Dark Resurrection

by Michael Paine

Ardath Bey is a mystic with secret knowledge about the fates of all those who would pursue a certain fabled priestess in Egypt. Bey seems possessed of remarkable powers and an almost supernatural second sight, and for good reason - Bey is the living mummy Imhotep.

Genres: Horror

275 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published October 10, 2006

About the author

Pseudonym for John Michael Curlovich

Librarian note:
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name

Reviews

[Quentin Wallace · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think I liked this better than most, at least going from reviews, but it still ended up somewhat lacking.

For those of you expecting a mummy in bandages walking around stalking people, this isn't it. This relies more on mystical powers and Imhotep in his human disguise as Ardath Bey. Not that there isn't plenty of mystical horror as well.

I recently read Usher's Passing by Robert McCammon, and the vibe of this book was similar. There was a very rich and powerful family with many secrets in its past, and in it's present for that matter. You have all of the typical dramatic tropes of the wealthy families, with the drug abuse, mental illness, etc. Woven into all of this is the backstory of the Mummy. The idea is this family is the same one who unearthed the mummy in the original Universal Movie. This one is set in modern times, and things go from there.

The end was a literal "deus ex machina", probably the most literal one I've ever read.

Overall, I did enjoy this one and wasn't disappointed, but I can see how some would focus on its flaws.

[Paxton Holley · Rating 1 out of 5]

For AWESOME-tober-fest this year. Disappointing. My issue with this is my issue with many movies, the mummy is just not threatening enough. There are some creepy moments in here but they don't hit that hard enough.

[Jeff J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was part of an apparently aborted attempt to resurrect interest in the Universal monsters. I enjoyed it, and rated it accordingly, despite some unresolved plot threads.

[Don Weiss · Rating 2 out of 5]

Perhaps Universal Studios wrote themselves into a corner when they created Imhotep, the immortal Egyptian high priest portrayed so memorably by Boris Karloff in the original 1932 version of THE MUMMY. How can anyone defeat a villain so powerful that he can kill with a single thought from miles away? The question was never really answered, and Imhotep was replaced by the bandaged, lumbering, and comparatively easier-to-destroy Kharis. I was hoping the intervening years would allow for enough creativity to provide Imhotep with a worthy sequel.

Unfortunately, DARK RESURRECTION doesn’t live up to those expectations. Instead of building on the original and going forward, Michael Paine retreads the plot of the Karloff movie and applies a more contemporary setting, with flavors of zombie lore and modern psychology. There’s an ineffectual hero, and a beautiful woman possessed by ancient forces. What’s most disappointing is that Imhotep is even dispatched by virtually the same manner: Divine Egyptian Intervention.

A decent enough remake that thankfully lacks the campiness of the Stephen Sommers films. But as a sequel to the classic that started it all, it’s a misfire.