Sequel book? Check. Sequel to a book I wasn't overly fond of? Check. When it comes to doing sequel books, I'm not a big fan, and especially when it's one I wasn't a big fan of previously, so this looks to tick all the boxes in me having a bad time. But I also remember not hating this one that much. Let's dive into the pyramid one more time and see if we find treasure as we enter Return of the Mummy.
RETURN OF THE MUMMY
RELEASE MONTH: September, 1994
FRONT TAGLINE: He's back... from the dead!
COVER STORY
I like this cover, but I'm also not super crazy about it either. It's a nice follow-up to the Mummy's Tomb cover, only instead of a closeup shot of the mummy, we have it escaping a sarcophagus. I like the little added touch of the foul odor wafting out. And not showing the mummy's face works well too. This one certainly never got me. Again, maybe I'm immune to mummies scaring me. Still, for a sequel cover, it's solid.
DEAD... OR ALIVE?
After last year's scary adventure, Gabe's a little nervous about being back in Egypt. Back near the ancient pyramids. Back where he saw all those creepy mummies.
Then he learns about an Egyptian superstition. A secret chant that is supposed to bring mummies to life. Gabe's uncle says it's just a hoax.
But now it sounds like something's moving in the mummy's tomb.
No was a couple dumb words can wake the dead.
STORY
To no surprise, Gabe is indeed our protagonist once more. We start with him flying back to Cairo to visit his uncle Ben and cousin Sari. He also brought with him the summoner, the mummy hand he had with him last time. One contradiction to the story is that Gabe mentions the events of the last book taking place last summer instead of during Christmas like the original book says. Bob skimmed through the first to get the pieces he needed for part two, I can tell. Gabe leaves the plane to meet Ben and Sari, but instead runs into a mysterious man he's never met before. Oh no! Oh, wait, Ben and Sari are there too and this is just some random guy at the airport. Gabe is still a moron. Cool beans.
Uncle Ben takes Gabe and Sari to Al-Jizah where the pyramid he's excavating is. While there, Gabe runs into a mummy! Oh no! Oh, wait, it's a guy in bandages filming a commercial. I really miss when this wasn't every chapter. After... that, uncle Ben gives Gabe a present. A scarab beetle in amber. He tells Gabe that if a scarab were to bite you, you'd die instantly. Gabe then thinks he gets bitten by the scarab, only for it to be Sari pinching his leg. Okay, we get it, Gabe's a rube, an easy mark for Ben and Sari's gags, can we get to the story already?
And we do just that as the next day, Gabe, Sari and uncle Ben head inside the pyramid which belongs to KING TUT...'s cousin Prince Khor-Ru, who was also really wealthy. Uncle Ben hopes that by excavating the pyramid, they can find the chamber containing the ancient treasures. Or we could be going full Al Capone's vault and it could be an empty tomb. Before they enter, they get stopped by a woman claiming to be a reporter for the Cairo Sun named Nila Rahmad. She asks to explore with them by mentioning Ben's partner Dr. Omar Fielding. Ben agrees. Nila also mentions that she too has an amber pendant like the one given to Gabe, but hers is without a scarab. While searching inside, they find some ancient art, but it turns out to be a drawing of Bart Simpson because 1994.
Doesn't take long for Gabe to lose the others, though thankfully not because of loose shoelaces. He falls into a hole filled with spiders. Then suddenly a snake! Oh wait, it's a rope for him to climb up. Gabe recovers and checks on his summoner, which seems to be moving, almost as if a bad omen is on its way. A couple days later, they return to the pyramid and find the tomb. But before they can open it up, Dr. Fielding shows up to try and stop him from opening it, due to tales of a curse. That Khor-Ru's final words were "Let Me Rest in Peace!" and maybe it's best to not tempt the fates. But Ben being a "man of science" (as well as, let's be honest, high on the possibility of fame and fortune), he can't simply believe in superstition. After Dr. Fielding leaves, uncle Ben opens the tomb, only to find it totally empty. But, fortunately for them this was a fake tomb, meant to trick would-be grave robbers. You know, like Ben Hassad. Sure enough, there is a second tomb behind it filled with treasure and the mummy Khor-Ru. But before they can do anything else, Dr. Fielding arrives again with armed cops, intending to keep them from going any further. His tone changes, now congratulating Ben and telling him that the cops are clearly just to protect the treasure.
