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| Plot Summary of To Wake the Dead |
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Leisure, Sept 2003, 24.00, 384 pp.
ISBN 0843951044
In 1926 Robert Callahan accompanied his father to Egypt and through an unusual set of circumstances found the tomb of Amara, the favorite wife of Mentuhotep I. He unknowing opened the magic seal that prevented her from walking the night and actually saw the body of the man she had killed. He finds an Egyptian mystic to fashion two seals that will keep her in her coffin and when that is done he smuggles her home to add the sarcophagus to the family's Egyptian antiquities collection.
In the present thieves enter Robert's home and break the seal that binds Amara. Freed, she kills Robert before returning to her resting-place. The collection is willed to the Charles Ward Museum but at night Amara walks, killing anyone whom gets in her way. She looks for her infant son once buried with her and will not rest until she finds him. The police refuse to believe there is a killer mummy stomping around, but one man knows the truth and is bound by his promise to Robert to find a way to stop the mummy's reign of terror.
Richard Laymon is an award-winning author and after reading this book it is easy to see why. Unlike the recent Mummy tongue in cheek (wrap?) movies, TO WAKE THE DEAD is a very scary novel, so frightening that readers will go to bed with the lights on. The author has given the mummy quite a personality without her ever saying one word and somehow he makes her believable to the audience and that is what makes Mr. Laymon so good because few horror novelists ever achieve the stark realism he attains.
Harriet Klausner
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Harriet Klausner, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of To Wake the Dead |
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Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about books by breaking them down into many different literary elements, all of which are searchable (click here).
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Composition of Book
descript. of violence and chases - 10%
Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 40%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 30%
How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 20%
Tone of story
- scarey (primal ax-wielding fear)
Time/era of story:
- present (2000-2010)
Kid or adult book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
Horror Story?
Yes
Horror plotlets
- the monster chased me!
Main Character
Gender
- Male
Profession/status:
- scientist
Age:
- 20's-30's
How much violence does he/she use?
- just the right amount
Ethnicity/Race
- White/American
How sensitive is this character?
- middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- very athletic
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Female
Age:
- long-lived adults
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- an average amount
Motive of antagonist
- jealousy
How sensitive is this character?
- mean, arrogant
Setting
United States
Yes
The US:
- Northeast
Style
Person
- rotating 1st
Accounts of torture and death?
- generic/vague references to death/punishment
How many deaths?
- 8 or more
Amount of dialog
- significantly more dialog than descript
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Click here for more information about this book
Richard Laymon Resident Scholar Profiles
TOP SCHOLAR:
 Karen Billett
SCHOLARS:
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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