What do you think?
Rate this book
The Mummy #3
The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor
When dashing adventurer Alex O'Connell is tricked into awakening China's ruthless Dragon Emperor from eternal slumber, the reckless young archaeologist must seek the help of the only people who know more than he does about taking down the undead: his parents—Rick and Evelyn O'Connell.
248 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published July 1, 2008
8 people are currently reading
324 people want to read
About the author
Max Allan Collins
808 books1,323 followersReceived the Shamus Award, "The Eye" (Lifetime achievment award) in 2006.
He has also published under the name Patrick Culhane. He and his wife, Barbara Collins, have written several books together. Some of them are published under the name Barbara Allan.
Book Awards
Shamus Awards Best Novel winner (1984) : True Detective
Shamus Awards Best Novel winner (1992) : Stolen Away
Shamus Awards Best Novel nominee (1995) : Carnal Hours
Shamus Awards Best Novel nominee (1997) : Damned in Paradise
Shamus Awards Best Novel nominee (1999) : Flying Blind: A Novel about Amelia Earhart
Shamus Awards Best Novel nominee (2002) : Angel in Black
Japanese: マックス・アラン・コリンズ
or マックス・アラン コリンズ
He has also published under the name Patrick Culhane. He and his wife, Barbara Collins, have written several books together. Some of them are published under the name Barbara Allan.
Book Awards
Shamus Awards Best Novel winner (1984) : True Detective
Shamus Awards Best Novel winner (1992) : Stolen Away
Shamus Awards Best Novel nominee (1995) : Carnal Hours
Shamus Awards Best Novel nominee (1997) : Damned in Paradise
Shamus Awards Best Novel nominee (1999) : Flying Blind: A Novel about Amelia Earhart
Shamus Awards Best Novel nominee (2002) : Angel in Black
Japanese: マックス・アラン・コリンズ
or マックス・アラン コリンズ
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
February 17, 2018
In the year 200 BC, China’s Dragon Emperor conquered his country with an iron fist and compassion for nobody. Karma would take the form of a sorceress’s curse, which covered him and his army in terra-cotta and banished them in suspended animation for eternity. Fast forward two millenniums and the Dragon Emperor is awakened from his curse by the greedy and zealous General Yang. The globetrotting O’Connell family must now put the mummy back into the ground by stabbing him in the heart with a mystical blade that was guarded for many generations. With an endless supply of firepower and unmatched martial arts skills, the O’Connells truly are the world’s last hope.
Even though this book earned its passing grade (four out of five stars), it’s not without its glaring flaws, particularly in the cheese department. The narrator constantly complimenting the female characters’ beauty, the gratuitous explosions, the sometimes off-color use of similes and metaphors, the instant chemistry between Alex O’Connell (the son) and Lin (Chinese tomb guardian), and the most obvious cheese of all, Alex and his father Rick using penis analogies to describe their submachine guns and pistols. Considering this was once a poorly received movie, I don’t doubt that these cheesy elements turned off plenty of viewers.
But that’s not to say that this book doesn’t deserve the praise it gets. All in all, it’s a fun little book filled with action, adventure, and opportunities for young authors to learn how to write in a fast-paced manner. It turns out that describing every punch and kick within a Jackie Chan-style fight isn’t one hundred percent necessary. In fact, that would take forever and impatient readers like me don’t have forever. We like hard-hitting action. We like hailstorms of bullets. We like tooth and nail struggles that bring the warriors to the edge of death and back again. Although the O’Connell family is blessed with martial arts skills and expensive firearms, they’re no doubt going to earn whatever victories they get. To put it in Rick’s terms, this struggle is going to make them HATE mummies!
The wild imagination of this story is something I also want to praise. Magical elements, bloodthirsty three-headed dragons, barbaric yetis, immortal Chinese warriors, a pool of eternal life, mystical artifacts, this urban fantasy has everything you need in order to get those inner wheels turning. While some of the magical occurrences come off as random at times, they don’t take away from the action or drama of the book and actually make sense in hindsight. Look at it this way: how else is a mere mortal named Rick O’Connell going to beat the crap out of a warrior mummy who won’t stay down? Anybody? Hello? Yes, the dragon dagger comes off as a McGuffin and McGuffins are considered literary sins, but if you’ve got a better way to kill off this seemingly immortal Dragon Emperor, I’d like to hear it.
Sometimes all a reader wants to do is have some fun and you’ll get that with this third installment of The Mummy series. You could also consider seeing the movie this book was adapted from, but diehard readers will want to choose the book instead. The writing style is cinematic in and of itself, so what are you waiting for? Pick up a copy of this four-star book today! Don’t be too turned off by the fact that this story has more cheese than a Domino’s pizza. After all, this kind of cheese would make even a vegan hungry.
