Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings was to be the novelization of the video game of the same name, written by Rob MacGregor. Amidst delays with the game, the book was rescheduled to be released in June 2010.
However, when the game release was then brought forward to June 9, 2009, Del Rey had issues which prevented them publishing the novel in conjunction with the game's release so simply decided not to put the book out at all despite it being finished months before the deadline. When MacGregor questioned the decision, he was told that there weren't enough Indiana Jones fans to justify another novel, effectively cancelling it.[2]
Afterwards, MacGregor tried to get the approval of publish it himself for free as an e-book, and cover art was provided by Indiana Jones fan and illustrator Christian Guldager, but this idea was also nixed.[3]
Across 2021 and 2022, MacGregor released a reading of his manuscript as a series of podcasts on SoundCloud.[4] On March 3, 2023 the novel was as released as a free eBook with MacGregor contributing an afterword on the effort to get his work in front of the general audience after fifteen years.[5]
Plot summary[]
Appearances[]
Characters[]
- Ahmed
- Akbar (Mentioned only)
- Balam / One Arm
- René Emile Belloq (Indirect mention)
- Bethany / Artis Moore
- Blind Duck / Wu Ming
- Marcus Brody
- Bruno
- Deirdre Campbell Jones (Mentioned only)
- Walter Donovan (Indirect mention)
- Dragon Arm
- Faust
- Flora / Great Mother
- Francisco Franco (Mentioned only)
- God (Mentioned only)
- Henry (Mentioned only)
- James Hilton (Mentioned only)
- Heinrich Himmler (Mentioned only)
- Adolf Hitler (Mentioned only)
- Homer (Mentioned only)
- Jacques
- Janine
- Jonah (Mentioned only)
- Indiana Jones / "Whip Guy"
- Kadin
- Mustafa Kazak
- Charles Jacob Kingston
- Margaret Grace O'Malley
- McNulty
- Mehmed VI (Mentioned only)
- Missing Teeth
- Moses (Mentioned only)
- Nawang Topkay
- Pigeon Man
- Rory
- Heinrich Schliemann (Mentioned only)
- Silver Tooth
- Sudao
- Archie Tan / "Eyepatch"
- Suzie Tan
- Veli
- Village Chief
- Vishnu (Statue)
- Narasimha (Statue)
- Fynn Völler
- Magnus Völler
- Rudolf Völler (Mentioned only)
- Wolfgang
Artifacts[]
- Ark of the Covenant (Mentioned only)
- Crystal skull (Mentioned only)
- Dead Sea Scrolls (Mentioned only)
- Holy Grail (Mentioned only)
- Jacob's Ladder (Mentioned only)
- Jade Sphere
- Shepherd
- Septuagint (Mentioned only)
- Staff of Kings
Creatures[]
- Bee (Mentioned only)
- Bug
- Caiman
- Chimpanzee
- Crocodile (Mentioned only)
- Elephant
- Falcon
- Frog
- Dragon (Dragon dance figure)
- Horse (Mentioned only)
- Jaguar
- Lion (Mentioned only)
- Macaw
- Manta ray
- Monkey
- Howler monkey
- Owl
- Panther
- Pig (Mentioned only)
- Piranha (Mentioned only)
- Peccary
- Rat
- Snake
- Bushmaster (Mentioned only)
- Coral snake
- Fer-de-lance (Mentioned only)
- Spider
- Tiger
- Toucan
- Turtle
- Wasp
- Whale
Cultures[]
- American Indian
- Ghost people
- Maya
- Simar
- Buddhism (Mentioned only)
- Hinduism
Events[]
- California Gold Rush (Mentioned only)
- Chinese New Year
- Christmas (Mentioned only)
- Darien scheme (Mentioned only)
- Exodus (Mentioned only)
- Great Flood (Mentioned only)
- Roaring Twenties (Mentioned only)
- Spanish Civil War (Mentioned only)
- Sultan's Ball
- World War I (Mentioned only)
Locations[]
- Africa (Mentioned only)
- Amazon (Mentioned only)
- Atlantis (Mentioned only)
- Bay of Bengal
- Central America
- Guatemala (Mentioned only)
- Uaxactún (Mentioned only)
- Honduras (Mentioned only)
- Panama
- Darién
- Cana
- Temple of the Cosmos
- Chamber of the Moon
- Chamber of the Sun
- Darién Gap
- Panama City (Mentioned only)
- Panama Canal (Mentioned only)
- Darién
- Guatemala (Mentioned only)
- Black Sea (Mentioned only)
- Byzantine Empire (Mentioned only)
- Europe (Mentioned only)
- London (Mentioned only)
- Belgium (Mentioned only)
- England (Mentioned only)
- Germany (Mentioned only)
- Berlin (Mentioned only)
- Munich (Mentioned only)
