Rating: 
Summary: Not quite as good as the previous book.
Review: I am a huge fan of Elizabeth Peters, especially this series of books. I was eagerly awaiting the book that followed the whirlwind "He Shall Thunder in the Sky." This book however falls flat and is probably the second worst book in the series. There is no excitement over the chase to find the culprit and when the culprit comes to light they seem to have done the crimes more because of jealousy and less because they were actually evil. The one major good thing about this novel is that the reader gets to see how the relationship between Ramses and Nefret has grown and how Peabody and Emerson are dealing with having the two of them out of the house. It'll please the most staunch fans of Peters, but for the newbies it could keep them away forever.
Rating: 
Summary: buy the book, not the tape
Review: There isn't much plot to Lord of the Silent. It's for we diehard Ramses fans who think Nefret isn't quite good enough for him, but want to see how they adjust to married life. So why the abridged audiotape cuts out every single romantic scene between the newlyweds is a mystery to me. Every lurid detail of Margaret Minton's dalliance with Sethos is included, but Ramses's heroic knife fight to rescue Nefret gets chopped (no pun intended) to bits. I enjoyed Barbara Rosenblat's performance even though her Ramses voice sounds like Prince Charles (i.e. stuffy and boring). She is wonderful with Amelia and Emerson, though. Maybe the author isn't as taken with the younger Emersons as her fans seem to be. Peters approved this abridged version. It's a dull one.
Rating: 
Summary: Lord of the Silent
Review: I was very disappointed in this book. I love Elizabeth Peters. In fact I read her books over and over again. I have read Lord of the Silent twice now thinking that maybe I didn't understand it the first time. It was very slow and uninteresting. I felt it wasn't up to her usual style. I am hoping The Golden One will be much better. I loved He Shall Thunder in the Sky. I couldn't put it down. Maybe that is why Lord of the Silent was so uninteresting to me.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent Continuation of the Series
Review: With her later Amelia Peabody books, Elizabeth Peters seems to be tying each story ever closer to the one preceding. Please start this series with earlier selections. Each novel is complete, but they have such fully developed characters that one cannot wait to find out "the rest of the story!" The humor and wit of the writing is fully developed, as well as the surrounding mystery. I feel that I have grown up with Amelia and her family and friends--and wouldn't have missed knowing them for the world!
Rating:
Summary: Not Her Best Amelia
Review: I have enjoyed all the Amelia Peabody books, particularly, though I may be in the minority here, the four "stand alones"-Seeing a Large Cat, The Ape Who Guards the Balance, The Falcon at the Portal, and He Shall Thunder in the Sky.I was a little disappointed in Lord of the Silent. It seemed anticlimactic after the edge-of-your-seat action of He Shall Thunder in the Sky. An enjoyable story, but not as gripping, or as funny as some of the other Amelias. I have to say,though-I do fall more in love with Ramses with every book! A good one for die hard Amelia fans, but I wouldn't recommend it as representative of this fabulous series.
Rating:
Summary: Interminable
Review: Amelia Peabody and her brood often take their time in geting down to the business of a tale. In Lord of the Silent, however, I wasn't sure if the action ever really started, despite a series of false apprehensions. Perhaps Peters bit off too much to chew: WW I, Egyptology, the antiques market, global spying and various household crises. A bit too cute, too precious, and too long.
Rating:
Summary: Not Peter's best but acceptable.
Review: In the Peabody lexicon this mystery is a bit of a let-down. It is an anti-climatic sequel (if it can be considered a sequel) to "He Shall Thunder in the Sky". In some respects the plot is hard to follow. One almost has to read the book staight though over the weekend (and this presuming you don't have any pressing chores or personal business to take care of) in order to make since of what is going on. BUT, at least Peabody still shows every indication that she will be with us for years to come. Unlike Patricia Cornwell's Kay Scarpetta, Peabody isn't suffering from job fatigue, burn-out or massive paranoia. Walter Amherst and Bertie Vandergelt can both stand to be more fully developed as characters. And they can certainly be given more to do as members of the cast. But it is still nice to have them around as members of the home team.
Rating:
Summary: Lucky number thirteen
Review: "Someone is bound to attack you sooner or later, it happens every year..." A year has passed-Ramses and Nefret are now married (did we ever doubt it?) It is the midst of World War I but of course the entire Emerson entourage return to Egypt, complete with Amelia's grandniece Sennia by her perfidious (and dead) nephew, their adorably interfering butler, Gargery, and a surly cat, Horus. It is harder to describe the plot, partly because it's divided (the elder Emersons are in Cairo and for the most part the younger Emersons are in Luxor) and partly because I don't want to give anything away. It is suffice to say that there is political intrigue and unrest in Egypt, and the British government needs Ramses to reassume his role as a spy in the conspiracy. Besides that, there is a highly organized criminal mastermind robbing and destroying the tombs, and someone that wants Ramses and the elder Emersons out of their way. Sounds familiar? It's a formula, but under Peters' pen it never fails to entertain. It is a somewhat frothier scenario, comfortable in its "another year, another dead body" theme, a change from the looming danger and the feverish race to the end of "He Shall Thunder the Sky." But we now have the dynamics of Ramses and Nefret's married life to contemplate, and even if schadenfreude makes me claim that it's too steeped in its sweet lovey-doveyness, it only fits along the lighter, lax upper-lip tone of the book. And if that is inadequate there is the long cast of secondary characters, from the Emersons' English domesticates to their fall/winter Egyptian ones; to the new reader they might be confusing sometimes, especially as the characters do allude to past incidents and people. Especially the people-does anyone ever stay dead in fiction anymore? But I digress. It has been twenty-six years for the Emersons and us since the adventures of Amelia Peabody-Englishwoman, lady doctor, Egyptologist, sleuth-began; "He Shall Thunder the Sky" ended the quarter-century climax. For me, "Lord of the Silent" was a fun romp, rather like a 400 page epilogue. But I'm not complaining.
Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable, but...
Review: I am a big fan of Peters's books, especially those of Amelia Peabody. Though the general outlines of all Amelia's stories are predictable it is this same fact that makes them enjoyable. One meets Amelia, Emerson, Ramses and Nefret as old friends and enjoys their (also predictable) interractions, misunderstandings and happy endings.
Nevertheless I was a bit disappointed with this last book. It is perhaps still more predictable than others. I agree with another reviewer that Ramses and Nefret are becoming a bit dull. I enjoyed a lot more little Ramses with his bad pronunciation and big talking. I also think there are too much ressurrections. It is true that all books are in a way a sort of parody, but this is not achieved using the same tricks again and again. If this were a book of another author I would give it four stars, because it is not bad. But having read all other Amelia's misteries I judge it a step (or two) back. Sorry.
Rating:
Summary: I was wondering when the story was going to start.
Review: Perhaps the author is preparing us for a transition from Amelia and Emerson as the main characters to Ramses and Nefret. If only they weren't so increadibly dull! When did Nefret start worrying about being a perfect British bride? And why does Ramses have to become the perfect gentleman? I liked them so much better when Nefret performed the invocation of Isis and Ramses wanted to pound Percy.
Enough with the angst!
That being said, I laughed a bit through this book and I did enjoy it, but after some meaty adventures in previous books this one was a little confection full of air. A mere trifle.
The author can and has done much better.
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