Even though this book earned its passing grade (four out of five stars), it’s not without its glaring flaws, particularly in the cheese department. The narrator constantly complimenting the female characters’ beauty, the gratuitous explosions, the sometimes off-color use of similes and metaphors, the instant chemistry between Alex O’Connell (the son) and Lin (Chinese tomb guardian), and the most obvious cheese of all, Alex and his father Rick using penis analogies to describe their submachine guns and pistols. Considering this was once a poorly received movie, I don’t doubt that these cheesy elements turned off plenty of viewers.
But that’s not to say that this book doesn’t deserve the praise it gets. All in all, it’s a fun little book filled with action, adventure, and opportunities for young authors to learn how to write in a fast-paced manner. It turns out that describing every punch and kick within a Jackie Chan-style fight isn’t one hundred percent necessary. In fact, that would take forever and impatient readers like me don’t have forever. We like hard-hitting action. We like hailstorms of bullets. We like tooth and nail struggles that bring the warriors to the edge of death and back again. Although the O’Connell family is blessed with martial arts skills and expensive firearms, they’re no doubt going to earn whatever victories they get. To put it in Rick’s terms, this struggle is going to make them HATE mummies!
The wild imagination of this story is something I also want to praise. Magical elements, bloodthirsty three-headed dragons, barbaric yetis, immortal Chinese warriors, a pool of eternal life, mystical artifacts, this urban fantasy has everything you need in order to get those inner wheels turning. While some of the magical occurrences come off as random at times, they don’t take away from the action or drama of the book and actually make sense in hindsight. Look at it this way: how else is a mere mortal named Rick O’Connell going to beat the crap out of a warrior mummy who won’t stay down? Anybody? Hello? Yes, the dragon dagger comes off as a McGuffin and McGuffins are considered literary sins, but if you’ve got a better way to kill off this seemingly immortal Dragon Emperor, I’d like to hear it.
Sometimes all a reader wants to do is have some fun and you’ll get that with this third installment of The Mummy series. You could also consider seeing the movie this book was adapted from, but diehard readers will want to choose the book instead. The writing style is cinematic in and of itself, so what are you waiting for? Pick up a copy of this four-star book today! Don’t be too turned off by the fact that this story has more cheese than a Domino’s pizza. After all, this kind of cheese would make even a vegan hungry.
October 23, 2018
The author, Max Allan Collins, has tried his best with this novelization but he struggled with being given a weak script to work from and indistinguishable characters.
The first two Mummy novelizations are excellent but this one falls by the wayside, that not even the author can save it. Instead, he brings in the big guns, to really annoy me - consistently referring to characters by their full names and the storyline is severely disjointed.
Of course, the issues all start with the script/film. A third Mummy film did not need to be made (don’t get me started on the Tom Cruise reboot). Stephen Sommers had gone off to I presume bigger and better things and there was another “death” in the family too. And some of the nonsensical “monsters” that they have come up with in this were ridiculous. A “lionlike” dog? Really?
Overall, I would recommend sticking to the first two films/novelizations. They’re significantly better, considering the majority of this book, I skimmed it. There are some very minor changes from the novelization to film, but not anything noticeable that you’d care.
Highlight of the book? Read the author’s note - you get a nice (albeit short) insight into how a novelization is written.
The first two Mummy novelizations are excellent but this one falls by the wayside, that not even the author can save it. Instead, he brings in the big guns, to really annoy me - consistently referring to characters by their full names and the storyline is severely disjointed.
Of course, the issues all start with the script/film. A third Mummy film did not need to be made (don’t get me started on the Tom Cruise reboot). Stephen Sommers had gone off to I presume bigger and better things and there was another “death” in the family too. And some of the nonsensical “monsters” that they have come up with in this were ridiculous. A “lionlike” dog? Really?
Overall, I would recommend sticking to the first two films/novelizations. They’re significantly better, considering the majority of this book, I skimmed it. There are some very minor changes from the novelization to film, but not anything noticeable that you’d care.
Highlight of the book? Read the author’s note - you get a nice (albeit short) insight into how a novelization is written.
April 27, 2024
The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor 🗡️💎🎇🏔️🐲🧟♂️ is a novelisation by Max Allan Collins, based on the screenplay 📑 to the 2008 film of the same name by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar. 🎬
Overall, the novel follows the plot of the film quite closely 🎬, but also extends certain existing scenes, includes some new scenes, includes deleted scenes from the film, and removes certain other scenes. 🎞️ These are all reasons why I like reading film novelisations 📖: they reveal how a screenplay evolves throughout the filmmaking process, from how it’s written, right down to how the film is edited.
