He Shall Thunder in the Sky

This episode of the Amelia Peabody series is set in 1914. While most of World War I is occurring in Europe, Egypt is not completely spared. In fact, the Turks are eager to bring invasion forces across the Suez Canal and take over Egypt. They are hoping to foment revolution among the young Egyptian radicals to create chaos before their invasion.

Ramses, despite his outward persona as a pacifist uninvolved in war efforts, is acting as an agent of the police to prevent the Turkish invasion and preserve many of his friends among those eager for Egyptian independence. David, supposedly sent to India for his role with the Egyptian nationalists, is undercover in Egypt too.

Ferreting out the spies and preventing the large-scale shipments of arms show more to reach the potential insurrectionists keeps both Ramses and David busy. Once Amelia and Emerson become aware of Ramses' work, they are eager - perhaps too eager - to help. But all agree that Nefret can't be told of Ramses' investigative work. She has proven to be too impulsive to be trusted with those secrets.

With many potential spies working in Egypt, all of the Emersons are busy trying to find out who is working to betray the British forces and encourage the Turks. Among the suspects are a merry widow with designs on any wealthy man, a Scottish major with a precocious daughter, and a smarmy French count. Oh, and cousin Percy is very active in Egypt too. For some reason, he is trying to make up his differences with the Emersons and being his usual smarmy self. Ramses fears that Nefret will be drawn in by his supposed charm. And the Master Criminal seems to have his hand in things too.

This was an excellent episode in the series. I loved the information about Egypt during World War I. I loved that Ramses and Nefret finally resolved their differences. I loved the intense emotion in this episode from fears for Ramses and the loss of Cousin Johnny in battle to Amelia finally being able to state that she loves her son. show less

I just love Ramses so much & Amelia & Emerson & Nefret but especially Ramses! He just has all the characteristics every woman wants in a man! This was a great story about the war! It was good to see those issues brought to life. I have a better understanding of what the natives, British, Turks, revolutionaries etc. went through. Anyways, all of Peters books have been 5 star this one was no different. I laughed, I cried, I got mad & I jumped for joy!! Basically, I went through the full range of emotions and I think that's what a really good book should make you do! If you havent read the series, start with book 1 and read them all!!

I found it lying on the floor of the corridor that led to our sleeping chambers. I was there, holding it between my fingertips, when Ramses came out of his room. When he saw what I had in my hand his heavy dark eyebrows lifted, but he waited for me to speak first. "Another white feather," I said. "Yours, I presume?"
"Yes, thank you." He plucked it from my fingers. "It must have fallen from my pocket when I took out my handkerchief. I will put it with the others."

Except for his impeccably accented English and a certain indefinable air about his bearing (I always say no one slouches quite as elegantly as an Englishman), an observer might have taken my son for one of the Egyptians among whom he had spent most of his life.

This volume of the Amelia Peabody mysteries is set in Egypt during World War I, and follows on the events of A Falcon at the Portal, resolving many of the plot tensions created in that earlier book, as well as a few of even longer standing. Rather than mere pecuniary criminality, this novel's intrigue centers on military espionage.

For a book with what is basically a very happy ending, He Shall Thunder in the Sky also involves the greatest amount of physical injury to the Emerson family members of any of the books thus far.

This was a bedtime reading selection that I shared with my Other Reader. With some starting and stopping (made workable in part by how well the characters had been established by previous volumes), it took us close show more to a year to read. But we accelerated toward the end, as the narrative pace built and various revelations were made. show less

He Shall Thunder In The Sky, by Elizabeth Peters
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ and a ♥

