Amelia Peabody and her husband Emerson, along with their son Ramses and foster daughter Nefret, are summoned back to the Lost Oasis, a hidden stronghold in the western desert whose existence they discovered many years ago (in The Last Camel Died At Noon) and have kept secret from the entire world, including their fellow Egyptologists. According to Merasen, the brother of the ruling monarch, their old friend Prince Tarek is in grave danger and needs their help, however it's not until they retrace their steps back to the Oasis, with its strange mixture of Meroitic and Egyptian cultures, that they learn the real reason for their journey. There's no better company on an archaeological expedition than the Father of Curses and the Lady Doctor, their beautiful Anglo-Egyptian ward, and Ramses, the Demon Brother who loves her, as Peters once again demonstrates in the latest historical mystery in this immensely popular series. If you haven't met the indomitable Amelia yet, this intriguing tale is a great place to start! --Jane Adams


From Publishers Weekly
Intrepid archeologists Amelia Peabody, husband Emerson and son Ramses have shared numerous exciting adventures, but the 16th volume in MWA Grand Master Peters's bestselling series will have particular appeal for fans. The author fills in a gap in the chronological record (1907–1908) and revisits the hidden city of the Lost Oasis, whose discovery was recounted in The Last Camel Died at Noon (1991). The doughty explorers, including foster daughter Nefret, who is from the Lost Oasis, heed the call of a messenger purportedly from that realm's ruler, Tarek. Peters, as her many accolades would suggest, knows precisely what she is doing as she spins a tale of romance, derring-do, bravery and, of course, deceptions, betrayals and disguises in the classic tradition of H. Rider Haggard, if with tongue often in cheek. Familiar enemies surface (bureaucrats, soldiers of fortunes, despoilers of antiquities, etc.) and dog the group as they travel by ship, boat and camel from their English home to the remote desert location that will test their mettle once again. Peters's knowledge of ancient Egypt and the excavations and desecrations that accompanied early archeological attempts in the region allow her to dress her melodrama with authentic trappings that add greatly to the enjoyment. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.


From AudioFile
A recently discovered journal of Egyptologist Amelia Peabody explores the missing episode (1907-1908) in the chronicles of Peabody; her scholar husband, Emerson; their son, Ramses; and their ward and Ramses's future bride, Nefret, taking them back to the Lost Oasis to help their friend, King Tarek. In this, the sixteenth book in the Peabody-Emerson series, Grandmaster of the Mystery Writers of America Elizabeth Peters plunges her intrepid family into a ruse involving kidnapping, murder, and life-threatening danger, sparked by Amelia's quick-witted dialogue and Emerson's gruff grumbles of wisdom. The incomparable Barbara Rosenblat invests each character with a unique voice and personality. There is never confusion as to which character is being portrayed, and Rosenblat's timing is, as usual, flawless. If silent film star Lon Chaney was "the man of a thousand faces," Barbara Rosenblat is "the woman of a thousand voices." M.T.B. © AudioFile 2005, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine


From Booklist
In an appealing change of pace, "the Grand Dame of the Historical Mystery" steps further back in the life of parasol-wielding Amelia Peabody and her family--a time long before Ramses and Nefret got hitched and Setho's real identity was revealed. It's a mere 10 years since Emerson, Peabody, and Ramses fled the opulent City of the Holy Mountain with 13-year-old Nefret, paving the way for young Tarek to become king. Now it appears that Tarek needs their help once again, and the family, Ramses and Nefret both grown, returns to the remote "Lost Oasis," where they have long been revered--only to find themselves victims of a ruse designed to help a usurper legitimize his shaky hold on the kingdom. As usual, the Emersons, who "attract farcical situations the way sugar draws flies," have plenty of intrigue to contend with, but "proper" Amelia rises to the occasion, exercising her unusual vocabulary (rampageous, sequestrian), her clever stratagems, and her talent for reining in her vociferous husband and her impetuous son in time to set things straight. A highly entertaining entry in a series that continues to delight. Stephanie Zvirin
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

FROM OUR EDITORS

The Barnes & Noble Review
Get ready for a grand and glorious adventure, as Guardian of the Horizon offers fans of Elizabeth Peters's bestselling historical mystery series a tantalizing glimpse into fictional archaeologist Amelia Peabody's past. This book fills in a missing segment of Amelia's experience: the mysterious events of the 1907-8 archaeological season, as recounted through Amelia's journals and other family documents "recently found among her papers."

