Eternal Unrest: A Novel of Mummy Terror [Paperback]

I've been reading horror fiction for many years and I don't believe I've ever read a novel involving mummies. I think most peoples exposure to these creatures has come in 2 varieties: the "meh" via Brendan Frasier and the good via classic Universal or Hammer horror films.

Eternal Unrest falls firmly in the latter category. In fact as I was reading this I couldn't help but picture it as a novelization of a long lost Universal film, I was even imagining the story in black&white.

I've followed Lorne through Snarl and The Lifeless. I've even read many of his short stories in various anthologies. But by far, Eternal Unrest is his most mature and expansive work to date. He absolutely nails the atmosphere, I had no trouble picturing London under attack or the battlefields of Egypt. Each character is ocean deep and each has their secrets, much like in real life. Even the mummies themselves sometimes make sympathetic characters. There are heroes but they're not the flawless "white knight" one might expect. Dixon truly lets you into these characters heads and by the end I felt like I knew them personally.

The book is a slow burner but ratchets up the intensity to 11 by the end of the book. Personally I loved the change of pace, usually Lorne hits the ground running but this novel is more about the characters than the action. If you're looking for non-stop gory action ala your typical zombie or survival horror novel, this book might be slow going for you until the climax. But if you want to immerse yourself in atmosphere, characters you come to love despite their flaws and a novel of classic horror I can't recommend Eternal Unrest highly enough. I'm usually not a fan of slow, creeping horror but this book absolutely gripped me and I was nearly breathless by the end.

I can tell that Mr. Dixon truly enjoyed writing this book. His love of the subject matter is obvious and it translates into a very enjoyable read. Eternal Unrest absolutely cements Lorne's status as a writer to watch. Snarl and The Lifeless were mere appetizers of Mr.Dixon's talent, Eternal Unrest is the main course. It's easily the best piece of serious horror fiction I've read so far this year.

This book is an absolute must read for fans of classic, character driven horror and I'd even recommend it to fans of pulp/adventure stories. There's a little something for everybody.

PS-Kudos to the cover artists, I absolutely love the cover.

Note for Kindle users: The book is very well formatted and except for one example of a missing space between words, I didn't see any glaring errors. I'm including this addendum because from reading other reviews around Amazon, poor formatting is the bane of many Kindle users existence (mine included).

Eternal Unrest is told from the viewpoint off archeologist Priscilla Stuyvesant who has been assigned the task of transporting valuable exhibits from the British Museum to the Smithsonian. Three ancient mummmies are part of the cargo. These mummies come back to life while crossing the ocean. The author of Eternal Unrest, IMO, tries too hard to tell his story. The plot is convulted, paper thin and the book is riddled with typos. The end result is just an awful book. I can't recommend Eternal Unrest to anyone.