Rating: 
Summary: A unique sequel
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: A 4000 year old sequel
Review: 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.
Rating: 
Summary: Brilliant sequel
Review: I don't normally enjoy sequels, even those based on great novels ("Aztec Autumn", for example, was a disappointing follow up to the brilliant "Aztec"). But "The Seventh Scroll" is fantastic, probably the best sequel I've ever read. Very clever continuation of the "River God" storyline. Enjoyable even if you haven't read "River God", which I strongly recommend that you do.
Rating:
Summary: Just Amazing!!
Review: 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
Rating: 
Summary: A great story, but buried w/heavy handed writing
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant sequel
Review: I don't normally enjoy sequels, even those based on great novels ("Aztec Autumn", for example, was a disappointing follow up to the brilliant "Aztec"). But "The Seventh Scroll" is fantastic, probably the best sequel I've ever read. Very clever continuation of the "River God" storyline. Enjoyable even if you haven't read "River God", which I strongly recommend that you do.
Rating:
Summary: BEST WILBUR SMITH BOOK
Review: THE SEVENTH SCROLL is one of the best books I have ever read. It has everything, adventure, mystery, treasure, romance, even a little Congo war. The characters are all fully developed and
drive the action. This book turned out to be the first of a series of three books, and is by far the best. Smith writes action to keep one on the edge of ones seat. After reading this book I wanted to read all of Smith's books- and Monsoon was the next exciting read after this book. This is a book you'll want to keep around and share with friends again and again.
Rating:
Summary: Really a 3.5 rating
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: Wilbur Smith's Best Novel
Review: Although this book is the sequel to River God, I highly recommend that you read this one first. That is how I started reading the series. I came across this book at the local library and decided to give it a try. What a pleasant surprise it was! I have read many of Smith's novels since then and have found them all enjoyable and engrossing. This one, in my opinion, is his best work. The novel is the story of a young female archaeologists and a wealthy Englishman searching for the clues to a hidden tomb. The hired henchmen of a mysterious and powerful industrialist also want to find the tomb. With these violent men on their heels, the pair sets off to the wilderness of Africa to find the tomb and the valuable artifacts it may contain.
Rating:
Summary: interesting, entertaining and worth the read
Review: this was a really good book. If you like tales of ancient egypt, romance & treasure hunting you will like it too. One reader commented on the style, but i found it a pleasant and enjoyable read.
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