the common consensus but he humours his friend ! :D This gives the book its feel of humour throughout! :D The book has light airy feel in addition to everything else that fits the tone of the dreamlike situations they find themselves in! :D Whatever happens you know there will be daring do to get them out of their predicament and the book from the start never lets up! :D It specialises in putting the characters through one hair raising situation after another! :D

Indiana Jones and the Seven Veils puts it characters through there paces from the start! :D The book is full of assassination attempts as well as epic mysteries! :D It is all cleverly handled as they are thrown from one potential hair brained situation to another! :D This make for Indiana Jones and the Seven Veils being a real roller coaster of a whip cracking adventure from the beginning! :D The book plot twist all over the place making guessing the plot a twister in itself! :D

The discovery of the 'Celts' and what they are about,up to, scheming, etc, neatly ties into the previous books! :D It is clear that more plot threads are being created form the beginning and the book does a great job of setting up new plot points! :D Throughout though we get to catch up with diverse characters such as Marcus Brody, Deidre etc but are also introduced to new ones such as Rae'la, Amergin, a certain beardy weirdy etc! :D The Cieba are do fit the environment well and the culture feels alien but fits the story brilliantly! :D The atmosphere of the Amazon is captured with the local tribes such as the Morgego all appear as three-dimensional characters! :D The action never lets up from the start and everything has a feeling of daring, pulse pounding, do from the beginning! :D

Indiana Jones and the Seven Veils is of brilliant whip cracking adventure and mystery from the start! :D It never lets up and will keep you on your toes and up late to see what happens! :D
Indiana Jones and the Seven Veils is full of intrigue, mystery, character development, lost cultures , archaeological discovery, daring do, adventure and action! :D Brilliant Crisp High Five! :D Go and Get! :D Make sure you have the next one! :D
Profile Image for K.
103 reviews1 follower
November 28, 2023
I wasn't sure what to expect from this going in, as often times movie/tv tie novels can be pretty meh. This one was okay overall, I think, but there's a lot of asterisks here. 😂

Firstly, this is an older book and it shows - the style is very flat, very emotionless, very distant, very just simply telling a story with zero connection. Which is too bad, because there's a lot potential in this adventure for some truly great emotion. The distant/old style is not my cup of tea, but I also had kinda expected that style going on, so I give it some leeway there.

There was a lot of really cool history and intrigue, some stuff that felt richly researched in a good/story coloring way (not a shove-it-down-your-throat, look-at-my-research way). But also a lot of weird mystical, magical in the last 1/4 that did not fit Indiana Jones vibes at all (yes there's a certain amount of weird mystical/magical in the series, but the last part just really didn't fit for me). And also too much "oh you'll see" non-explanations or comments - a lot of things ultimately lead to nothing?

There was some great set up in the front half, some solid action throughout, but the ending was so nonsensically abrupt. When I hit the last (clearly short) two chapters, I wondered how anything was going to get resolved in so few pages. It was not. It honestly felt like the last chapters were written in under ten minutes to a deadline and the "resolution" was borderline a handwave of "nothing matters, erase everything that happened so this technically can be canon, the end" in 3 pages or less.

Honestly, I'm baffled more than mad.

If the ending didn't feel like some weird chopped off/tacked on, non-explanation, non-resolution, then this would be a true 3 stars. As it stands, it's actually a very generous 2.5 because it was *mostly* a decent (if dry/old style) adventure. But literally what on earth was that ending, y'all. I'm just... what, who, why, how........
Profile Image for MasterGamgee.
1,444 reviews22 followers
February 13, 2020
I got the whole slew of Indiana Jones books when the movies first came out. More Indy, yay! I'm sure I really enjoyed them all when I read them for the first time years ago (though I can't remember any of the stories). Now, however, I'm finding more often than not that these are just not very interesting.

