The Seventh Scroll by Wilbur Smith

She glanced down at the drawer in which she kept all her floppy disks. That and all the other drawers had been pulled out and thrown on the floor. They were empty, of course; along with the disks, all her notebooks and photographs were missing. Her last connections with the seventh scroll were lost. After three years of work, gone was the proof it had ever existed.

A hunt for treasure. A battle to stay alive.

When Royan Al Simma is the victim of a vicious attack that leaves her husband dead, her only thought is that she must continue their joint work: to use the secrets of the seventh scroll to find the hidden tomb of Pharaoh Mamose, and its untold trove of lost Egyptian riches. To do so, she must bury her grief and partner with the eccentric aristocrat Nicholas Quenton-Harper, a man who shares her passion for the ancient world.

But the men who killed her husband are not yet finished. As Royan and Nicholas draw closer to the Pharaoh's tomb, enemies are gathering - people who will stop at nothing to ensure the scroll's promised treasures are kept from Roman's hands . . .

The second book in the epic Egyptian Series.

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.

Review

‘The Seventh Scroll’ is an exciting adventure story that takes you on a compelling race to beat the baddies and find the Pharaoh’s tomb first! Although, this is the second in the series you can read it as a standalone book very easily due to the timehop! The switch to the 1990s means that you don't need all that much background details to pick up the story. I would recommend reading the first book though as it is absolutely fabulous.

I wasn't quite sure I was going to enjoy this book as much as the first one as we do see it set outwith ancient Egypt but I did enjoy it! It was packed full of action, horrible baddies and lots of archaeological details. It was a fun book to read and I had forgotten how much I love adventure stories.

Does this book contain racist and sexist remarks? Yes, it does. But the world has changed quite a lot in nearly 30 years since this book was written. I don't believe that books should to be altered to make them more ‘pc’ but used a learning tool to show that these remarks or actions are unacceptable and also relative of the time it was written. Did it detract from my enjoyment of these books? No, it didn't. I might have groaned with frustration but I still enjoyed the overarching story!

Royan was a great character - feisty, knowledgable and had the inner strength of steel! I really liked her. Nicholas on the other hand was a bit of a cliche of the wealthy Egyptologists who are interested in their own eollections more than anything. He is the typical man of action and like Taita seemed to know how to do everything!

This was an enjoyable book but it didn't have the beauty and the magic of the first one. Don't get me wrong though I would still recommend it to people but I can't wait to return to ancient Egypt!