The Seventh Scroll (Ancient Egypt #2) by Wilbur Smith

"The Seventh Scroll", by Wilbur Smith is the follow-up to "River God", one of the best historical novels I have read in a very long time. "The Seventh Scroll" was meant to be read after "River God" but it is not exactly a sequel. It actually takes place in the present day with a couple of archeologist types who are out to discover the hidden tombs that were depicted in the first book. What an intriguing concept! What we got to live through before is now seen through the eyes of history, including all the distortions of history that are bound to happen. After all, what we assume to be true through archeological research isn't necessarily the way it really happened. 

The author does another intriguing thing in this book. He inserts himself into his own fiction, having a main character refer to Wilbur Smith as having authored the fictional "River God" from information uncovered in the first 6 scrolls found in the tomb. Of course it is the 7th scroll that the characters are after in this second book. This leads to some funny moments as the two main protagonists argue about just how accurate Wilbur Smith was in the first book; one of them goes so far as to dismiss Mr Smith as a hack writer who changes the historical record in order to include more sex and violence. It's a twisted loop whereby an author actually negatively critiques his own work...I guess you have to be pretty secure in your own writing career to do that. Regardless, it works wonderfully here. 

The novel itself is just as good as the first book in the series. When you get right down to it, this is a pretty straightforward adventure/treasure hunting story along the likes of "Romancing the Stone". But Wilbur Smith is an outstanding writer who has a knack for making you read just a little more and then still more despite any deadlines you may have to deal with. You know the two main characters will hook up by the end but it's not predictable how that happens. The dangerous scenes in the book are really dangerous and the suspense is spot on. As for historical accuracy...everything sure seemed to be accurate based on my limited knowledge of ancient Egypt and my trip to that country a few years ago.

I've read all the "Ancient Egypt" series (at least those written by Wilbur Smith himself) and count this one among the best. I've tried a couple of others, reportedly written with co-authors but frankly I believe Smith's only contribution to those may have been outlines or notes due to his advanced age. They're still coming out now, after his passing. Unfortunately, while they're "not bad", they sure don't live up to Smith's abilities. From here, the series returns to the past and the further adventures of Taita. Good stuff!