Rating: 
Summary: Fascinating, compelling, frustrating!!
Review: Just finished. . .yet not finished at all!! The characters continue to delight and develop as do all human creatures, born of flesh or born of pen. But goodness, was it necessary to leave us all hanging this way?!? I, too, want to know what happened with Neprhet. I, too, am terribly frustrated by this extended almost-coming-together and going-nowhere-fast relationship with Ramses. (Will we ever know whose child??) Percy is wretched - not a villain you love to hate (like the Master Crim.) but truly slug slime (per Ramses) The next book cannot take another year or more! Some of us won't live that long. Some of us are losing our eyesight. Some of us are losing our patience. PLEASE!
Rating:
Summary: Dr. Mertz KNOWS the inconsistencies of life.
Review: Frustration, abrupt changes of personality, new ways of seeing characters we think we "know." Can't wait for the resolution...and am sure it will be a surprise and a joy. As a "middle-age" woman, I LOVE Amelia and Emerson, and wish them well as they head off for another "good" adventure in their "good" life! It isn't easy for an author to make characters whom we enjoy and who are essentially good human beings come to life in book after book; but, Dr. Mertz continues to do this. When a 24 year old and a 59 year old can enjoy and laugh at the same characters, an author is doing a tremendous job!
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful character development over 20 years in this series
Review: Emerson is beginning to sound a bit like Amelia in his pronouncements to Ramses and David on the key to a successful marriage. Ramses has the same intellectual curiosity & covert activities as when he was five, but now the consequences are not so comical. Amelia's dreams are the comforting thread in her inner monologue; something she would have pooh-poohed as fanciful in the first book. Ramses is even more like Amelia; the intelligent child with an eccentric and scholarly upbringing. Amelia's story began with the social outcast Evelyn, and this latest development seems in that realm again.Frankly, Nefret has been one of Ms. Peters' weakest characters for me. Nefret has never been consistent; I keep waiting for the unusual background she grew up in to somehow make her more unique. Instead she is shallow, trendy (of her time) and mercurial. I know Ramses finds this adorable, but I found it no surprise when these lightening changes of emotion led to disaster in this book. Every time she perches on Emerson's chairarm and coos, "Professor darling" I keep hoping she'll be an evil plant from the Master Criminal. And thank goodness that awful Horus got what he deserves! If the mystery and archaeological detail seem familiar, well, it was an insular period, with the sole focus on the artifacts binding most of the characters. Peters' creativity has been to open up the point of view over the last few books, with the additional "manuscript" contributions in third person or letters from Nefret. Yes, we know who the young classical scholar "Lawrence" is. Seriousness escalated in the series for me in the London-centered book, fifth in the series. When Percy first entered the plots and the understanding between Amelia and Ramses became evident. I've read that the next book may be the last. Peters may surprise us again.
Rating:
Summary: Will we really be forced to wait another year?!
Review: I was so excited when I knew that I would have a new Peters book to take with me to the beach for the Fourth of July weekend. Her books have always epitomized great summer reading to me--witty, light yet well written, with plenty of suspense and romance. Plus, as an added bonus, they contain two of my favorite literary characters of all time--Ramses and Amelia. Imagine my shock as I read, not a light hearted adventure story, but as heart-wrenching and involving a drama as any I have read. This book is clearly a departure from the rest of the series, but I have to say I loved every minute of it. This is the deepest and the best of the series so far. The exploration of the deep love and understanding between Ramses and Amelia that was hinted at in the Ape that Weighs the Balance is explored more fully. In my opinion, this was a much overdue character development, and the best part of the book. I was always a little frustrated by Amelia's pretense at maternal indifference toward her son. She never fooled me for an instant, especially after she went into berserker mode in the Mummy Case but I was glad to finally have her admit openly her love and pride in Ramses. As for the other plot development, well, all I can say is that I hope that Nefret's silence through the last third of the book indicates that all is not what it seems with her inexplicable marriage to Geoffrey. Hopefully Peters will reveal new twists and turns that will make this character's appalling lack of judgment explainable, perhaps some particular trauma she suffered during her years in captivity. The hints sprinkled through the last two books, especially of Nefret's nightmares, indicates that perhaps Peters plans to explore something of what happened to Nefret during that time. I can only trust in Ms. Peter's , who has never let me down before, that she will not betray her characters by leaving unexplained such a strange character departure. My rating is conditional however--if it turns out that Nefret is really as much of a goop as she seems, I will retroactively remove a star from my review!
Rating: 
Summary: Movie of the week!
Review: I couldn't wait to read this book. I was certain that the romance between Ramses and Nefret would be put to rest one way or the other. Instead, I am more frustrated than ever. Why oh why was Nefret's character turned into the simplest and weakest of silly young women. For her to run away like she did and then to marry Geoffrey was unbelievable. Why all the tragedy? Why still the premonition of more heartbreak to come? Why was Nefret's character destroyed? Too many questions are left unanswered. Bridge novel or not, the readers are left unfairly hanging. Instead of the book reading like the familiar Peabody novel it read like a movie of the week book. I was for the most part dissapointed.
