The Hippopotamus Pool

Rating:
Summary: Half mystery, half Egytology
Review: Elizabeth Peters' "The Hippopotamus Pool" offers an exciting adventure and an archaeology lesson for the careful reader. Three parts mystery, one part Egyptology lesson, "The Hippopotamus Pool" is fun reading for anyone who loves a good msytery, Egyptologist or no. Peters' heroine, Amelia Peabody, works alongsdie her husdand Emerson (as an equal, she'll have us know) at archaeological digs in Egypt at the turn of the century. Both are accomplished Egyptologists. Emerson is approached by a mystery man offering him a map to the tomb of the Queen Tetisheri. Before the man can give him the map, he disappears. Son Emeron, Peabody, their son Ramses and adopted daughter Nefret are in the thick of a deadly mystery, as thieves swarm eagerly around the tomb, hoping to raid its treasure. Soon they begin to suspect that the evil Sethos may be back at work. The suspense is artfully built, and the mystery is carefully laid with clues. The historical information about ancient Egypt (Peters is an Egyptologist) is blended smoothly into the story so that it enriches the story, instead of distracting from it. Among the fascinating tid-bits discussed in the book was the meaning of the Hippopotamus to the Egyptians. The hippo, like many other symbols, had more than one posible signifigance. The hippopotamus could reprsent both the goddess of childbirth in one turn, and the evil Set, enemy of the sun-god Re, who took the form of the Hippo when he fought Horus, son of Osiris. The story also made for an interesting lesson about the Queen Tetisheri. Amelia makes a fascinating argument at the end of the book that Queen Hatsheput, the first woman to rule Egypt, reburied Tetisheri in a better tomb. Conversely, in her book, "Temples, Tombs and Hieroglyphs," Barbara Mertz (another name Elizabeth Peters uses for herself) writes of a stela that records pharoah Ahmose's decision to build his grandmother Tetisheri a bigger tomb and burial chapel. One factor that detracted from the books enjoyability was Amelias habit of constantly patting herself on the back. It's difficult to root for someone who's so busy rooting for herself. While her confidence is charming, she has a tendency to constantly remind herself how talented and wonderful she and her family are, and that grows tiresome. Still, on the whole the book is enjoyable, the main characters are both likable and entertaining, and the villians are sufficiently threatening. Pick it up for fun summer reading, and try not to think about the fact that you're learning something.

Rating:
Summary: Pleasant Escapism
Review: I am a big fan of Elizabeth Peters' Amelia Peabody mysteries but this one seemed to me to drag on a bit. These enemies just didn't have the deviousness of Sethos. Of course the uncovering of ancient tombs is always exciting, but too little time was spent in this endeavor. The charming characters....Peabody, Emerson, and Ramses continue to please, but not enough to make this one outstanding

Rating:
Summary: Not one of Peter's best...
Review: I am a loyal fan of the Amelia Peabody mysteries but this one was a struggle to get through. I found her style to be similar to her earliest novels...the usual underdeveloped characters of the "bad guys" and any dialogues too long and dry. I actually bought "Seeing a Large Cat" before this one and found that it really came after one I had missed (hence me reading The Hippotomus Pool now!) For any discouraged readers...keep going! The next in the series is absolutely amazing!

Rating:
Summary: Ms. Peters has done it again!
Review: I bow to thee ms. peters! this novel is another one of my faves. The whole gang is outstanding.
Finally we find out that lil Ramses is not perfect and gets himself captured by a very obese villian. This book introduces David, Abdullah's grandson, an abused artist working for a man who sells fake antiquities.
Amelia and Emerson are their usual self, with witty repartee, romance and love for egypt. One of my favorite parts of the book was when Emerson asks Amelia to dance. and if y'all are as devoted as i am to the series, then u know how much he sacrificed to dance!
Kevin O'Connell shows his little jurnalistic face, again. YIPPEE! i just love that red-haired Irishman...
Nefret is showing promise as a member of the Emersons. She and Ramses seem to never get along, but Amelia and I can see how much they love each other, in more than a brother-sister way.
if u havent read any of the books before hippopotamus pool, i suggest u do, or else u dont get that joy of growing up w/ Ramses... or, heck, Amelia and Radcliffe!
I can't wait for "Seeing a Large Cat"... i hear Ramses is 16 and "to die for"
Blessed Be!

Rating:
Summary: Ms. Peters has done it again!
Review: I bow to thee ms. peters! this novel is another one of my faves. The whole gang is outstanding.
Finally we find out that lil Ramses is not perfect and gets himself captured by a very obese villian. This book introduces David, Abdullah's grandson, an abused artist working for a man who sells fake antiquities.
Amelia and Emerson are their usual self, with witty repartee, romance and love for egypt. One of my favorite parts of the book was when Emerson asks Amelia to dance. and if y'all are as devoted as i am to the series, then u know how much he sacrificed to dance!
Kevin O'Connell shows his little jurnalistic face, again. YIPPEE! i just love that red-haired Irishman...
Nefret is showing promise as a member of the Emersons. She and Ramses seem to never get along, but Amelia and I can see how much they love each other, in more than a brother-sister way.
if u havent read any of the books before hippopotamus pool, i suggest u do, or else u dont get that joy of growing up w/ Ramses... or, heck, Amelia and Radcliffe!
I can't wait for "Seeing a Large Cat"... i hear Ramses is 16 and "to die for"
Blessed Be!