After a while, Omar leaves for Cairo, with uncle Ben certain he's trying to take the glory for himself. When they bring back up the topic of the mummy Khor-Ru, Ben tells the kids that there is believed to be words that can bring the price to life. Six words. Karru Marri Odomma Loma... oh wait, wrong ones. Teki Kahru, Teki Kahra, Teki Khari. That's the ones. After Nila and Ben leave, Gabe and Sari decide to utter the words some more, not thinking it'll do anything. Suddenly, Dr. Fielding shows up, searching for uncle Ben. The kids notice Ben and Dr. Fielding entering the pyramid, but soon after Dr. Fielding walks out with a strange, almost freakish expression on his face. But no sign of uncle Ben. With no other alternative, Gabe and Sari return to the pyramid.
They enter the tomb of Khor-Ru and find uncle Ben inside the sarcophagus (or mummy case as Stine writes it). But if Ben's there, where's the mummy? Gabe and Sari then see Prince Khor-Ru is moving on his own. Gabe goes for his summoner, but it's missing. They run into Nila who tells them that they'll ruin her plans. Turns out that Nila is actually the sister of Khor-Ru. She pretended to be a reporter so she could find the summoner which could control her brother. With him awakened, they can rule Egypt. She commands Khor-Ru to obey like Paul Bearer using the urn on the Undertaker. Only, Khor-Ru begins to strangle Nila. In the midst of the fracas, Gabe reaches for the summoner, only to accidentally rip Nila's pendant off, causing it to break. Nila panics, then suddenly begins to shrink, turning into a scarab beetle. Khor-Ru also returns to his slumber. Uncle Ben awakens and tells the kids that it wasn't the ancient words that woke Khor-Ru up, but Nila. Dr. Fielding had no ulterior motive when he left the tomb, he was heading out to find help.
TWIST ENDING
Later that night, Sari wonders what became of scarab Nila, telling Gabe that she might be back for revenge. Gabe ignores this and heads to bed. The book ends with him screaming "Ouch". So, this is left ambiguous, but it could still have been scarab Nila biting him, and since a scarab bite can kill, and Gabe never returns for any mummy book, well, rest in peace, kid.
CONCLUSION
I rail on a lot of sequels, mainly because they're much worse than the original. A rare exception is Return of the Mummy. It's actually not that bad. Takes a bit to get to any point, but when we get to the pyramid stuff, it feels less redundant. No series of setbacks because Gabe's a bad shoe tier. Speaking of Gabe, he's better here. Still a whiner who complains about Sari being better than him, but he's more tolerable. Actually, he feels in the background for a lot of the book as the focus feels more on Ben Hassad. Uncle Ben's quest to find Khor-Ru's treasure feels like it's given more time to build and has the only working chapter cliffhanger with the empty tomb being a trick.
Of course there's the moral ethics involved in this. The "is Indiana Jones in the right for sticking these ancient artifacts from centuries past into a museum" argument. Ben's intent seems more motivated on fortune and fame over research, and clearly his treatment of Egyptian history as mere superstition makes him feel arrogant. Be it the curse of Khor-Ru, or the magic words, which at least the book makes clear don't appear to actually work. That too is a decent misdirect.
Speaking of, the book also does an okay job in its villain misdirect. The build at first focuses on the idea of Dr. Fielding being the real villain of the book. Out to snatch the glory from the already paranoid uncle Ben. Nila being revealed as the main villain does work, especially with how well she was able to fool everyone into thinking she's a reporter. The book also gives us some decent mummy action and not just a rushed bit at the end, giving us a decent climax.
The twist is also not bad, leaving us with the ambiguity of Gabe's fate. I will say the pacing's not ideal, the book spinning its wheels for a while with Gabe's plight being way too easily duped. But when we get going, the book does feel like it's getting to a point much quicker and far more concisely than the original. No series of chapters in a museum just for a chase scene involving the dumbest outcome. So, in the end, I'd say this one is one I liked more after the first read. It's no classic, but it's what I wished The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb was. It's breezy, does a great job with its setting and has a solid climax. I expected worse, but got better. This one's no Yummy Mummy, but it still wraps things up just fine.
STORY: GGG
SCARES: GG
TWIST: GG.5
ENJOYMENT: GGG.5
OVERALL: 3 Gs
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