The Last Camel Died at Noon

The Last Camel Died at Noon (Amelia Peabody Mysteries (Paperback)) Elizabeth Peters Date: 1991   —   $6.75   —   Book product page Rating:

Fiction, Mystery

This novel is a tribute to H. Rider Haggard, an author whose works I have not read. It's probably just as well, because this is a true fantasy in its subject matter. Emerson and Peabody go to excavate in Nubia, also known as the Sudan. While trying to track down a long-vanished explorer, they encounter a civilization lost to the world at large for centuries. That, in itself, is not so far-fetched as one might believe; there are numerous examples in history of civilizations that have been isolated, even up until recent times. It's the confluence of events that pushes everything over the edge for me, the rival princes, the high priests and priestesses, the learning of English from that long-lost explorer and the application of that learning to novels that give a very skewed idea of English culture at the time.

I feel as though Elizabeth Peters is too fond of Amelia Peabody, and uses her too much. That, of course, is my opinion, and if you like such novels as Tarzan, you will almost certainly love this one.