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A review by seshat59
The Painted Queen by Elizabeth Peters, Joan Hess
2.0
After rereading one novel in the Amelia Peabody universe, my excitement for The Painted Queen grew exponentially, as did the poignantly bittersweet ache of returning to my absolute favorite fictional family for the final time. The Painted Queen takes place the year after Falcon, in the lead up to WWI. Cue the drama! Cue the ridiculous adventure!
And... I have to admit that I was vastly disappointed. Elizabeth Peters only completed a third of the manuscript prior to her illness, and to a devout student of her work (aka ardent fan girl), the transition between Peters and Hess was obvious. For the majority of the novel, the characters are shells of themselves. The series' strongest trait is its characters, and none of them feel right. It's like reading fan fiction by a writer who is not up to par with all her canonical facts.
Ramses: Too honest, too direct, too snappish. And there are no brooding passages, no sardonic self deprecating remarks, no cynicism. Nothing swoon worthy.
Nefret does not giggle nor is she as impulsive, brave, or involved as usual, and neither she nor Amelia would nap so frequently or admit it at the very least.
Amelia is even more prone to silly bouts of derring do, and it doesn't work as well in this context. I became -- dare I admit it? -- a trifle bored.
And the plot inconsistencies: the big one is the location of Nefret's Cairo clinic that Hess has in Luxor. And then the common knowledge of the Lost Oasis. I can't imagine that Amelia would admit that to anyone, especially a new acquaintance. That was a well kept secret. The length of Katherine and Amelia's friendship is also confused with Evelyn, and then there are the flagrant anachronisms.
The best part of this is the introduction for MPM: a send off to one of my favorite writers. In the future, I will revisit beloved books in the canon in order to get my Emerson family fix.
I did appreciate Hess's attempt to bring closure to this final manuscript. No one can take MPM's place, but Hess does succeed in providing an ode to her and-- of course Amelia's -- indomitable memory.
2.5 stars.
And... I have to admit that I was vastly disappointed. Elizabeth Peters only completed a third of the manuscript prior to her illness, and to a devout student of her work (aka ardent fan girl), the transition between Peters and Hess was obvious. For the majority of the novel, the characters are shells of themselves. The series' strongest trait is its characters, and none of them feel right. It's like reading fan fiction by a writer who is not up to par with all her canonical facts.
Ramses: Too honest, too direct, too snappish. And there are no brooding passages, no sardonic self deprecating remarks, no cynicism. Nothing swoon worthy.
Nefret does not giggle nor is she as impulsive, brave, or involved as usual, and neither she nor Amelia would nap so frequently or admit it at the very least.
Amelia is even more prone to silly bouts of derring do, and it doesn't work as well in this context. I became -- dare I admit it? -- a trifle bored.
And the plot inconsistencies: the big one is the location of Nefret's Cairo clinic that Hess has in Luxor. And then the common knowledge of the Lost Oasis. I can't imagine that Amelia would admit that to anyone, especially a new acquaintance. That was a well kept secret. The length of Katherine and Amelia's friendship is also confused with Evelyn, and then there are the flagrant anachronisms.
The best part of this is the introduction for MPM: a send off to one of my favorite writers. In the future, I will revisit beloved books in the canon in order to get my Emerson family fix.
I did appreciate Hess's attempt to bring closure to this final manuscript. No one can take MPM's place, but Hess does succeed in providing an ode to her and-- of course Amelia's -- indomitable memory.
2.5 stars.