Synopsis: Egypt and her hoary secrets are no match for New York Times-bestselling Grandmaster Elizabeth Peters and her indomitable archaeologist sleuth Amelia Peabody. The sand-and-wind blown ambience of this strange and colorful world, the ancient enchantments and delicious menace are more vibrantly realized than ever in this thrilling new adventure that places the intrepid Amelia and her equally remarkable family in the dangerous path of an onrushing World War.
The pursuit of knowledge must never be deterred by Man's folly. So the close of 1914 finds Amelia Peabody and her husband Radcliffe Emerson back in Egypt for another season of archaeological show more excavation--despite the increasing danger of an attack on the Suez Canal and on Egypt itself. Trouble is brewing in Cairo and the defiantly pacifist stance of Amelia and Emerson's headstrong son Ramses is earning the young man the derision, and much worse, of the British expatriate community. Meanwhile, the charismatic nationalist el Wardani is said to be fomenting insurrection in the ancient city. And since there is no way to stand outside the political hurricane that is suddenly threatening their lives, Amelia plunges directly into it.
When el Wardani escapes a police dragnet, thanks to the direct intervention of Amelia and Emerson, the family's stake in a perilous game is raised considerably. But it's Ramses' strange secret role in it that could truly bring ruin down upon all their heads. However, there is more than intrigue and espionage, plots and counterplots, at work here. For an artifact uncovered at a Giza dig--an exquisite sculpture found where it ought not to be confirms Amelia's most unsettling suspicion: that the chaos consuming Cairo has masked the nefarious re-emergence of Amelia's villainous archnemesis, Sethos, the Master Criminal.
The extraordinary Elizabeth Peters raises exotic intrigue to a new level with He Shall Thunder in the Sky. If you have never before experienced Amelia and her singular clan, prepare to be enthralled by the droll wit, the richly evoked locale, and a story that twists sensuously and mysteriously like an asp writhing beneath the desert sun. And longtime devotees will relish the return of dear friends--and await the resolution of a love affair that may change the Emersons' destiny forever.
In A Sentence: It got a little mushy at the end, but I still love it!
My Thoughts: Personally, I think the series begins to go on a downhill spiral starting with this book. I still love this series as a whole (hence the five stars), but this book definitely takes a melodramatic turn. I think in general this book was very good, but the scenes with Sethos were a bit ridiculous and overdone. The climatic ending definitely could have been better without Sethos stealing the show.
Beyond that however, I really enjoyed this read. I love reading about Ramses as an adult. Nefret’s behavior has irritated me in the previous novels, particularly in The Falcon At The Portal, but I feel she has redeemed herself in this book. The overall story is pretty exciting. Elizabeth Peters does very well in creating Indiana Jones-esque adventures, which always makes for an entertaining read. Add to that the clever humor of both Amelia and her son Ramses, and you have a great novel.
Overall, I would certainly recommend this book. After this one, however, the series starts to become less interesting. They’re still fun reads, but if you want to stop at a certain point before the books get tiresome, I would say that you stop at this one. show less

I picked up this audiobook having never heard of the series before. In fact, I didn't realize it was one in a series until I started listening, I only noted that it was a highly rated book when I decided on a whim to purchase it. I really loved it! The reader was extraordinary in handling the huge cast of characters and the story managed to contain both overt and subtle humor without sacrificing drama, suspense, and even a little romance. I've been yearning for another since I finished it but the next book in the series is only available in MP3 in abridged format and there's no way I want to sacrifice any part of the story.

A good, fun read. I can see why the series has a following!

A wonderfully tense and funny addition to the series in which Peters answers many questions from previous books in the serie0s - most particularly who is Sethos. This book is set in late 1914, WWI has started and many young men known to the Emersons have enlisted. But not David and Ramses. David has been interned in India, Lia is in England anxiously awaiting the birth of her first baby, to add to the tension three of her brothers are serving in the trenches. The Emersons are in Egypt and have more choice over where to excavate as their German and Austrian friends are excluded by the British. Ramses's pacifist views are well known and he's received several white feathers but this doesn't stop him getting into trouble on a regular basis. show more Nefret, recovered from her miscarriage, is a qualified surgeon and is working in the hospital established for the local prostitutes. But overshadowing everything is the war and the perceived threat to Egypt from the Ottoman Empire and its allies. This is a superb piece of edge of your seat reading, but only really works if you've read at least the four books that immediately precede this in the series. show less