Elizabeth Peters

Readers have long wondered what befell the Emerson clan during the years before the Great War. Now, at last, the silence is broken and the truth revealed of a perilous journey to a secret and mysterious place hidden deep in the heart of the unforgiving desert. An adventure prompted by loyalty to an endangered friend -- and spurred on by lies and treachery -- it leads Amelia Peabody and her intrepid family into a nest of vipers lying in wait at a remote mountain fortress. And when a dark past and a shocking mystery are ultimately discovered, a loved one may be lost forever.

Guardian of the Horizon

Sarah Sammis

While I found Guardian of the Horizon one of the better recent books in the series and closer to the charms and cheekiness of the earliest books, I still don't like Ramses. Why did Peters let this series become the Ramses Adventure serial? The end of chapter 11 made me put the book down for a good half hour of eewing. I don't want to know about Ramses love life. I'd rather he be seen and not heard. He's never been a well written or likeable character but had fortunately been nicely toned down for most of this book. I just wish that Peters had resisted the urge to write those "document H" fragments. The series is written from Amelia's POV and it should remain that way. Nothing is accomplished from those smoochies with Daria unless to spawn a "son of Ramses" book in the future. I shudder at the thought.

So for the good bits version -- the tongue and cheek jabs at the state of Egyptology in the early 20th centure were delightful to read. I've noticed in recent Egyptology books/movies (ever since Stargate) that Budge has gone from demigod to pariah and this book takes the pariah stance. I really must find a biography of him to make up my own mind.

Then there's the extreme silliness of Sethos -- another character that I'm not sure the series needs but I tolerate him. He's sort of there to poke fun at the dastardly villains of books from the turn of the 20th century. He's just there for the "Scooby Doo" ending although it would be fun to just once have a different villain.

Guardian of the Horizon

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