A review by ergative
The Ape Who Guards the Balance by Elizabeth Peters

3.5

On the one hand, I enjoy how the series is giving larger and larger roles to the new generation, but I find moony lovelorn Ramses so dull. Emerson and Peabody are presented with a tongue-in-cheek poke at the types they represent. But Ramses and Nefrette seem to demand to be taken seriously, which is so much less fun. Good to see how Peabody's own internal prejudices (which were pretty darn evident in the first few books!) are being called out explicitly, but it did feel a little bit forced. Still, I quite enjoyed the discussion of Davis's wildly incompetent treatment of his tomb, which seems to reflect quite extensive research into the matter, to the point that, for the first time in the series, the book begins with an offer to send a full bibliography to any reader who writes in with a self-addressed stamped return envelope. Peters has receipts!