The Heart of the Mummy by Shane Carrow
I received this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.
Two years after Sam Carter and Lucas Avery last saw each other, the hilarious duo stumble into each other’s presence once again. Lucas just wants to escort his sister, Emily, away from Egypt and back to England where their father intends on pressuring her to marry. However, Emily has other plans and it involves Sam, a map, and a desert expedition. The only problem is that the map came at a cost, and Sam is keeping his lips sealed about the danger lurking behind the person who sold him the map.
I’ve been loving this series since it started with a novella and was excited when I learned a third installment was on the way. I was expecting more hilarious adventures with Sam and Lucas with a supernatural twist and perhaps some serious tones mixed in, given the previous book. This time around, we have a new character who may be a permanent fixture: Emily. She adds a strange dynamic as an archeologist who views herself as extremely ahead of the times. I can’t say whether or not Emily will add anything to the series other than a forced romance plot that has zero chemistry, but only time will tell.
This time around, we meet Sam and Lucas in Cairo right before they head out on an expedition. Lucas is not happy about it, of course, but he follows along since his sister is going. The team is looking for Nekharis, the City of the Damned, and stumble upon an ancient evil that could end the world. Sam and Lucas are at odds for half the book, which doesn’t make any sense because they didn’t have a huge blow out at the end of the previous book. It’s not even about Sam romancing his sister, but instead about being unable to trust each other because their camaraderie is suddenly non-existent. I could see if they had a falling out over Sam being a flake about keeping in touch, or having a huge falling out before they last parted ways, but instead we get this awkward not even ex-friends relationship for half the book. Once they warmed up to one another again, the two began to act more like themselves.
I think the story itself could’ve been interesting and entertaining. Instead, we spent a lot of time leading up to the main plot and then rushing through once it started to get rolling. There’s a lot of time spent on getting to the dig sight, setting up, digging, and debating in between all of this. When they unleashed Usarhet, I thought, okay. It’s going to get crazy right about now! And then it didn’t. We were still building up to a big moment. Once this huge moment finally happened, it cuts off and jumps straight to the aftermath. There was so much build up for a rather anticlimactic ending.
All in all, I’m disappointed by this one. I don’t think that this is the end of the series, nor will I stop reading the series. One installment that doesn’t fit in well with the rest isn’t enough to put me off! I think the series still has a lot going for it and one bum installment hasn’t wrecked that. We have some interesting characters, but two weren’t like themselves for a good portion of the book. Braxis was easily the most interesting character and he was underutilized. We got a ton of build up only for the climax to be cut off right as it was about to start. The ethics of the history of ancient Egyptian tombs being broken into and used to profit from is a topic that keeps jumping on and off the table, and Sam seems to jump on and off the table with it. I like that it’s inspired by the Mummy 1-2 movies, but unfortunately, it still missed the mark for me. However, I still have hope for the future of the series and look forward to seeing where Sam and Lucas go next.
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