Aside from the pace being slow, I found the woo-woo thing bordering on the ridiculous and honestly skimmed the last 50 pages of the story just to finish it. It was nice to visit with an old friend, Marcus Brody, and some of the action was pretty good but all in all these do not make it to the top of my reading pleasure list. I love Indy but I'm afraid I'm finding these books more often than not miss the mark for me.

I do have others so I'm sure I'll pull the next out when I need an Indy fix but that won't be for a little while now.
Profile Image for Sebastian Zavala.
162 reviews2 followers
October 8, 2021
De las tres novelas tipo precuela que he leído, esta definitivamente es la más floja. Dejando de lado la interpretación algo retrógrada (y poco verosímil) de algunas de las culturas de la selva sudamericana, en términos generales, no se trata de una historia particularmente emocionante o interesante. Las cuatro películas de Indy tienen elementos fantásticos o mágicos, pero 'Indiana Jones y los Siete Velos' es una novela de fantasía pura, llena de exposición sobre velos, sueños compartidos, vudú, y más... honestamente, es demasiado, incluso para una aventura de Indiana Jones.

En pocas palabras: me demoré mucho más de lo esperado en 'Indiana Jones y los Siete Velos', más que nada por lo innecesariamente enredado e inverosímil que es. Me quedo con las dos novelas anteriores... y por supuesto, con cualquiera de las películas (¡sí, incluso la cuarta!).
Profile Image for Tim Ristow.
61 reviews
August 1, 2021
Interesting integration of a somewhat unique mythology with the Seven Veils into this Indy adventure. Also, some nice action sprinkled throughout. But overall this is just an okay Indy story. Some aspects of the mythology get a bit convoluted near the end and it started to remind me (in not so good ways) of Indiana Jones and the Interior World (also by MacGregor) which was overstuffed with its metaphysical mythology. As in that novel, here we are again by the end of this novel wondering at times what parts of the story are “real” and what parts are only “dreams”. It’s not a bad novel and, in some ways feels closer in tone to the cinematic Indy adventures. But only slightly so. Decent read but not something I’d pick up to ever read again.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Wayne.
93 reviews4 followers
June 28, 2023
Honestly, I was expecting the Indiana Jones novels to be terrible but I was in for a pleasant surprise here. The book feels like it could be another Indiana Jones movie. It has the same feel, excitement, and pacing. In my mind's eye I can see Harrison Ford saying and doing the things in the story. And while there's definitely supernatural things happening, they fit the Indiana Jones universe, much better than a certain movie in the series that shall remain nameless. I love how MacGregor weaves in historically accurate details that on more than one occasion I had to Google because I figured they were fictional and they weren't.

