Rating: 
Summary: She never fails
Review: I first picked up an Amelia Peabody mystery on a whim. Now I'm addicted. Peters' stylish and intelligent prose makes her books worth reading, and you feel that your mind is expanding with every page. Once you read one, you'll want to read them all. No other author has brought Egypt, it's people, and adventure more to life.
Rating:
Summary: What a pleasure!
Review: I have yet to be disappointed by Elizabeth Peters. I love the way that she manages to include ample information about the Victorian period and about archaeological exploration in Egypt while providing a compelling mystery. The family members are engrossing, and this time I was interested in the recurring issue of women's "place" in the society of the time. We heard about the suffrage movement in England and the literacy movement in Egypt, both portents of things to come. I am ready for the next in the series!
Rating:
Summary: Outstanding!
Review: Who else but Elizabeth Peters could handle such a variety of serious subjects - racism, unrequited love, jealousy, women's rights, parent-child tension, professional disappointment, and death, to name a few- with such grace while remaining faithful to the Emerson family saga. The grown-up young people are fascinating! Ramses is a credit to his parents and is worthy of his own series! Ms. Peters has moved to a new level with this book and I hope she keeps them coming - I loved Falcon, too, and look forward to more! I would love to hear what Ramses does when he is away from the family on his own.
Rating: 
Summary: Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz....
Review: I'll try to keep it simple... If you have read other books in this series, I can only guess (based on the other reviews) that you will enjoy this book. If this is your first stab at the series (like me) save your time. Most of the book is spent going to dinners, parties and meetings with characters from past books. If you've read them, I'm sure this will be a treat. If you haven't, you might prefer sticking long splinters under your fingernails. When finally something interesting happens, everyone has to return to the house, meet an old friend from some previous adventure, and spend the next twenty pages discussing it. This book became much more enjoyable (and interesting) once I discovered I could skip these parts. Skim it. It's worth maybe 145 of its 430 pages.
Rating: 
Summary: Great characters & mystery, set in Egypt- you can't go wrong
Review: I needed something to read... I read the back cover and it sounded interesting so I bought it. After reading this wonderful book and falling in love with the characters and their almost comedic tendency to become embroiled in who-done-its, I realized that this was the latest in a series of Amelia Peabody mysteries. I immediately ran out and bought the entire series to read from start to finish. Lion in the Valley was out of print so I scoured used book stores for it. Now I have read all the books in the series and recommend them to everyone!
Rating: 
Summary: The characters are one-dimensional and the story is tedious.
Review: This is my first Elizabeth Peters novel and my last. After seeing the glowing reviews, and considering the richness of the locale, I was so looking forward to being immersed in this story. What a disappointment! The characters are irritating beyond belief--there is nothing beyond a one-dimensional view of any of them, and I couldn't care less what happens to them; and the story is so tedious that it's been painful just forcing myself to finish this book. I can't wait to pick up a real mystery & cleanse the mediocrity of this tale from my memory. I love mysteries, and this held such promise, but was such a bore.
Rating:
Summary: What an incredible family
Review: This is the first book I've read in the "Amelia" series. I've read many of the Amazon reviews, and was surprised that so many readers felt this was not an admirable book. Particularly, there were complaints about Nefret. To me, she appeared as a strong, determined woman with a great deal of spunk, and a recent medical degree. Pretty awesome for 1907. If this is not one of the series' readers' favorites, I look forward to total perfection in the past books in the series. In any case, I was pleased with this work and will read more.
Rating:
Summary: Complex and satisfying
Review: I have read all of the Amelia Peabody books and liked them well enough but didn't go out of my way to search them out. However, I became a true fan with this book. Like fine chocolate, it's dark, rich, and satisfying. As our lives often get more complex and yes, sad, with age, so have Amelia's and her family's. Let's allow this brilliant and gifted author the freedom to continue to develop her characters. I'm so happy that she has done just that in The Falcon at the Portal.
Rating: 
Summary: Amelia is becoming too serious! Get rid of Nefret!!!
Review: I've just finished "skimming" Seeing A Large Cat, The Ape Who Guards the Balance, and A Falcon at the Portal. I've NEVER "skimmed" an Amelia Peabody novel before but these last three have been too disappointing for me to bear. I find myself even skipping pages just to be done with them. I've read the first 8 novels over and over, but there has just been something missing in the novels beginning with Seeing A Large Cat. Ramses hasn't been true to his character. Nefret is shallow and weak. And Amelia is getting far too serious. I have been a HUGE fan of Amelia Peabody mysteries for years and at one time couldn't imagine life without them! But I've lost A LOT of interest in them beginning with Seeing A Large Cat. I don't care what other reviews say--they're NOT the same--they're NOT as fun as they used to be. Nefret is draining the fun and excitement out of these books. Get rid of her and find someone with more substance!!! This lacks the fun, wit, and panache of the first 8 novels...VERY DISAPPOINTING."The book was OK but if one is expecting the same amount of campy wit evident in the earlier books, they'll be VERY disappointed: Amelia is becoming serious compared to her earlier persona!"
Rating:
Summary: Amelia Peabody has become someone else!
Review: In the The Ape Who Guards the Balance, Amelia Peabody has a different "voice" than Peter's earlier Peabody stories. Amelia's word choices, use of syntax, etc. are all slightly different, as is her sense of humor. Did someone ghostwrite this book or has E. Peters chosen to change style? The book was good but if one is expecting the same amount of campy wit evident in the ealier books, they'll be disappointed: Amelia is becoming serious compared to her earlier persona!
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