The Seventh Scroll by Wilbur Smith

The Seventh Scroll, an ancient papyrus written by the slave Taita, holds the secret to the location of the Pharaoh's hidden tomb--and his staggering untold wealth. Untouched for thousands of years, the scroll is accidently discovered and instantly becomes something people will kill to obtain

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Publication Date: November 10, 1995Publisher: MacMillianCountry: United States of AmericaISBN: 0333637704Original Language: EnglishAge Group: AdultGenre: Historical, ThrillerBuy the Book: AmazonLootability: Grab it and go
The Seventh Scroll is Wilbur Smith's 25th book and the second in his popular Egyptian series featuring the enigmatic slave Taita. A modern look at the events of River God, The Seventh Scroll follows the archaeological rediscovery of Pharaoh Mamose's tomb. 
What I liked: Taita was such an enthralling protagonist in River God  and it was a pleasure to revisit him. It was cleverly designed for us to see the results of Taita's work instead of hearing him boast about his genius - and we get to delight and despair with Nicholas and Royan as they play his game and struggle to discover the location of Mamose's tomb. I also like the way that Smith teases himself as writing books full of "sex and violence" who takes liberties with history. Like in River God, Smith creates a believable world of Egyptian archeology and, from what I remember of my ancient history lessons, seems to recreate the culture beautifully. 
What I didn't like: There really is a lot of sex and violence in Wilbur Smith's books. It's for that reason that I can't reread the third book in series, Warlock. Sometimes it just becomes overwhelming - too many people are tortured, injured or killed carelessly for my tastes. Some of the phrasing seems odd to me, a lot of extra justs and verys.

Grab it and go!

There are another two books in the series, featuring Taita and returning to ancient times. However, from memory I found the story-lines rather violent and far-fetched.