Guardian of the Horizon

Infobox Book
name = Guardian of the Horizon/Baylee
title_orig =
translator =


image_caption = First edition cover for "Guardian of the Horizon"
author = Elizabeth Peters
illustrator =
cover_artist =
country = United States
language = English
series = Amelia Peabody mysteries
subject =
genre = Mystery, Historical novel
publisher = William Morrow
release_date = 2004
media_type = Print (Paperback )
pages = 399 pp
isbn = ISBN 0-06-621471-8
preceded_by = Children of the Storm
followed_by = The Serpent on the Crown

"Guardian of the Horizon" is the 16th in a series of mystery novels, written by Elizabeth Peters and featuring fictional sleuth and archaeologist Amelia Peabody.

Plot summary

The story begins in summer, 1907, ten years after the Emersons' expedition into the Nubian desert in "The Last Camel Died at Noon", when the Emersons were lured to a Lost Oasis where the remains of a Meroitic - Ancient Egyptian civilization that had avoided the outside world for centuries still survived. It was during that journey that the Emersons brought back Nefret Forth to live with them in England. A messenger from the Lost Oasis appears at their home in Kent, pleading for help for their friend, King Tarek, and they have no choice but to go to his aid.

This time though it’s Ramses that experiences the feeling of foreboding that normally accompanies Amelia, as they head off to the Sudan and into the desert to help their friend. Unlike their first trip, they bring a far larger force, in full awareness that the Lost Oasis will no longer be a secret no matter what the outcome of this expedition.

It soon becomes apparent that the Emersons are not the only ones interested in the Lost Oasis. They run into too many people who are interested in their travel plans, and ultimately bring some unexpected guests with them.

Upon their arrival, the family finds things have indeed become desperate for King Tarek. Nefret seems to miss her old life, and Ramses has become distracted (for a change) by a mysterious young woman.

Amelia is up to her usual plotting and lists, Emerson is as bombastic as ever, Ramses is growing up in spite of what Amelia thinks, and even Selim and Daoud get into the spirit of helping the Father of Curses and the Sitt Hakim.

Chronologically, this book covers the time period immediately after "The Ape Who Guards the Balance" though it is written some years later.

ee also

*List of characters in the Amelia Peabody series