[.ca] The Seventh Scroll (ISBN 0330449958)

zzzzzzzzz:
This is the worst sequel ever to such a great book as River God. The characters are lame, straight out of a romance novel, and everything about the book is so incredibly predictable, I skipped the pages until I finally got to what I knew was gonna happen, after a lot of unnecessary detail. The good guys get what they want, and the bad guys all get their comeuppance. Very boring.

seventh scroll:
By now, I have read this book about 4 times which tells you how much I loved it. Smith has written a beautiful, adventerous story about love, greed, death and courage. It takes place in a few different places, starting in Egypt, moving its way to England and then to Ethiopia. Wilbur Smith created wonderful characters, both lovable and detestable. The basic plot of the story is that a tomb found in Egypt reveals seven scrolls, the last scroll containing cryptic clues to the burial site of an ancient king. Two people come together, one a woman from Egypt and a man from England, and struggle against the power and corruption of a lunatic multi-millionare to find the burial site and the treasures that lie within. After reading most of Smiths books to date, I have to say that this is one of my favourite. I really enjoyed this book. Read it; you will not be sorry.

The treasure hunt so many would crave......:
This colourful sequel to Smith's other ancient Egypt novel "River God" is a gripping read, which has you turning the pages quite rapidly in expectation of what is coming. I read "River God" shortly before I read "The Seventh Scroll", and personally I would have to say I liked the first one more. I guess it was that fantastic beauty and drama that ancient Egypt holds, and Smith captured it beautifully. However, "The Seventh Scroll" is set in present day, and involves the beautiful half-Egyptian/half-English Royan Al-Simmau, whose joint findings with her husband Duraid, is on the scent of ancient egyptian funerary treasure hidden deep in the mountains of modern-day Ethiopia. What follows is an action packed race for the treasure, as Royan is in close competition with the formidable little German Gotthold Ernst Von Schillers, who will stop at nothing to claim the treasure as his own. A nail biting outcome really keeps the pages flying right up to the end of the surprising epilogue at the end. A MUST READ!!!

Not the most interesting of the 3:
Tough going, especially after having read River God. Plough through and then get Warlock. You won't miss much by skipping this book, yet it does answer many of the lingering questions from River God. In Smith's style it moves right along and has a great ending.

A 4000 year old sequel:
Wilbur Smith amazingly juxtaposes his story and characters of his mesmerizing Egyptian classic The River God with a present day adventure in The Seventh Scroll. It seems that Egyptologist, Royan Al Simma has uncovered the Seventh Scroll, a cryptic guide to the location of the tomb of the pharoah Mamose. Written by the hero of River God and master of just about everything, the eunuch Taita, it leads to intrigue in the Nile river valley of Ethiopia. Al Simma recruits the help of Egyptian artifact collector and wealthy nobleman, the swashbuckling Nicholas Quenton-Harper to attempt to locate the pharoah's burial site. With the aid of a cast of characters from widely diverse backgrounds they race against the efforts of a rival group of archeologists to make the discovery. This rival group, led by the driven, affluent German industrialist Von Schiller will stop at nothing including cold blooded murder to procure the spoils of the pharoah Mamose. The ending has a few unexpected twists and overall after a slow start the book turns into a very satisfying reading experience.