The Last Camel Died at Noon

By: Elizabeth Peters

Narrated by: Barbara Rosenblat

Length: 15 hrs and 40 mins

Publisher's Summary

Amelia and Emerson leave the calm of Victorian England in search of an estranged father's son and a lost kingdom buried deep in Sudan.

©1991 Elizabeth Peters (P)1991 Recorded Books, LLC

The Perfect Combination does it again

There is little I can say about this book that I have not already said repeatedly about Books 1-5 of this series. The stories of Elizabeth Peters and the narration of Barbara Rosenblat are the perfect combination for wonderful audible listening. Peters writes the Peabody series with dry wit and humor, and Rosenblat delivers that wit and humor precisely as intended by the author.

This book involves the Emerson family in traveling across the desert to find "the Lost City" and rescue a young girl from the ancient culture of the City and take her back to civilization. In a nod to the novels of H. Ryder Haggard, Peters has stuffed this story with great adventure and derring-do, and Rosenblat makes it all exciting while being humorous. As with the rest of the series, there are many LOL moments. And I am always amazed at the talent of Barbara Rosenblat, who delivers British, American (from the South),Scots, Egyptian, French, German and other assorted Arabic accents and voices, with a voice of a timbre which allows her to make adult males, females, and children all believable.

Carry on, Peabody!

25 people found this helpful

You Can't Beat Amelia

This is one of my favorites in a great series. It has the signature humor, fine characterization, and action that make every Amelia Peabody worth listening to. I've read them all, but Barbara Rosenblat's narration really makes these books soar. An important new character is added in this one, so don't miss it!

15 people found this helpful

Amelia Peabody series is great!

Elizabeth Peter's Amelia Peabody, along with her husband - Emerson, is an archaelogist and expert on Egyptian pyramids. Each year they spend time working on digs but danger, murder and young lovers "dog" each season. This book in the series is by far the most superb with masterful development of the characters, plot and sub-plots. The tension before all is resolved will please any mystery reader, particularly those that enjoy historical fiction.

8 people found this helpful

Barbara Rosenblat's narration is here!

Thank God!

I missed this book when I was on my Elizabeth Peters wave, because of the change in narrators. Then today I was browsing for similar books and saw this! Now that Barbara Rosenblat's narration is available, I bought it right away.

Amelia Peabody books are such a pleasure when read by Barbara. The books are great on their own, but this narrator was made for them and enhances the experience exponentially. They are so uplifting when read by Barbara Rosenblat. And they are worth every cent - I have re-read each of them 2 or 3 times.

Thank you Audible for making this available! Yay!

...off to listen to it now...

29 people found this helpful

The Best of the series so far

Would you consider the audio edition of The Last Camel Died at Noon to be better than the print version?

Absolutely! The superb narration brings the characters to life in a way the written word does not. Barbara Rosenblat could read the phone book and make it interesting!

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

I did not see this as a bite-your-nails thriller but there several escape by the seat of your pants scenes in the book.

Which scene was your favorite?

I did not have a favorite scene in this story.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The Amelia Peabody series is not meant to pull heartstrings but to amuse and entertain.

Any additional comments?

Trapped in a lost civilization, Amelia Peabody, her husband Emerson, and her son Ramses solve a mystery while trying to escape. Precocious Ramses leads the villains on a frustrating chase.

3 people found this helpful

Best since Crocodile on the Sandbank

Elizabeth Peters continues the Amelia Peabody series with disputably the best book since Crocodile on the Sandbank. Set in the Sudan, the book has the usual number of twists and dastardly villains. We are provided a small glimpse of a very loquacious Ramses as he approaches adolescence. I do like how Peters continues to develop the relationship between her characters as they grow together and age. Barbara Rosenblat’s narration is, as ever, simply amazing.

3 people found this helpful

Amelia Peabody Rocks!

This is the best Amelia story yet. The plot twists and turns as much as the path Amelia and Emerson take. The reader can't tell who they should trust!

3 people found this helpful

Super Performance

Barbara is truly gifted. She advances this moderately interesting plot to the level of a delightfully engaging tale.

