One supposes when you’re seeking an adventure-minded author to adapt your hotly anticipated summer blockbuster for print, James Rollins could fit the bill. But with so many bestsellers of his own creation under his tool-outfitted belt, why would he take the gig? Probably because it’s INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL. And probably because it’s being released in hardcover, and really, when’s the last time you saw a novelization issued in that format?
Without spoiling anything you can’t already gleam from the film’s trailers or first 10 minutes, the post-LAST CRUSADE story picks up in 1957, with archaeologist Indiana Jones sparring with überevil Russians over a uniquely shaped crystal skull on the way to a fabled lost city that’s rumored to be riddled with several more.
Indy’s sidekick this time around is young pup Mutt, a snot-nosed Marlon Brando wannabe, to whom our hero teaches several tricks of the trade during all the vehicular chases, rounds of fisticuffs, swordfights, attacks by the animal kingdom and the third-act appearance of … well, something entirely new to the franchise.
Working from David Koepp’s screenplay rather than Steven Spielberg’s finished film, Rollins’ novel nonetheless hews closely to what’s currently unspooling at a theater near you. There are, however, a few notable additions.
For example, Rollins adds an otherworldly prologue set in 1546, which then brings the climax full circle. Standing as a slight backstory, there’s a short bit showing Indy and pal Mac in action, set shortly before they show their faces in the film, and the Russians conduct an alien autopsy that moviegoers don’t get to see. Then there are little details that either the flick’s final cut jettisoned or were dreamed up by Rollins, like Indy being under the influence of truth serum in the early hangar sequence.
Getting into Marion’s head is a plus, but Rollins gets into too many characters’ heads, throwing out a lot of thought-balloon lines like “Could it be?,” “These were his parents?” and “What mess had he gotten himself into now?” that read like young-adult fiction. (Ditto the occasional line of dialogue presented in capital letters — “WE ARE GOING TO DIE!” — when italics would do quite nicely, thank you very much.)
Working from someone else’s story, Rollins can’t waste much time with needless exposition, and anyone who’s tried to read his interminable SANDSTORM will appreciate that. Getting to the point is not his strong suit, so being unable to deviate from Lucasfilm-established plot points works in our favor. It also allows the author to take himself less seriously, and one can tell he’s having a blast. —Rod Lott
