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37 of 37 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
More than a few shirts ruined, April 4, 2003
Peters sets up a sprawling ensemble story, with Emerson family members united on the page for the first time in several novels. Yet, the participation of three generations is necessary to the solution of the mystery and to the ultimate understanding of the antagonists' motivations. I don't think a new reader could step into the series with this book and find it rewarding, yet the details from previous novels that drop in reinforce the set-up that these tales are from the Peabody-Emerson private papers. More than a few shirts ruined, cats behaving like cats, typical toddler behavior, the sense of world events surrounding the Emerson clan, finally learning Sethos' true name, archaeological projects that play over several seasons & novels, an action-packed finale, my belly laugh at Amelia's disguise, a title that resonants in several threads of the novel, the bittersweet realistic details of well-loved characters aging (from Walter to Nefret), and the fact that Emerson still has it......well, I stayed awake 'til five AM to finish this one. For me, each Amelia novel now resolves with a sense that an approprate ending to this 28 year long series has been delivered. The series has always been about family, as well as the choices women make for independence. Both these themes play out satisfyingly - and disturbingly - in Children of the Storm.
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20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
As brilliant as always..., April 15, 2003
Elizabeth Peters has so firmly established a place in my heart as the Mistress of Mystery that I find it hard to write a review without sounding over-effusive in my praise! A word of caution: I advise the Reader to first read at least "The Golden One" and "Lord of the Silent" before reading this; unfamiliarity with the Emerson clan and their far-flung acquaintances (friendly and not-so) will leave you dizzy and rather confused with the intricacies of the plot here. But to continue: Following the tradition of (frustratingly) leaving (tremendously interesting and, one knows, adventure-packed) time gaps between books, "Children of the Storm" picks up two years after "The Golden One" left off. The Great War is finally ended, and at last the Emersons may return to their (rarely!) peaceable archaeological explorations. The entire Emerson clan, now quite large and quite vocal and spanning three generations, are reunited, with the result being that the Reader feels like he (or she) is amongst old friends. This is not without some tinges of nostalgia: all our beloved characters, from the charming Ramses to the inimitable Amelia, are not suspended in time and must grow older, choosing the paths they will take and ineluctably leaving other paths not taken. The effects are as realistic as they are bittersweet. As Readers of "The Golden One" will know, Ramses and Nefret were at the end of that volume expecting a child. This turned out to be a feignt: Ms. Peters has given the darling couple not one but TWO mischief-makers to keep track of. Two-year-old toddlers are a challenge anyplace, but in the midst of Egyptology and intrigue provide an especially frightening prospect. Ramses and Nefret make excellent parents, although whilst I do enjoy the scenes of domesticity (though tranquil is hardly the case with young children!), I find myself rather missing their status as newlyweds...as does Ramses! Emerson, however, is absolutely endearing as a grandfather: as loud and irascible as always, but charmingly affectionate putty in the hands of the small ones. The adventure begins, as always, with a theft and a death or two and several shirts ruined. There is also the requisite abduction of an Emerson and the extravagant plotting of arch-nemeses. To say more than this will be to give the intricately plotted and exquisitely delivered story away, and I refuse to cheat the Reader so. (One side-note that I can't help but declare in delight: we finally learn Sethos' real name!!) I was almost glad to be relieved of the war business: the greater part of the strength and delight of the Peabody mysteries was always the Egyptology that bound the family together, and this volume carries it on with aplomb. The last several novels have been rather nostalgic, even wistful, in their style, and I fear that the series is winding down towards a final conclusion, for there are very few loose ends to tie up and the beloved characters are all growing older. I do hope for at least two more novels (with the alarming revelation about Ramses' children on the last page, I see delicious prospects for continuation) but will be glad of what I am allowed - any Emerson is better than none! One cannot help, whilst reading this, but to long for those days, real or partly-imagined, when innocence was oft forgotten but not wholly lost, where real romance meant more than simply sex, and where the strength of family affection was more potent than any villain's hatred or attempts at terror. I think this is the thing that makes me love this series most: the truth of emotion in them. Ms. Peters gives armchair adventurers their share of action, but doesn't fail to deliver a rousing tale of family, loyalty, love, and hate. These qualities are in all of us, of all colours and races and creeds, and that is what strikes so deep a chord with me. She has captured the essence of people themselves, and for that, I think Elizabeth Peters will be "The Golden One" of mystery for a very, very long time. ~ Reviewed by Megan Stoner
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30 of 35 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Multiple Motives Mystify Amelia, June 5, 2003
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. 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. Ramses and Nefret are now parents of active two-year-old twins, so the family has also expanded into a third generation. 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. Consternation reigns when "reformed" antiquities thief, Signor Martinelli, disappears as do several of the best pieces of ancient jewelry. The Emersons vow to recover the jewelry before M. Lacau discovers it is missing. Their search takes them to Cairo where Ramses responds to a note offering a warning only to find himself abducted, drugged and manipulated by a beautiful young woman dressed as the Veiled Goddess Hathor. As the mystery develops, there are mysterious deaths, attacks on individuals, sabotage of conveyances and a reappearance of Hathor in Luxor! 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 like looking after for the children, arranging work schedules to appease Emerson, organizing Nefret's clinic in Luxor, and dealing with Emerson's latest toy. 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. So you get less of Emerson's investigative derring-do in Cairo, fewer forays by Amelia on her own, and limited searching by Ramses and David. Sethos plays his mildest role yet even though he is involved throughout the book. As a result, much of the material in the book feels more like The Forsythe 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. A bright light to look out for in future novels is that the twins seem destined to be very interesting characters which may ignite all of this clan expansion into something more exciting. 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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