6 people found this helpful

First 5 hours, 3 stars, last 10, 5 stars

This is undoubtedly one of the longest Elizabeth Peters novels, and the first section of it drags on for quite a long time. Once you get past this, though, it becomes one of the most interesting and exciting installments. The spear scene is one of my favorites in the series. In the future, I may skip the first third of the book, but I'm certain I'll relisten to the later chapters.

2 people found this helpful

Amelia Peabody Love the trips to far off places

I bought the books when they were originally published and I thoroughly enjoyed them. However, Barbara Rosenblat does an extraordinary job of making the characters come alive. It is like being there.I love to hear Peabody's inner thoughts and reflections.
Peters always provides a solid who done it accompanied by the quirky Emerson-Peabody spice. There are always colorful side adventures and interesting supporting characters. Love their son Ramses - he is such a hoot.

1 person found this helpful

Enthralling escape into a bygone age!

I find E Peters writing entertaining, fascinating and most enjoyable. Admittedly it could be described as dated but that is only right and proper as the story is set at the beginning of the last century! I enjoyed the ingenious plot as it pulled me gently through the benign to the horrifying consequences. Thank you for an excellent listen.

4 people found this helpful

Barbara Rosenblat - a performative genius

What made the experience of listening to The Last Camel Died at Noon the most enjoyable?

Either Barbara Rosenblat is the most talented voice artist on the planet, or she has magnificent multiple personality disorder. The book is narrated by the inimitable Amelia Peabody, so the voice of this imperious, matriarchal, trailblazing protofeminist Egyptologist is our constant. But it's the brilliant contrast with the other voices that makes the listening so enjoyable - I had to stalk Barbara Rosenblat on Youtube to hear for myself that she wasn't a genuine member of the 19th century English upper classes.

What did you like best about this story?

The Amelia Peabody series (RIP Elizabeth Peters) gets better and better as it goes on. 'The Last Camel' is one of the earlier books, a tongue-in-cheek pastiche of King Solomon's Mines, a homage which pokes gentle fun at the self-satisfied arrogance of Empire.

Which character – as performed by Barbara Rosenblat – was your favourite?

Emerson (he of the 'sapphirine orbs', button-pupping muscles and impossibly manly chest) is brought vividly to life by Rosenblat's impressive vocal range, which renders his rumbling basso profundo and mildly cursing outrage in fabulous contrast to Amelia's penetrating contralto, Ramses' piping precociousness and Nefret's tinklingly musical treble.

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I mostly listened to this book in the car, so the Peabody Emersons travelled with me on my way to work. I laughed out loud at their improbable adventures and at the moments in the narrative when they were being particular caricatures of themselves - and had a fond smile on my face for the rest of the time.

1 person found this helpful

Splendid!

The Amelia Peabody books are tremendous romps and Barbara Rosenblat narrates them to perfection. Every character is distinctive, but Amelia is an absolute triumph.

1 person found this helpful

The Last Camel Died at Noon

What to say..... another great story from Elizabeth Peter's Amelia Peabody series. Thoroughly enjoyed it.

2 people found this helpful

Swashbuckling and fantastic!

Elizabeth Peter's gift of storytelling at its absolute zenith. Barbara Rosenblat is fantastic in her delivery, bringing each character to life with assured command of the author's intent. Wonderful.

Addictive!

This is the sixth book in this series I have listened to - each one, I assure myself, will be the last and yet, I seem to find myself downloading the next one in the series as I approach the end of the last one! Is it hypnosis - or just the charming and oddly compelling writing of Elizabeth Peters and the magnificent performance of Barbara Rosenblat? Who knows - but off I go to start on book number 7!

Thrills and Spills

This was another rip-roaring story from the Amelia Peabody series. Elizabeth Peters has done a wonderful job writing this story and Barbara Rosenblat has, again, done a wonderful job of bringing the story to life for a listening audience.

1 person found this helpful

Enjoyable continuation of the Amelia Peabody saga

Would you listen to The Last Camel Died at Noon again? Why?

No - I never do

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Not really - it was a mild story, getting a bit samey

Any additional comments?

Got a little fed up with the constant innuendos hinting at the repetitive need for the two principle characters to be enjoying a busy love life. Added little to the story.