Overall this book was a lot of fun. It has inspired me to read the rest of the series.
Profile Image for Kiril Valchev.
188 reviews4 followers
January 4, 2018
Година след "Indiana Jones and the Dance of the Giants", Инди и шотландското му либе се отправят на пътешествие в бразилските пущинаци, в търсене на легендарния английски изследовател Пърси Фосет, който се е загубил, търсейки легендарния загубен град Z (оказал се впоследствие "D"). Келтската митология не оставя на мира Инди дори и в Амазония. "Диваците" от митичното племе, което Фосет преследва, явно са далечни потомци на друидите от Албиона (полинезийските приятели на Тур Хейердал, батати да ядат).
Profile Image for Michael.
100 reviews
September 22, 2018
Before the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, South America seemed like an untapped resource for Indiana Jones stories. The timeless scene that opened Raiders gave us but a taste of how grand a South/Central American story could be. The Seven Veils gives readers a fun adventure set south of the Equator. It lags at times and still includes a heavy European influence. It is still worth a look by fans of the globetrotting and highly knowledgeable archaeologist. I will read more Indy adventures by the author.
Profile Image for James.
168 reviews2 followers
May 14, 2019
The first few chapters are superb and had mystery and excitement. After they finish their tomb-raiding adventures in Tikal, Guatemala; the pace drops. There's a fair bit of travelling, with brief bits of action when they are followed. However it feels less Tomb Raider and more like Tin Tin. It's decent enough but I didn't find it as gripping as the opening chapters. There's some mystical/fantastical elements in the hidden village in Brazil, but I felt the story didn't really go anywhere exciting with that premise.
Profile Image for Juan Eduardo Castellon.
145 reviews1 follower
December 31, 2021
I have read some Indiana Jones books and I must admit this is not the best. Because of the title and the cover, let's start by saying that I thought this was settled in Middle East and Africa, not Guatemala and Brasil.
I have high hopes for the next one, thought, and it's the reason why I bought the whole series anyway : Noah's Ark.
PS: Indy marrying? Not a good idea. It didn't work with James Bond, so it had no reason to work with Jones either. Didn't like Merlin, also, even if it was presented on the last book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Emma.
572 reviews38 followers
April 26, 2024
In this book, Indiana Jones meets a real explorer named Percy Fawcett. (Side-note: His middle name was Harrison, which always makes me laugh. I mean, this guy is one of the real people who inspired Indy, who of course, was famously played by Harrison Ford.) If the name Percy Fawcett sounds familiar to you, it's because he was the subject of the movie The Lost City of Z. He actually did go missing in the 1920's while trying to find a lost city in the Amazon. In Indiana Jones and the Seven Veils, Indy is tasked with finding Fawcett. I really liked this book.
Profile Image for Ben Mariner.
Author 18 books82 followers
July 30, 2019
This one has followed the same pattern as the others in the series in that very little happens in regards to the actual main story. Just a bunch of little things and then the main focus of the story gets wrapped up in a couple of chapters at the end. Entertaining to a degree, but a little slow and tedious.
Profile Image for Quentin Wallace.
Author 33 books178 followers
August 26, 2022
This was my least favorite of the Indy prequels so far. It starts out pretty strong, but then leads up to a big fizzle at the end. The ending was very abrupt and while there was a major happening at the end, it was rushed through and not given nearly the impact it deserved.

Overall still a good read, but it started strong and then slowly got weaker until it reached an unsatisfying ending.
Profile Image for Cayla rimmell.
181 reviews
March 13, 2023
I did enjoy the book a bit. There were some parts that were slow. The one thing I had a big issue with was the ending. The ending was anticlimactic. There was this huge build up for the ending and I was all for it and then just…it felt like it ended too abruptly. I closed the book and was like “uhhh what?”
Profile Image for John Humphlett.
18 reviews
March 15, 2017
Continuing my reread of the series.
The third novel is set in 1926, a year after the previous one.
I openly admit it is my least favorite in the group. It flows decently enough, but in Ceiba I find it becomes muddled and pointless.
Profile Image for Kendal Hunter.
330 reviews2 followers
March 26, 2021
It took the 3rd novel to finally seem like an Indiana Jones novel. I haven't seen a full episode of Young Indiana Jones, so I may be missing something. But you have the mundane touch the mysterious, as with the best films (#1 and #3). Plus either see or read "The Lost City of Z" by David Grann.
Profile Image for Graeme O'Brien.
95 reviews
August 31, 2023
While still giving us the same protagonist that we know and love, INDIANA JONES AND THE SEVEN VEILS becomes gradually too convoluted for its own good and strays much too far into the fantasy genre, as well as sidelines the wonderfully-paired female lead before squandering her completely.
Profile Image for Kevin Valliant.
48 reviews3 followers
April 5, 2024
Sheesh. A whole lot of running around with no pay off at the end. Indy doesn’t do anything really, no puzzles to solve or riddles to guess. It’s a murky mess and the ending? Wow, that’s some deus ex machina
Profile Image for Craig Andrews.
140 reviews
April 14, 2024
An enjoyable enough Indy story but not amazing. Nice to have a look at what happened at The Lost City of Z and Fawcett. I didn't take to the side-story of Indy and Diedre tbh. Am looking forward to the next one.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 68 reviews

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