Rating:
Summary: This is Brilliant
Review: Ms. Peters' most brilliant to date. Mixture of the comedy we've come to expect from Amelia Peabody and some darker strains, beautifully handled and juxtaposed. The children are growing up and are turning into fascinating characters in their own right. The love interest is exactly the right touch, and the ending keeps me hungry for the next installment. Well done, Dr. Mertz!
Rating: 
Summary: Amelia is back in fine form.
Review: I keep waiting in vain for Elizabeth Peters to disappoint me. This was a well written, carefully plotted adventure with an amazingly successful villain.The period and atmosphere are skilfully evoked by this past mistress of her craft. Amelia is as delightful as ever as she holds high the banner of female emancipation. I hope that trailing romantic ends will be neatly tied in the eagerly anticipated sequel to this book. Why doesn't the key romantic protagonist admit that he doesn't understand women and ask for someone's advice?
Rating:
Summary: An Amelia story with much emotion and style
Review: I have loved the Amelia Peabody stories since I read Crocodile on the Sandbank in the mid-80s. All of the books have fascinated me, and fueled my interest in ancient Egypt. I think of all the books, however, I enjoyed The Falcon at the Portal the most. It is no easy feat for a writer to create characters and have them grow over the course of 20 plus years. You could do as some writers do, and have the stories happen every six months or so, and have the characters remain the same, of you could take the track of Mrs. Peters, and have them grow and change, as they have done. For those who are angry over the changes in the Falcon at the Portal, I ask you to consider real life. Maybe Nefret's reaction to Ramses' "surprise" (which, of course was not his surprise) was out of character as some have said. But what woman, or man, on finding themselves in love with a person does not react differently to things than they might have in the past, before they realized their love. Mrs. Peters has created a book that kept me fascinated from the front page to the last ... and left me thirsty for more. I can hardly wait for the next book. Keep up the good work!!
Rating:
Summary: An obvious mystery, but with hidden meanings!
Review: Like most reviewers, I, too, have read all the Amelia titles and most of Peters' other novels. What keeps me returning to this series (as with the Vickie Bliss books) is the ongoing development of the characters. I greatly resent the incompleteness of The Falcon at the Portal. Yes, I am among those hoping for a requited love for Ramses, but I don't blame Peters for getting the most out of this romance. Romantic tension is great for fueling readers' interest. I find fault with the number of loose ends within the mystery itself. Maybe I'm doing some very wishful thinking, or I'm WAY off the mark, but I suspect Peters has set us up for a VERY complicated sequel. I suspect we will find that Nefret really didn't act like a Victorian twit. If she had, then her feelings at the end of the story would be out of place. Aside from her immediate reaction to Ramses' uncomfortable situation, she must have taken the action she did with another end in mind -- perhaps with the hope of truly helping the Emersons and David. Or, maybe I'm just trying to save a character that I love from seeming stupidity! In any event, I believe all the twists to this plot and the introduction of so many side-lines(i.e. nationalist movement, drug-trafficing etc.) pave the way for an expansion of the total "mystery" that is only begun in this book and will be wrapped up in the next. That is where I find the "rub", and why I give 4 stars instead of 5. Yes, "Falcon" is an emotional roller-coaster for readers. Yes, the obvious villian is easy to guess. And, yes, the tendrils of this tale will reach into the next. But, since when do we read historical mysteries that come out, maybe once a year, as we would read a monthly sequel in a magazine?!? I have faith in Elizabeth Peters. I have faith in her characters (though David and Lia could use a shot in the arm). I applaud her historical detail and her ability to educate us in the fields of archeology and ancient Egypt. I am, however, disappointed in her treatment of this series as a "cliff-hanging" serialization. She is worthy of more and we are worthy of more.
Rating:
Summary: She leaves us hanging once again!
Review: The Falcon at the Portal is both rewarding and frustrating - rewarding because we gain more insight into Amelia's true feelings about her family and close friends (gone is the Amelia who told the readers what she wanted us to believe, rather than what she was actually feeling). The book is also rewarding because it does advance the story of the fascinating and lovable Emerson clan, and takes us in some new and intriguing directions. (What exactly were Nefret's intentions? From the middle of the book onward, we don't have much insight into the reasons for her actions, and that is surely intentional on Ms. Peters' part.) The book is undoubtedly frustrating because it leaves us with a lot of unanswered questions. As some long-time readers have suggested, this seems to be a "bridge" novel - and it will be quite impossible to wait another year for "Thunder," which we hope resolves the dangling issues. Yes, it's true: there is less humour, less archeology and fewer and shorter appearances from some old friends like Evelyn, Walter, Howard Carter and even Cyrus and Katherine. But still, there is lots of Amelia, Emerson and Ramses, and this reader, for one, can never get enough of those three! Read Falcon and trust Elizabeth Peters.
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