Not having read Collins’s novelisations of The Mummy (1999) 🌅 and The Mummy Returns (2001) 🦂 (yet), I came to this novelisation with fresh eyes 👀, only having seen and enjoyed the film itself. He adds further continuity between this story and both The Mummy and The Mummy Returns, whilst still allowing the plot of this novelisation to grow in its own universe, for example by giving greater definition to its villains, their plans and their motives. 🐲 It’s also quite humorous in places, showing how well Collins clearly knows the characters already. 👥
On the downside, sometimes the British characters sound that bit too British (if you know what I mean) 🇬🇧, the Shangri-La sequence felt a bit breezed over 🌅, and the chapters were quite long (e.g. each location or big event from the film is a chapter) 📖, but these are minor quibbles. At the very least, whereas the final battle ⚔️ could have been written in a very boring way, Collins kept it moving at a brisk pace!
It was well worth the 16-year wait to get hold of a copy!
Overall, the novel follows the plot of the film quite closely 🎬, but also extends certain existing scenes, includes some new scenes, includes deleted scenes from the film, and removes certain other scenes. 🎞️ These are all reasons why I like reading film novelisations 📖: they reveal how a screenplay evolves throughout the filmmaking process, from how it’s written, right down to how the film is edited.
Not having read Collins’s novelisations of The Mummy (1999) 🌅 and The Mummy Returns (2001) 🦂 (yet), I came to this novelisation with fresh eyes 👀, only having seen and enjoyed the film itself. He adds further continuity between this story and both The Mummy and The Mummy Returns, whilst still allowing the plot of this novelisation to grow in its own universe, for example by giving greater definition to its villains, their plans and their motives. 🐲 It’s also quite humorous in places, showing how well Collins clearly knows the characters already. 👥
On the downside, sometimes the British characters sound that bit too British (if you know what I mean) 🇬🇧, the Shangri-La sequence felt a bit breezed over 🌅, and the chapters were quite long (e.g. each location or big event from the film is a chapter) 📖, but these are minor quibbles. At the very least, whereas the final battle ⚔️ could have been written in a very boring way, Collins kept it moving at a brisk pace!
It was well worth the 16-year wait to get hold of a copy!
January 21, 2023
The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor. The picture was released in 2008 and that year we started to had a parent family disputes. as a result. even picture got released in theatre but to busy in my own family feud. but when I was able to watch this movie. Worth the time in 2020
October 1, 2017
The movie is good the book is badly written
May 31, 2018
didnt like it as much as the first two books , but still had fun
August 9, 2020
Thankfully a lot easier to picture Rachel Weisz instead of Maria Bello
June 5, 2021
When Alex O'Connell, all grown and very alike to her mother in character as far as his capability and ability goes, digs up an old Chinese emperor, prophesied to turn the world into his playground should he be awakened, he thinks he's made the discovery of the century.
Unfortunately, he was tricked to come to China to dig, as his parents are tricked to bring an artifact to China. An artifact meant to raise the dead—more accurately, the emperor Alex has dug up.
It's just flogging a dead horse by now. The movies weren't that good, but at least they had their moment of entertainment, while the books keep getting worse and worse. Granted, you can't work with below par material, but at least you could make is snappy.
Yes, this one was shorter, but still managed to be slow and dull, the characters rather one-dimensional, while the mummies get more and more ridiculous in their otherworldly abilities.
Unfortunately, he was tricked to come to China to dig, as his parents are tricked to bring an artifact to China. An artifact meant to raise the dead—more accurately, the emperor Alex has dug up.
It's just flogging a dead horse by now. The movies weren't that good, but at least they had their moment of entertainment, while the books keep getting worse and worse. Granted, you can't work with below par material, but at least you could make is snappy.
Yes, this one was shorter, but still managed to be slow and dull, the characters rather one-dimensional, while the mummies get more and more ridiculous in their otherworldly abilities.
August 1, 2023
I really wanted to love this book because the Tomb of the Dragon Emperor is my least favorite movie from The Mommy saga but... This one is very boring and too similar to the movie unlike the other books that have their own personality despite being novelizations.
December 13, 2023
A mediocre movie adaptation.
October 3, 2016
I missed the movie so reading this book has made up for it. I even went online to watch the trailers and some sneaks. I think I'm beginning to enjoy reading movie tie ins. Too bad Alex has grown up. What a cocky Son. Rick or Ricochet is still looking good despite his age. Both Father and Son don't look like many years apart. Back to the story,...well, I had fun reading it. The last act was so exciting that I could not stop turning the pages. I wonder if the actual movie was fun too. The usual characters with some funny moments and also the romantic moments too. Wow!
December 13, 2009
I read these books for the movies I enjoy to see if the author has managed to add extra imensions in amd make it beter. I enjoyed the movie and te book follows it well, but there is nothing extra added and some of the phrasing is stilted.
June 21, 2011
This book follows the movie script, but isn't as exciting. I did like the fact that I was able to follow some rationalization that wasn't obvious in the movie, but I felt the book didn't have the proper zing in the dialogue. It was interesting and flowed well.
September 2, 2012
Better than the train-wreck of a movie.
September 27, 2015
Slightly better than the movie.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews