Seventh Scroll [Hardcover]

Wilbur Smith (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 7, 1995

The seventh scroll is nearly 4000 years old. Within it lies the clues to a treasure from an almost forgotten time. Duraid Al Simmu and his wife, Royan, were the first to discover the scrolls. When Duraid is murdered, Royan seeks refuge in England but she must find the courage to return to Ethiopia.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

An ancient Egyptian scroll leads to a murderous treasure hunt in Smith's thriller, which was a PW bestseller for two weeks.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Noted Egyptologist Royan Al Simma escapes an attempt on her life, but her husband, Duraid, is not so lucky. This husband-and-wife archaeological team was immersed in unraveling the secrets of the "seventh scroll." Written in a type of shorthand, the scroll dates back to the Hyksos invasion of Egypt and was recently discovered in the tomb of Queen Lostris, whose story is told in Smith's River God (St. Martin's, 1994). Grieving over the loss of her husband, Royan engages Sir Nicholas Quenton-Harper, a wealthy English collector, to assist her in completing the work she and Duraid had begun by locating the tomb of Pharaoh Mamose the Eighth, husband of Lostris. Through collective teamwork, Royan and Nicholas travel to Ethiopia, at great peril to themselves, as they try to uncover a 4000-year-old secret. This well-crafted novel is full of adventure, tension, and intrigue. Recommended for general readers.?Maria A. Perez-Stable, Western Michigan Univ. Libs., Kalamazoo
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 480 pages
• Publisher: Macmillan London (April 7, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0333583213
• ISBN-13: 978-0333583210
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.3 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (93 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,653,399 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Wilbur Smith was born in Central Africa in 1933. He was educated at Michaelhouse and Rhodes University. After the successful publication of WHEN THE LION FEEDS in 1964 he became a full-time writer, and has since written 30 novels, all meticulously researched on his numerous expeditions worldwide. His books have been translated into twenty-six different languages

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

35 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is a worthy Sequel to "River God", January 7, 2001

By 

Flippers - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Seventh Scroll (Mass Market Paperback)

I am a huge Wilbur Smith fan. "River God" is the best novel I have ever read. Be sure you read "River God" before you read "Seventh Scroll". If you like "River God" and "Seventh Scroll" you will probably also love "The Sunbird". It is very similar in theme and is its own sequel in the fashion of "River God" and "Seventh Scroll". If you have read all the Wilbur Smith books like I have, you'll yearn for more, but it takes him years to come up with a new book these days. You might look at "Churchill's Gold" by James Follett after you have read all of Mr. Smith's books. It is very similar in style and quality to most of the Courtney series.

27 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Really a 3.5 rating, November 11, 2003

By 

Erik1988 "beingawriter dot wordpress dot com" (Folsom, CA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Seventh Scroll (Mass Market Paperback)

Rating System:
1 star = some books deserve to be burned
2 star = waste of time
3 star = take it or leave it
4 star = better than getting a Value Meal free
5 star = holy & inspired writing!

STORY: In a race against an unknown enemy, Royan Al Simma, a beautiful Egyptologist who has deciphered the lost ancient scrolls, and Nicholas Quentin-Harper, an English adventurer who risks his fortune, search the Ethiopian highlands for the whereabouts of the lost treasure described in the scrolls.

MY FEEDBACK
1) SETTING: There is always something magical about Africa and Egyptian myth. Combine that with locations that are unseen by normal man and you have a nice formula for adventure.

2) CHARACTERS: Likeable good guys and despicable bad guys. No gray characters, which is fine by me and didn't seem necessary for the story. The characters are a little more than just clothes on a skeleton, because the author does flesh them out a bit and give them some clear distinctions.

3) PLOT: I like the plot. The mystery that the characters have to figure out combined with the challenges in reaching their goal kind of felt like an Indy story. Yes, some of it was predictable and telegraphed a mile away. But this kind of story focuses on the magic of discovery and even though the discovery of the character decisions wasn't a strong point, the discovery of the treasure was nicely handled.

4) Audio Book Reader - the reader did an above average reading. Some voice / accent variations for different characters and good acting made it an enjoyable listen.

5) Content - This is what really brought the book down for me. I'm going along at a nice even pace when suddenly we take a detour into a short but explicit sex scene. I wasn't expecting it. I yelled of the words, "marketing ploy" as this combined with some other aspects really turned the story into a "trashy" romance to some extent. It was like a movie throwing in a gratuitous sex scene just so it could get an R rating and attract more patrons. I was disappointed in this unnecessary component.

OVERALL: I liked the book, especially how the author refers to his previous book within this book as if he is also a fictional character in the world of Royan and Nicholas. From what I've read it sounds like I'll like the first book even more (didnt' know at the time there was a first book). I'm not disappointed I spent the time I did going through this one. It is a bit better than good but not what I would consider a very good book.

32 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A unique sequel, January 7, 2000

By 

Doug Vaughn - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Seventh Scroll (Mass Market Paperback)

How is it possible for a sequel to be set 4,000 years after the original story? Wilbur Smith answers that question in The Seventh Scroll, a book set largely in modern day Ethiopia where conflicting groups try to locate the Egyptian treasure entombed by Taita at the end of The River God, this book's predessor. I don't know how someone who had not read The River God would respond to The Seventh Scroll (though from the other reviews it is obvious that many loved it without reading the prior book) but for me, the connection between Taita, a character that dominated the story in The River God and remains one of my favorite recent fictional characters, and the exciting 'race for the treasure' plot of The Seventh Scroll, made the action of this book all the more fascinating.

The plot and characters here - unlike The River God - don't represent any great invetive achievement. It is pretty standard good guy/bad guy stuff with lots of cliff hanger action. But Smith handles this kind of thing better than most other authors and can make even predictable situations and characters exciting.

A fun read, especially if you read and enjoyed The River God. I would recommend this, and most of Smith's many novels, to anyone who likes exciting, complex and intelligent stories. His are all this and more.