Rating:
Summary: Yeah for Amelia Peabody!
Review: I enjoyed this book of the series more than I did some of the others, but I thought it could have used better villains. And the ending was almost anticlimatic after all that the characters went through.

However, I enjoyed the familiar characters and Amelia Peabody's constant wit. I am looking forward to reading the next book.

Rating:
Summary: This book just plain stinks.
Review: I loved the first Amelia Peabody. And the second. And the third... But by "The Hippopotamus Pool", the series is stale. Her characters neither grow nor change; Amelia-the-archaeologist-mother-of-a-teenager is the same as Amelia-the-sharp-tongued-Victorian-spinster, just with a better Egyptian vocabulary.

This book was just too slow-paced. It took half the book to get to the point, and Ms. Peters has used too many "stock characters"-- by now she is reusing character-types (woman in love with Amelia's husband, for instance) for the third or fourth time in the series and it's very very boring. The mystery does not seem integral to the book. Nor does much of anything seem integral to the book. Except, of course, Amelia's frequent red-herring Rider-Haggard-ish theories. They were interesting in the beginning; now you just want to slap her.

Ms. Peters has simply become too enamoured of her own creation. Her characters are no longer realistic, just witt! y, and she tries too hard to make things funny and include allusions to Victorian-era Egyptian archaeology (so we know how smart she is), frustrating offspring (ha ha! how funny! we're supposed to say), characters from the previous books (MUST we hear about them again?) etc. etc. It's really a shame, because the first books in the series were very good. However, this one reads more like she's trying to impress us with her characters' (and HER) wit, knowledge, many friends, and pulchritude. Don't bother with this one. It's a waste of time.

Rating:
Summary: Dive into the Hippopotamus Pool but take a big breath first
Review: In contrast with many of the reviewers, I really liked this book! Elizabeth Peters Peabody mysteries are not the standard, straight-up mysteries many of us read too often. Instead they are tongue in cheek tributes to the sensational adventure-mysteries of the early 20th century. More humorous than mysterious, if you like the unflappable Amelia Peabody, her irascible husband Radcliffe Emerson, their terrifying child "Ramses," the intriguing Nefret and their entire retinue then you will keep coming back for more.

In this mystery Amelia, husband Radcliffe, Ramses, and Nefret make their annual sojourn to Egypt for the archaeological season. Once in Luxor their archaeological plans and the machinations of the tomb-robbers and thieves of Egypt collide at the newly discovered tomb of Queen Tetisheri. The Emersons' excavation of Tetisheri's tomb is strikingly similar to real-life archaeologist Howard Carter's discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb, but of course that is not the point. The point is who will get to the royal coffin first: the Emersons? or the criminal world of Egypt?

Rating:
Summary: Amelia dips her toe into the Hippopotamus Pool...
Review: In contrast with many of the reviewers, I really liked this book! Elizabeth Peters Peabody mysteries are not the standard, straight-up mysteries many of us read too often. Instead they are tongue in cheek tributes to the sensational adventure-mysteries of the early 20th century. More humorous than mysterious, if you like the unflappable Amelia Peabody, her irascible husband Radcliffe Emerson, their terrifying child "Ramses," the intriguing Nefret and their entire retinue then you will keep coming back for more.

In this mystery Amelia, husband Radcliffe, Ramses, and Nefret make their annual sojourn to Egypt for the archaeological season. Once in Luxor their archaeological plans and the machinations of the tomb-robbers and thieves of Egypt collide at the newly discovered tomb of Queen Tetisheri. The Emersons' excavation of Tetisheri's tomb is strikingly similar to real-life archaeologist Howard Carter's discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb, but of course that is not the point. The point is who will get to the royal coffin first: the Emersons? or the criminal world of Egypt?

Rating:
Summary: A great book...maybe
Review: Looking at the other reviews for this book, you may want to question what I am about write (previously wrote if you're are reading this now, which you are). To me, this is the best of the Peabody's adventures. It is even one of my favorite books of all time (which is saying a lot, putting it next to "Power of One" by Bryce Courtenay). Why this is so, I really cannot say, or write. It's just that I thought this book had more to it then the other adventures. Lots more excitement and action seemed to be present and I enjoyed the new and old characters very much. As soon as I picked it up,I could not put it down. I especially enjoyed the "witty"(or witless, depending who's review you're reading) dialogue and mischief of the children. When I finished, I told myself that I would never read another book by Peters. Any other Peabody book would just be a disappointment after "Hippopotamus Pool." Such thinking lasted for 48.6 hours; at that point I saw the next Peabody mystery. Yes, it is true, I admit I am a little biased: anything written by Elizabeth Peters and deals with Ameila Peabody will be considered great in my opinion (humble one, of course). I am writing this review not to disagree with the other reviews, but to say that if another person happens to read this book and finds it the most fascinating book ever, the best piece of literature ever written, then that person has a major problem. No, what I mean is that that person will not be alone. Somewhere out in that cold dark world there is a beacon of inspiration, someone else who agrees that this book is a true gem. Thank you Elizabeth Peters, and thank you to anybody who agrees with this terrifically pointful review.