The Mammoth Book of the Mummy by Paula Guran book thoughts

Title: The Mammoth Book of the Mummy

Author: Paula Guran

Published Date: September 22, 2015

Source: PDF by Netgalley

# of pages: 480

Rating: 3.22 (It's an Anthology)








Goodreads Blurb: The mummy lives . . . As a figure of the supernatural the mummy has attained iconic status in the popular imagination. For the first time, The Mammoth Book of the Mummy presents a collection of tales written for the twenty-first century-including three brand-new stories-that explore, subvert, and reinvent the mummy mythos. Some delve into the past, others explore alternative histories, and some bring mummies into our own world. Within these covers lie stories of revenge, romance, monsters, and mayhem, ranging freely across time periods, genres, and styles sure to please both mummy-lovers and those less wrapped up in mummy lore!

Check it out on Goodreads!

My Thoughts

TW: Racism, Sexism, Transphobia, Ableism, ED's, Rape (with the word used wrong as well as right. The scene not shown or described in any detail but it's made obvious what happened)

Well first of all it's hard to review an anthology, but here I am. It's also difficult to go back through the book as it's a PDF on my computer, so taking all that in mind i'll do my best. Easiest way I guess is to start by listing all the different stories and my ratings, along with anything I managed to note down while I was updating my progress on Goodreads. Also note I forgot a lot of what happened seeing as there are 19 stories. I need to learn to take better notes.

1. Private Grave 9: by Karen Joy Fowler 3.5 stars

I had noted it has a couple nice quotes in it and was entertaining.

2. The Good Shabti: by Robert Sharp 4.25 stars

I noted I wish I had more from this one!

3. Egyptian Revival: by Angela Slatter 3 stars

It had good parts but I wasn't always following what was going on real well (which could be a me, not you thing)

4. The Queen in Yellow: by Kage Baker 2.5 stars

5. On Skua Island: by John Langan 4.25 stars

This one from just the title alone I can remember it. It was creepy.

6. Ramessses on the Frontier by Paul Cornell 3.25 stars

I enjoyed it but didn't fully understand it.

7. The Shaddowwes Box: by Terry Dowling 1.75 stars

It wasn't that it was bad, it's that it all went over my head. I was tired and stressed though when I read it, so there's that. I liked the ending of this one.

8. Egyptian Avenue: by Kim Newman 3.75 stars

9. The Curious Case of the Werewolf That Wasn't, the Mummy That Was, and the Cat in the Jar: by Gail Carriger 4.25 stars

10. The Night Comes On: by Steve Duffy 4.25 stars

11. American Mummy: by Stephen Graham Jones 3.75 stars

12. Bubba-Ho-Tep: by Joe R. Lansdale 1 star

I'm not even sorry for this one. Skin color of a black woman was compared to food. That wasn't the only way she was compared to food either. Grossly sexualized "tits like grapefruits" was said...several times for a start. A whole bunch of literal shit talk, including graphic. If you read this one, don't do it while eating. Stuff that I believe was transphobic...including, but not limited to, a guy literally dressing up in pink panties or tutus, or stuff like that, in order to be able to use the insanity defense if needed. Also ableist towards the mentally ill. Also something I noted that would probably offend Christians (and i'm not Christian but found it unnecessary). You could tell it was written by a man in a bad way (and I sincerely apologize to all the wonderful male writers out there). And it all had to do with Elvis and a mummy. I also couldn't find the point of it.

13. Fruit of the Tomb: A Midnight Louie Past Life Adventure: by Carole Nelson Douglas 4.25 stars

14. The Chapter of Coming Forth by Night: by Lois Tilton & Noreen Doyle 3.25 stars

The word r*pe was used wrong. You can't r*pe a tomb...it's not living. Though I understood what it ment...I don't think that word means what you think it means. I thought the quote "But all mortals must die; only the Gods were doomed to live forever" was nice. I know there are more quotes through-out that I should have noted too. I noted this one had good and bad points and I wasn't sure what to make of the ending.

15. The Mummy's Heart: by Norman Partridge 4.5 stars

The one where r*pe is actually used correctly. Not graphic. The story was a bit predictable but fun nevertheless and it was creepy.

16. The Emerald Scarab: by Keith Taylor 3.5 stars

17. The Embalmer: by Helen Marshall 1 star

This one was a mess that I can still remember but not a clue how to describe it. Trigger Warning for Eating Disorders. It's mentioned quite a bit from the girl in the story but I really don't have a clue how to describe this story.

18. Tollund: by Adam Roberts 1.5 stars

Seemed to have a lot of "We're not racist but..." from the characters. Also a lot of science that I couldn't understand nor did I get the story in general.

19. Three Memories of Death: by Will Hill 3.75 stars

This one made me want to cry for the character Amun.

Overall

Obviously some of the stories were hits and some misses with me. I am glad I read the ones I enjoyed and overall it was alright. I also like the fact that Paula Guran mentions a lot of history on Mummies as well as other books or movies you may want to check out if you're interested in the Introduction. I may have to check some of the stuff out as well as some of the author's other works.