For Halloween this year I read S.A. Sidor’s book “Fury From The Tomb!” I have been a huge fan of the Indiana Jones movies ever since I was a kid so the cover of Fury from the Tomb caught my eye. It features a mummy reaching out to an unseen target, a pair of adventurers are below, one holding a pistol and the other a torch, there’s snakes, people on horseback, how could I say no to this!

The book is part of a series named The Institute for Singular Antiquities. This is book one (book two is on shelves as of this writing too) in the series.

The year is 1886 and Doctor Romulus Hugo Hardy (referred to his nickname Rom), our protagonist, is an Egyptologist. But Rom is an Egyptologist who’s never actually been to Egypt. His studies have been purely academic from his university in Chicago. He yearns to explore the desert but lacks the funds to do so until a philanthropist agrees to fund an expedition.

Montague Pythagoras Waterston is clear about his desire from the start. He wants a mummy and is willing to pay Rom to find one. It isn’t an altruistic pursuit of knowledge but it’s an opportunity that can’t be passed up. Rom has complete control over the operation and a practically unlimited budget. Eager to start he races to the desert to begin.

As is often the case when something sounds too good to be true it probably is. Waterston has his own agenda and is willing to sacrifice lives to see it obtained. Rom begins to have concerns about the mission but he is ultimately successful and finds not one but six mummies. This discovery comes at a great cost which weighs heavily on Rom’s conscience.

But Waterston is unmoved and issuing commands from his home in California recalls Rom and the mummies. The plot takes a turn here because the mummies don’t seem to be content to stay dead. By this time Rom wants to be rid of the whole affair but must accompany the gruesome cargo home.

Help arrives in the form of two armed guards, courtesy of Waterston, but they also bring bad news. For security purposes Rom must accompany the mummies all the way to California. The ship sails to New Orleans, travel by ground is deemed too risky, where a train will then take the mummies back to California.

What action novel would be complete without a train robbery? And Sidor doesn’t disappoint! Rom loses the mummies, but not without a fight, only to learn his troubles are just beginning. The cannibalistic bandits who steal the mummies aren’t what they appear to be. Worse yet, it becomes clear someone sent them and knew exactly where the mummies would be.

We’re introduced to Evangeline Waterston during the heist. Rom learns she is in fact his benefactor’s daughter. She insists on recovering the stolen mummies. Even with her fathers vast fortune available to her she will still need help and Rom is the one of only two survivors and the only one with and experience with mummies.

Yong Wu, a young porter working aboard the train, also joins the group. But Yong isn’t alone in desert, he has eerie protectors watching over him. He won’t speak of them but they make their presence known helping free the group from the bandits. There was a condition for their help, no one was allowed to watch look at them. This subplot figures heavily into the ending of the book.

An archeologist, philanthropist’s daughter, and a porter have little chance of finding the bandits let alone recovering the mummies. They’re going to need help. Preferably help with nerves of steel and a gun.

That help arrives in the form of a bounty hunter named McTroy. True to form there is more to McTroy than meets the eye. You get the sense that he’s seen more than a mortal man should. He agrees to the task and leads the group out into the desert.

Fury from the Tomb has a Cthulhu feel blended in with a Western theme. It felt like Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom in that you start in the world as we know it but descend into a scene that defies logic and forces our heroes to face evils from beyond the grave.

If you are looking for a story of good versus ancient evils, where the heroes survive more by their wits than brute force I think you will like Fury From The Tomb. It isn’t a battle of hunters versus undead prey. These are ordinary individuals thrust into extraordinary circumstances. They know what must be done but struggle with how to do it.

Sidor puts a unique spin on traditional villains which I found refreshing too. You won’t find a retread of traditional monsters in his book. He puts a creative spin on a few classic beasties while introducing a few new terrors of his own creation.

If you’re looking for something to read tonight in the spirit of Halloween I would recommend Fury From The Tomb. Of course you can enjoy this horror action novel any time of the year. But, you may want to keep a light on.

I’d like to hear your thoughts so please comment below.

Happy Halloween,

Oliver Greytome