'Good Gad! This isolated oasis is beginning to resemble Victoria Station!’ [p. 279]
Set in 1907/8, ten years after The Last Camel Died at Noon (and following The Ape Who Guards the Balance), this tells the story of the Emersons' return to the Lost Oasis, where an ancient Meroitic culture has survived for centuries. A messenger, Merasen, turns up at the family's home in Kent, urging them to assist King Tarek. Ramses does not consider Merasen wholly trustworthy, but they decide that they can't ignore the plea for help.
Of course Merasen is not trustworthy: Amelia, Emerson, Ramses and Nefret, together with friends, relatives and a plethora of suspicious new characters, have to contend with lascivious seductresses, ancient rituals, duplicitous nobles and oddly flattering statues.
Ramses manages to distract himself from romantic thoughts of Nefret by being a suitably swashbuckling action hero (Rider Haggard would be proud) and Nefret is confronted with memories of her early life as a priestess in an archaic culture. It was good to see the younger generation taking more of a central role here: I also liked their fond and gentle mockery of Amelia's idiosyncrasies. Again, great fun, an undemanding and highly entertaining read.
No comments:
Post a Comment