- University of Dresden (Mentioned only)
- Ireland (Mentioned only)
- Dublin (Mentioned only)
- Russia (Mentioned only)
- Spain (Mentioned only)
- Guadalajara (Mentioned only)
- Madrid (Mentioned only)
- Turkey
- Istanbul
- Topkapı Palace
- Shepherd's Chamber / Chamber of the Shepherd
- Sultan's Harem
- Tower of Justice
- Topkapı Palace
- Troy (Mentioned only)
- Troy II (Mentioned only)
- Istanbul
- Far East (Mentioned only)
- Hong Kong (Mentioned only)
- Himalayas
- India
- Middle East (Mentioned only)
- Mount Nebo (Mentioned only)
- Tower of Babel (Mentioned only)
- Mughal Empire (Mentioned only)
- Nepal
- Kathmandu
- Suya Des / Shambhala / Cloud City
- Ottoman Empire (Mentioned only)
- Red Sea (Mentioned only)
- Sassanian Empire (Indirect mention)
- Straits of Bosphorus (Mentioned only)
- Tibet (Mentioned only)
- United States of America
- California
- San Francisco
- American-German Cultural Center
- Chinatown
- San Francisco
- Chicago (Mentioned only)
- University of Chicago (Mentioned only)
- New York
- Barnett College
- National Museum (Mentioned only)
- New York City (Mentioned only)
- California
- Yucatán (Mentioned only)
- Chichen Itza (Mentioned only)
- El Caracol (Mentioned only)
- Chichen Itza (Mentioned only)
- Pleiades (Mentioned only)
- Venus (Mentioned only)
Organizations and titles[]
- Archaeologist
- Conquistadors (Mentioned only)
- Eastman Kodak (Mentioned only)
- Guardians of the Staff (Mentioned only)
- MI6
- Section D
- Nazi
- Gestapo
- Schutzstaffel
- Thule Society (Mentioned only)
- Verteidigung Germanisches Altertum
- Professor
- Rosicrucian
- Tong
Vehicles and vessels[]
- Bathysphere
- Kettenkrad
- Star of the Orient
- Train
- Wolfram (Mentioned only)
- Zeppelin
- Hindenburg (Mentioned only)
- Odin
Miscellanea[]
- Banana (Mentioned only)
- Bible
- King James Bible
- Bow and arrow
- Brownie Six-16
- Bullwhip
- Colander
- Corkscrew
- Gold (Mentioned only)
- Iliad (Mentioned only)
- Indy's pistol
- Knife (Mentioned only)
- Koran (Mentioned only)
- Lost Horizon (Mentioned only)
- Malaria (Mentioned only)
- Missing link (Mentioned only)
- National Geographic (Mentioned only)
- Ophidiophobia
- Poker
- Rope
- Shepherd salad (Mentioned only)
- Spear
- Swastika
Behind the scenes[]
After unsuccessful attempts from his agent to convince Lucasfilm Ltd. to hire him to write the novelization of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Rob MacGregor was approached to adapt the storyline of Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings. For the author, who had previously written the novelization of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade in the past, adapting the story of a video game proved more difficult than that of a movie script as it involved greater development of the characters and adjustments to the storyline. However, all locations from the game version remained unchanged.[3]
Notes and references[]
- ↑ Leland Chee interview at TheRaider.net. As a copy of the completed manuscript never reached Leland Chee, the Keeper of the Indycron, it's unclear how much, if any, material from the novel has been archived beyond that which would match the released video game.
- ↑ Rob MacGregor AMA at Reddit
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Interview to Rob MacGregor at El Recoveco del Geek (Spanish site)
- ↑ Rob MacGregor: Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings on SoundCloud
- ↑ Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings novelization available for free to fans, fifteen years later at The International House of Mojo
External links[]
- Rob MacGregor: Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings on SoundCloud
- The Lost Indiana Jones Novel at SevenRealmPublishing.com (Web archive)
- Staff of Kings Novelization Cancelled at TheRaider.net (Web archive)
- Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings novelization available for free to fans, fifteen years later at The International House of Mojo
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