“THE SEVENTH SCROLL” BY WILBUR SMITH
Wilbur Smith has written a number of books and is regarded a very well-known writer, however I have never read any of his books before. I have always passed by a whole shelf of his books (or so it seemed) in the library, many of which having historical themes, but for some reason I never really picked one up. Until recently when I came across “The Seventh Scroll”, which ancient Egyptian theme spiked my interest enough to take it home with me.
This book is an adventure book in the style of “Indiana Jones” movies. It is written in a very good English, which is dramatically different from its American equivalents (Wilbur Smith is British, by he way). The quality of language was a nice refreshment for me and I’ve come to realize that simplifying language for the sake of keeping the pace going (like many American writers do) is really unnecessary. While “The Seventh Scroll” contains a high-quality language, it is still fast-paced with twists and turns on nearly every page. The characters are very well developed (which you would expect from a master, I suppose), and the descriptions are so vivid, you basically see everything happening right in front of your eyes (just like watching a movie). In fact, there were a few scenes I simply had to skip because I couldn’t quite finish reading them for they were making me nauseous.
The main characters are on the hunt to discover an ancient Egyptian tomb of the Pharaoh Mamose that has been lost for four thousand years. To achieve that, they have to follow the clues left by an ancient scholar, who was also a master at puzzles and games. Taita, for that was his name, left his clues in encoded hieroglyphics that only a very experienced Egyptologist is able to decipher. While trying to find the tomb, this beautiful woman is also running away from the adversaries who want the treasures for themselves and will stop at nothing (including murder) to get their hands on it…
So if you enjoy a god adventure with a quality language, pick up Wilbur Smith’s “The Seventh Scroll” and I promise you will not be disappointed.