Customer Reviews

The Seventh Scroll

5 star:		(57)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(13)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

Wilbur Smith's characters are purely fictional, and this is just a fun, fun read. This is the second book in the series, but I recommend reading River God and Warlock first (also very good), THEN reading Seventh Scroll as it takes place "present day" and the previous two books will give you the "historical" background for Seventh Scroll. If you liked the pure, simple fun of Indiana Jones, you will enjoy this book. Absolutely could not put it down towards the end!

I first read the river god and then the seventh scroll. I enjoyed both of these books very much. After reading the River God I could barely wait for the second book to be released. I am interested in Ancient Egypt and am always looking for good books fact or fiction. Someone told me Wilbur Smith was writing a third book to follow The Seventh Scroll. I suggest both these books to readers of all kinds. If anyone can give me any informaion on this or any other good books I would appreciate it. Thanks Gayle

The original River God audiotape was superb. The Macmillan Audiotape 3 hour abridged version of "The Seventh Scroll" sequel is pale and frustrating. So much has been cut out by the abridgement that much of the story's glory and flow is lost. This edition is a great disappointment.

HI there!! I just want to recommend this book and River God since they are my favorites. Mr. Smtih is such a writing genius! He describes every single thing in such a perfect way that allows you to imagine every single detail of the landscapes. Besides, The story is incredible. It's a mixture of suspense, action, adventure, that keeps the reader in the edge of his seat through out the whole book. I would definetely recommend this book for the Egypt lovers such as me and those who are looknig an entertaining book. Just read God River first so that you become very well acquainted with the characters and the lecture of the Seventh Scroll is easier to understand. I hope You'll enjoy this book as much as i did ( i read both books 5 times each) kisses

Do not get me wrong, I enjoyed this book. It was the first book by Wilbur Smith that I have read. I will probably read more books by Smith, most probably River God. However, I do not like his writing style at all.

If you like hard-boiled writing, or writing that only deals with relevant information that pushes the characters or plot forward, then this book is not for you. In one passage he takes nearly three paragraphs to describe how the upcoming section of the river had a couple of bends in it. This descriptive assault of metaphors does not push the plot ahead, and if it is meant to give depth to the character of the river, it insults the reader with its redundant obviousness. He does this so often, that a book that should have been around 300 pages ends up being nearly 500 pages.

These wasted and excessive words actually forced this book to sit unattended for nearly 24 hours on my coffee table. I very seldom delay finishing a book, and at this point I felt like I had to force myself to read on, and, I am sure, that most readers would agree that feeling forced to read is not what recreational reading should be about.

Having giving you my complaints, I will now say that, overall, I liked this book. At times it was a real page-turner. I am glad I finished this book.

I was shopping at a garage sale when I say a battered copy of a book called the "Seventh Scroll". It looked a bit interesting so I decided to buy it. (It was only $0.50 anyway.) I took it home and began reading it. I was ingrossed. I read it in less than a week. (I had full time school and part time work at the time. I could only read at night.) I would go to bed at 8:00 and stay up and read till midnight to 3:00. This book isn't for the weak of stomach. Wilbur A. Smith has a way of making every death into a wonderfully grousome tale. He deffinatly used his imagination on this. I finished reading it and recommended it to my mother who also greatly enjoyed it. Through out the whole book there was mention to another book called "River God". But I wasn't sure if it was a real book or a made up book for the purpose of the story. It turns out that it was the first book. I had read and understood the whole book "Seventh Scroll" without even reading "River God". (I have bought a copy of "River God" and can't wait to start reading it.) Even if you don't want to read "River God" you can really get into this book. Read it!

The best part of this book is the way the adventure is centered on the main two characters. This book is wonderfully written to take advantage of both the male and female aspects of adventure, romance, and drama. The book take place in Egypt, migrates to England, and then to the jungles of Africa. The Heroine is feminly erotic, and the way the Hero is presented, you know he's going to get the girl. How he goes about it is the best part. You won't be disappointed in this book.