Books : Children of the Storm (Ay Adult Lp - Peters)

Rating: - Book Fifteen in a Wonderful Series of Books

Elizabeth Peters was born and brought up in Illinois and earned her Ph.D. in Egyptology from the University of Chicago's famed Oriental Institute. Peters was named Grand Master at the inaugural Anthony Awards in 1986 and Grand Master by the Mystery Writers of America at the Edgar Awards in 1998. She lives in a historic farmhouse in western Maryland.

The Amelia Peabody books may or may not be an acquired taste, personally I love them. They are set in Victorian times when there were still very strict rules of etiquette and polite behaviour was the norm. Although most of the books are set in Egypt, in the desert under very trying conditions and extremely hot weather the `English' way of life was still expected to be adhered to, sometimes with quite hilarious consequences.

Amelia Peabody is Elizabeth Peters' best loved and brilliant creation, a thoroughly Victorian feminist who takes the stuffy world of archaeology by storm with her no nonsense dress sense and forthright opinions.

Amelia Peabody and her husband Emerson, an Egyptologist of some renown are planning for another season excavating in Egypt. The Great War is over and travel and transport are slowly getting back to normal after the chaos of the war years, although even that had not stopped them from going to their beloved Egypt.
The whole family are delighted that Ramses and Nefret have become parents and Amelia hopes that this year of all years is a little quieter, particular for Ramses who had as they say a busy war.

But Amelia is sadly mistaken, instead of being able to take on her role of the doting (but firm) grandmother, a new adversary, unlike any Amelia has encountered before forces their way into the group and plots a course that will put Amelia's beloved family in imminent danger . . .

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Rating: - Book Fifteen in a Wonderful Series of Books

Elizabeth Peters was born and brought up in Illinois and earned her Ph.D. in Egyptology from the University of Chicago's famed Oriental Institute. Peters was named Grand Master at the inaugural Anthony Awards in 1986 and Grand Master by the Mystery Writers of America at the Edgar Awards in 1998. She lives in a historic farmhouse in western Maryland.

The Amelia Peabody books may or may not be an acquired taste, personally I love them. They are set in Victorian times when there were still very strict rules of etiquette and polite behaviour was the norm. Although most of the books are set in Egypt, in the desert under very trying conditions and extremely hot weather the `English' way of life was still expected to be adhered to, sometimes with quite hilarious consequences.

Amelia Peabody is Elizabeth Peters' best loved and brilliant creation, a thoroughly Victorian feminist who takes the stuffy world of archaeology by storm with her no nonsense dress sense and forthright opinions.

Amelia Peabody and her husband Emerson, an Egyptologist of some renown are planning for another season excavating in Egypt. The Great War is over and travel and transport are slowly getting back to normal after the chaos of the war years, although even that had not stopped them from going to their beloved Egypt.
The whole family are delighted that Ramses and Nefret have become parents and Amelia hopes that this year of all years is a little quieter, particular for Ramses who had as they say a busy war.

But Amelia is sadly mistaken, instead of being able to take on her role of the doting (but firm) grandmother, a new adversary, unlike any Amelia has encountered before forces their way into the group and plots a course that will put Amelia's beloved family in imminent danger . . .

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Rating: - 15th of the amelia peabody series
... and we're onto the 3rd generation of Emersons with Ramses' twins. I loved this book, but the family definitely take precendence over the 'mystery'. Great humour, great wwriting, great characters!

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Rating: - Multiple Motives Mystify Amelia!
Before commenting on this novel, let me observe that it would be an unhappy error to begin the 15 book Amelia Peabody series with Children of the Storm. You would have a very hard time keeping track of all the characters and the mystery's solution would be totally invisible to you before the solution is revealed. You would probably rate this a one or two star book.

My rating assumes that you have read at least the last 8 novels in the series.

If you have not read any earlier books, please stop reading this review.

The setting and cast of characters are a major shift from the books in the series set during World War I. With the War to End All Wars having ended, all of the Emerson clan (and I do mean ALL) come together in Children of the Storm. Those with faulty memories will appreciate the Editor's Note which describes who all these people are and how they are related.

The book opens in Luxor with Cyrus Vandergelt concerned about how much of his large archeological find involving four princesses will have to be presented to the Cairo Museum. The Emersons are working on a messy site with seemingly limited potential which looters and poorly disciplined archeologists have ravaged in the past. M. Lacau from the Department of Antiquities arrives to inspect the Vandergelt artifacts and mummies. Soon he will choose what will remain in Egypt. But things are soon amiss! Amelia and the rest of the clan are more than usually puzzled. They cannot see a pattern in what purpose could lie behind the baffling activities. When the pattern becomes clear, there's deadly danger to overcome and an exciting finish!

Children of the Storm is exceptional from two perspectives. First, the title captures a myriad of meanings in the context of the story that will enrich your appreciation of the story. Nicely done! Second, I cannot think of a novel that weaves so many characters and story lines together with accuracy and meaning. It must be like carrying the world on your shoulders to plot and develop this complex a story. And it works.

Some things are lost in the process. The story often feels over peopled. This requires a lot of development to fit everyone together in a meaningful way. This development sometimes feels bulky. In addition, a third of the book's length is caught up with details of day-to-day life. The mystery itself would have required about 250 pages, and would have been a page turner. The mystery feels diluted amidst all of this detail of daily life.

The Emersons focus on domesticity also limits the amount of detecting they do compared to earlier novels.

As a result, much of the material in the book feels more like The Forsyte Saga than an early Amelia Peabody thriller. In fact, the book almost felt like a whole new genre . . . the three-generation extended family as detective.

After you finish this book, think about how you balance your family, your friends, your work, and your personal interests. How could you make them more positively integrated?

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Rating: - great escape
I love Elizabeth Peter's books (in all her incarnations), but especially the Amelia Peabody novels. How can she handle such a huge cast of characters without missing a beat? I never forget who is who, and always feel I am right there in Egypt with the Emerson family. Elizabeth Peters is clever, funny and, above all, a consummate weaver of intriguing stories. I can't wait to escape into the next one.