This is another book where the rating has more to do with me than perhaps anything else.Spoilers if you haven't seen the movie.I have been a huge fan of the Mummy since it came out. The adventure and romance always made me smile, not to mention characters larger than life with sarcastic mouths and sharp wit. The ridiculousness of it all managed to make me laugh every single time I watched it.The book was about the same.Written like a western, The Mummy made me feel like I was part of the adventure. From start to finish, despite knowing the entire story and the ending, I found myself smiling as each problem presented itself to the characters. Jonathan was still the same silly rascal, getting himself into trouble and offering a charming quip as an apology. Nothing was lost in the translation from film to book in this case. He was lovable yet so friggin' stupid that you wanted to strangle him at times. Absolutely loved the way he was written.Imhotep and Anck-su-namun were vicious in their need, but I enjoyed how their eternal bond was written. Much of what I liked in the movie between them stemmed from physical movements towards their love (hovering their hands over the other's face by way of greeting) and Collins described it perfectly. Furthermore, I felt like we got to know these characters better. Their roles were relatively small with regards to their backstory so you get to know more about them this way.Evy was ditzy yet so scholarly, naive amongst all the action. Much like her brother, little was lost in the translation from the movie adaptation. I could hear the British in her, see her sweet smile, and feel her falling in love with Rick just like in the movie. One of my favorite things about the film was the undeniable chemistry between the love interests - same can be said for the book.Then of course you've got Rick.Oh Rick.Yup, just like in the book, Rick was manly and arrogant and crazy. However, this was my one discrepancy from the film to the book - why wasn't he as funny? Don't get me wrong, Rick's character in the novelization had his moments of sarcasm, but he hardly had the same sense of humor. I missed his comedic remarks and dry wit that made you love him despite his arrogance. Still dug on the character, but not quite as much as I would have liked to. Though, his protectiveness for his English girl almost made up for it. A protective Rick is the best kind of Rick!If you're a fan of the movie then you'll easily enjoy the adventure of the book. Much was added and Collins elaborated on key elements. I'm not sure if the creativity was solely his imagination or he worked with Sommers (the director and screenplay writer of the film) at all, but I loved the additional information. I had way too much fun reading this.
I remember that I really liked the movie when I saw it and it was mainly the reason why I decided to pick up this book. When I was reading it, I was remembering the scenes from the movie and gradually I became more and more confused about why I liked it so much.The story is interesting and there is no real reason why I shouldn't like it. But there is also no particular reason why I should.I usually read several books at once (three on the average). Some people think I'm crazy, but I realized that it helps me to read more quickly and effectively.Firstly, it happens to me sometimes that I need to stop reading the book, because of a heavy scene or because I'm not in the mood for it or I just want to let some thought in the book "ripen" before I continue. When this happens I can easily pick up some other book instead of wasting time.Secondly, this system helps me to sort out the good books and...well, the not-so-good books. When I realize that I keep picking up other book so I wouldn't have to come back to some old one, I can see that there's something wrong with the book. It's not neccessarily a general problem, but it's there for me and it's apparently big enough to keep me from finishing the book. And when I compare it to the books I was reading along with it I can usually see the problem.With the Mummy, the problem basically the absence of anything that would make me want to come back to it. It's not a serious problem. But it is a problem.I made no real connection with the characters. Not even Evelyn whom I liked in the movie. And not even with Rick (gasp!) whom I considered to be a walking cliché even in the movie, but the book actually managed to make it worse. I didn't even dislike any of the characters, I felt indifferent to them.As for the tempo of the book, it was fast. A little too fast if you ask me. It's usually a good thing when the author doesn't bother with details too much or they don't fiddle with the character's history and so on. Collins managed to overdo it. The plot actually goes so fast that sometimes you don't even realise that something happened, because he doesn't stop, he just goes on. Maybe that's why the whole book felt indifferent to me.It's not a bad book, but it's one of those that makes me move on with a shrug and a "so what". And I had to make myself finish it.
What do You think about The Mummy (1999)?
“Rick: Can you swim? Evelyn: Well, of course I can swim if the occasion calls for it. Rick: [throwing her overboard] Trust me. It calls for it.”This book was fantastic just like the movie, Full of action! I absolutely love the Mummy since it came out, I've watched the film countless of times, the adventure in the book was great and funny at times and so was the romance between Eve and O'Connell.This book follows the movie quite closely but with a few differences to the movie, which i didn't mind at all.
—Taภya
