The pinnacle of the series. One of the joys of the Amelia Peabody books is seeing the characters grow and mature over the years. He Shall Thunder in particular has some lovely, tender character moments, particularly between Ramses and his parents.

Finally! Finally Finally Finally Finally!! :D

I won't leave it at that, though. There were parts of this book that were hard to read because they were too real. War is hard, and painful, and sometimes seems pointless to those involved in it. I agree with much that Ramses had to say about the pagentry of war, especially at the time and place they were. Also, my overwhelming hatred for Percy really made some parts hard to stomach, but the end more than made up for those, to be honest. So, what did I love? Obviously, I love that

Spoiler

Ramses and Nefret are finally together!

After the heartbreak that was [b:The Falcon at the Portal|66510|The Falcon at the Portal (An Amelia Peabody Mystery, #11)|Elizabeth Peters|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1297728120s/66510.jpg|182201], seeing Nefret finally admit to her stupidity was quite gratifying, and now I can go back to my squeeeing and irrational grinning.

Also, I will admit that, as much as I adore Amelia and Emerson together, I've always been a bit of a Sethos fan, so it was nice to see him get some loving, too. The shocker at the end about his true identity was suitably surprising - I had just been thinking that the prologue was completely irrelevant, when there they went and make it all make sense. I'm just sad that

Spoiler

Sethos died before they could really explore all the family relationships that might have developed. I suppose he was right when he said they would have been quite awkward - what do you do with a half-brother who is in love with your wife? - but it would have been interesting to see them try.

I'm just glad that in the name, his true efforts were known and his name, whatever it really is, was cleared.

I can't wait for the next one - luckily, I already have it waiting in my car! :)

4.25 stars because the last 75 pages are so tense.

This is the last of the handful of books I own in this series, and it's probably the one I've reread the most. There's less humour in it than others in the series, but considering it's set during World War I, it's only appropriate that the humour be dialled back.

Where the previous Amelia Peabody books have been pretty much straight up murder mysteries with a side of archaeology, this one is far more political. It's tense and fast paced and full of twists and turns. It's a lot darker than the others, with major characters in almost constant danger. It's also the book that contains a significant "OH THANK GOD FINALLY" moment, even if it comes with a side of ow-my-feels

Spoiler

when it's revealed that the baby Nefret miscarried after her evil creepy husband died was Ramses' baby

.

So yes. It gave me far more feels than I was expecting, and while it was a slow start, I loved this.

Such an incredible book, love the characters, the story, everything!! I love the way she writes, one of my absolute favorite authors!!!

Good, maybe not quite as good as some of the other Peabody books, but at least she's

Spoiler

finally gotten Ramses & Nefret together

for real. I wonder where she'll head now. This one was a bit more about the early days of WWI and much less about archaeology. Maybe that's why I didn't love it to death.

So much better than the last. The WWI Egyptian history was really interesting. I still don't think Nefret is good enough for Ramses, but she (mostly) redeemed herself and he's happy so who am I to judge.

This was the BEST Emerson/Peabody book yet!! I LOVED this one!!

The Emersons are back in Egypt, but nothing is "as usual" this year. There is a threat of war and the British are fearful of an attack on the Suez Canal by those locals opposed to British rule and desiring Egypt's independance. Because of this, many Egyptians are interned in India - including the Emerson's son-in-law David. This is particularly upsetting for the family, since David's wife, and Emerson's niece, Lia is ready to deliver her first baby any day and is back in England with her parents.

Ramses, who is ostensibly opposed to the war, has become a pariah among the British expatriates in Egypt and has collected quite a quantity of white feathers. But it quickly becomes apparent that Ramses is more involved in the war than anyone realizes. And, of course, where Ramses goes, Emerson, Amelia, and Nefret are soon to follow!

All the Emerson nemesises make appearances - Sethos and Percy in particular cause a great deal of trouble for the family. Not much Archeology is done in this outing, but the story is full of excitement, danger and drama.

Without giving any spoilers, there are are number of BIG revelations and surprises delivered in this book which is why it's my favourite so far. We also get the usual banter between Peabody and Emerson, and Ramses and Nefret, which is probably THE BEST feature of these books.

Although the story of the war and the sad and frightening aspects it brings have a serious tone - very respectfully handled by Elizabeth Peters by the way - the overall tone of the book is full of the quirks and lovable aspects hanging around with the Emersons always deliver. The revalations previously mentioned can be expected to change the tone and approach of the coming books, but absolutely in a great way and I'm ver looking forward to those coming books as a result. If you love the Emersons, you will not be disappointed in this installment at all!!

My favorite in the series by far! :)