In response to a request for aid they find impossible to ignore, Amelia and her husband, Emerson -- along with their grown son and foster daughter, Ramses and Nefret -- forego the glories of Egypt to return to the Sudan, where their paths lead them to the Lost Oasis, a hidden city where the entire family nearly perished ten years before -- and where they will once again face betrayal, forge unexpected alliances, and fight for freedom! A delightful treat and a crack entry in a popular series! Sue Stone

FROM THE PUBLISHER

"Ousted from their most recent archaeological dig and banned forever from the Valley of the Kings, the Emersons are spending a quiet summer at home in Kent, England, when a mysterious messenger arrives. Claiming to be the teenage brother of their dear friend Tarek, prince of the mysterious Lost Oasis, the charismatic herald brings troubling news of a strange malady that has struck down Tarek's heir and conveys his brother's urgent need for help only the Emersons can provide." Driven by loyalty - and a fear that the evil forces opposing Tarek's rule will now exploit the royal heir's grave illness - the family sets off in secret for the land time forgot - a mountain fortress from which they narrowly escaped ten years before. Braving the treacherous desert climate on a trek fraught with danger at every turning, guided only by a crumbling map, the Emersons are unaware that deception is leading them onward into a nest of vipers - where a dreadful fate may await. For young Ramses, forced to keep his growing love for the beautiful Nefret secret, temptation along the way may prove his ultimate undoing. And a dark past and grim obligation have ensnared Nefret once again, as she is helpless to save those she loves most from the prison of the Lost Oasis.

FROM THE CRITICS

The New York Times

If Batman can remain young and frisky from one millennium to the next, why must Amelia Peabody, the intrepid English heroine of Elizabeth Peters's archaeological adventures in Egypt, settle into a passive matriarchal role? Perhaps to stifle such infantile whines, Peters has set Guardian of the Horizon in 1907, predating her previous historical novel by more than a decade. Besides evading the sobering war years and wiping out a generation of beloved cats and distracting grandchildren, the device revitalizes Amelia, allowing the daring explorer and her manly husband, Radcliffe Emerson (honored in Egypt as ''the Father of Curses"), to go tearing across the Sudan desert on a mission fraught with danger. — Marilyn Stasio

Publishers Weekly

Intrepid archeologists Amelia Peabody, husband Emerson and son Ramses have shared numerous exciting adventures, but the 16th volume in MWA Grand Master Peters's bestselling series will have particular appeal for fans. The author fills in a gap in the chronological record (1907-1908) and revisits the hidden city of the Lost Oasis, whose discovery was recounted in The Last Camel Died at Noon (1991). The doughty explorers, including foster daughter Nefret, who is from the Lost Oasis, heed the call of a messenger purportedly from that realm's ruler, Tarek. Peters, as her many accolades would suggest, knows precisely what she is doing as she spins a tale of romance, derring-do, bravery and, of course, deceptions, betrayals and disguises in the classic tradition of H. Rider Haggard, if with tongue often in cheek. Familiar enemies surface (bureaucrats, soldiers of fortunes, despoilers of antiquities, etc.) and dog the group as they travel by ship, boat and camel from their English home to the remote desert location that will test their mettle once again. Peters's knowledge of ancient Egypt and the excavations and desecrations that accompanied early archeological attempts in the region allow her to dress her melodrama with authentic trappings that add greatly to the enjoyment. Agent, Dominick Abel. (One-day laydown Mar. 30) FYI: Peters received the Lifetime Achievement Award at Malice Domestic in 2003. Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Library Journal

During 1907-08, an era unaccounted for in previous Amelia Peabody tales, the redoubtable detective must help Prince Tarek of the Lost Oasis keep his throne. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

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