Lord of the Silent by Elizabeth PetersMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Lord Of The Silent, by Elizabeth Peters
★★★★ and a ♥ for the whole series
Synopsis: For archaeologist Amelia Peabody and her family, the allure of Egypt remains as powerful as ever, even in this tense time of World War. But nowhere in this desert land is safe -- especially for Amelia's son Ramses and Nefret. Treachery and peril are pursuing the two young adventurers across the length and breadth of this strange, exotic world. And the grim discovery of a recent corpse in a tomb where it does not belong is pulling Amelia deeper into a furious desert storm of intrigue, corruption, kidnapping, and murder -- and toward dark revelations that threaten to awaken the past...and alter the family's destiny
In A Sentence: a good installment in the Amelia Peabody series, possibly one of the top ten
My Thoughts: I have finally finished the series! Yay!
I admit I had read this earlier when I was working through this series, but I accidently downloaded the abridged version on Audible. Abridged fiction books for adults are the most ridiculous things ever, and the one I listened to was not only really confusing, but the editor cut out all the best parts! What the heck?! There was enough of the plot that I recognized from the last time I read the book, so I didn’t catch the deception until I was nearing the end; I just thought that the book wasn’t as good as I remembered and the rest of the book just didn’t download properly. Suffice it to say that I found myself in a really frustrating scenario: either finished the abridged atrocity and move on through the series, or start over with a full version. I didn’t want to start all the way over again, so I decided I would finish the abridged one and re-read the full version once I had finished the entire series.
Now that I have read the full version, I like the book so much better. The typical Amelia Peabody humor is there, as well as a plot with good flow. The storyline in this one was a bit more straightforward than other ones, without several confusing twists and turns, which I prefer since that allows the humor and character development to shine a bit more. Plus, this book showed the result of something that had been ongoing in previous novels, which makes me happy (I’m not going to spoil anything for you!)
So now that I’m done with the whole series, how do I feel? Disappointed yet relieved. I wish the final books were better and went along the lines of this novel, but I really did enjoy the whole series. Amelia Peabody is funny and adventurous, and I love the equality you see in these stories. The Egyptians might work for Emerson, but they are treated fairly and equally without fail. Abdullah was given the highest respect by the Emersons, his grandson David Todros ended up marrying Englishwoman, and Selim and Daoud are frequently involved in the adventures; they even join the Emersons at English-based events and celebrations. We’re talking about a time period where Egyptians were looked down upon by the occupying English; they were viewed as unintelligent and backwards, so it’s refreshing to see a group of archaeologists consider Abdullah’s family as part of their own family.
And it’s not just equality between two types of people and two types of religion, it’s equality for women as well. The female protagonists in these novels are strong and independent, and they insist on entering into professions that are dominated by men. I am such a feminist, so stories that promote equality and equal opportunities constantly find their way onto my favorites list.
This is a great series for lovers of mystery and historical fiction. It also has a bit of romance as well, but it’s definitely more about the love story and not about the act of making love (those scenes are edited out: you know it happened, and that it was good, but the rest is left to your imagination). I will always love these books, and I can guarantee that I’ll read them again a few years down the road, but for now I’m glad that the series is done. I’m ready to move on. So long Amelia Peabody! Until we meet again!
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