The Twelfth Tablet: A Short Story

by Tom Harper

Twelve golden tablets sit in museums around the world, each created by unknown hands and buried in ancient times, and each providing the dead with the route to the afterlife. Each has taken its own journey, and each has its own story to tell. This is one of those stories.

The Twelfth Tablet is a short story that includes a sneak peek of The Orpheus Descent by Tom Harper.

Genres: Thriller, Ebooks, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Short Stories

Kindle Edition

First published April 25, 2013

About the author

Tom Harper was born in West Germany in 1977 and grew up in Germany, Belgium and America; he now lives in England. He is chair of the Crime Writers' Association and also a member of the Historical Novels Society and the Society of Authors.

Tom Harper also writes historical adventures as Edwin Thomas.

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Reviews

[Robin · Rating 2 out of 5]

This seems to be a short story ebook exclusive from established author Tom Harper but I don't know why there has been no marketing for it - perhaps the publisher are doing an experiment.

It's about a British student named Paul specializing in Ancient Greek religion and working part time at the Zurich Museum who encounters a pair of unusual art collectors, Ari and Valerie, after closing hours at the museum. They bribe him into convincing the private owner of one of the twelve Orphic tablets that the museum needs to photograph the artifact, a plausible request since the museum had previously done some work on the tablet. But of course Ari and Valerie have ulterior motives and there is a nagging feeling that they were already familiar with Paul's educational and working background and deliberately targeted him.

Unfortunately, it was very lacking and left me with far too many questions. I still don't understand what Aphrodite has to do with the Orphic tablets. Harper is an excellent author but I don't think short stories suit his style.

[Carlissa · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found this short story ebook free at Amazon. I've never read anything by Tom Harper and it sounded interesting, so I thought I would give it a try. I liked the writing style, unfortunately, the story really did not make much sense, especially the ending. I thought it would be about an ancient tablet, but it was more about a poor sucker who was conned into helping two thieves steal the tablet. Not sure if I would read anything else by this author.

[Angela · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 Stars

"Twelve golden tablets sit in museums around the world, each created by unknown hands and buried in ancient times, and each providing the dead with the route to the afterlife. Each has taken its own journey, and each has its own story to tell. This is one of those stories."

The Twelfth Tablet by Tom Harper is a short novella length story which makes it a very quick and easy read...
Happy Reading.

Thank you, Tom Harper!

[Margaret · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Choice

An interesting short story about the circumstances surrounding the main character's biggest choice in his life. When presented with a situation out of control, what would one choose to do? And there in await the consequences.

[Jess · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an ok short story. Some of it jumped around too much in a way that was confusing at times but it was free on Amazon and I needed something shorter to give me a little break after finishing a larger series.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great short story!

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Museums house ancient and occasionally coveted objects, with a tablet in The Twelfth Tablet by Tom Harper easily demonstrating that.

To read this, and other book reviews, visit my website: http://makinggoodstories.wordpress.com/.

While making slow progress on his thesis on Ancient Greek religion, Paul is working at a museum in Zurich. One night as he was closing up he encounters two strange collectors, Ari and Valerie, who convince him to open the museum to them after hours, with the offer of a significant amount of cash, and to go out for drinks afterward. Caught up in their idea to obtain one of the twelve Orphic tablets to see if it has anything hidden and at the very least take photos of it, Paul assists them in connecting with the private owner, leading to a series of violent acts that alters Paul’s life irrevocably.

This short story presents an artifact theft scenario that’s a bit like a heist while introducing a few characters rapidly and while there are some intriguing elements to the story, it isn’t developed fully enough and feels generally unfulfilling; perhaps the short story format isn’t the most suitable one for a tale of this kind as there are intricacies related to context that don’t have adequate room to be fleshed out to the degree that’d do it justice. The ending, while leaving it open for further exploration of the characters and their actions, prompts confusion with the unanswered questions about the tablets and the characters that have been raised.

Overall, I’d give it a 2.5 out of 5 stars.

[Suz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Simultaneously felt that it could be longer and more fully fleshed out and also glad it wasn’t. Would make a good episode of a weird tv show and I mean that in the best way.

[Jemma · Rating 2 out of 5]

Paul is doing his doctorate as well as working part-time at a museum in Zurich, Switzerland. He is way behind on his thesis deadline - 6 months behind - and the university have stopped his funding until he hands something in.

One night, the museum is closing when a very wealthy couple stride in and demand to see the statue of Aphrodite - it'll only take a few minutes, they assure Paul, and the big man flashes a wad of cash for the favour. After sheepishly showing them the statue and ushering them out, Ari and Valerie invite him for a drink. This is when they tell him that they're really on the trail of a priceless tablet in somebody's private collection. The other eleven in the set are in public museums. All they want is a photo of the twelfth, and that'll keep Ari's elderly father happy.

Paul agrees, but the situation quickly turns sour and he has to makes decisions that will determine his future.

This was a short story I read on the Kindle. I believe it was one of their 'Singles'. It only took me about half an hour or something. It was really good and I was very interested in how it was going to turn out before it came to and end, but the ending was really lame. It was such a let-down. I did like Tom Harper's writing style though, and I might look out for some other of his books.

[A Reader's Heaven · Rating 3 out of 5]

Many years ago, twelve tablets were created as a guide to the afterlife. Eleven of those tablets were in museums - but one was still in the hands of a private owner.

The story centres on Paul, who is a student of Ancient Greek religions and working at the Zurich museum. One night, just after closing, he is approached by two people, Ari and Valerie, and propositioned. Help them take photos of the twelfth tablet and Paul would be handsomely rewarded.

Seemed too good to be true...and it was.

A lot of action sequences follow (which were quite good) but then the story stops. Dead. So many unanswered questions. So many loose threads. Very disappointing in that regard.

It still got 3 stars from me as I did enjoy the action and the set-up - the ending was annoying.


Paul
ARH

[Katey Cooper · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this story and and was really confused at the end. It seems to be the telling of a patsy in a heist , and hes pretty pathetic, and the characters seemed mysterious since you knew nothing of them. It wasn't long enough to learn anything about the players in the story.
It really didn't explain anything about the tablet other than they were mysterious and from a ancient cult.
Also it seems incredibly short with five chapters,at first I though perhaps its a preview or novella- prequla but the description used on amazon doesn't state that.
To many questions with this kinds of story I felt unfulfilled in the end.

[Robin Carter · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have to admit to owning 6 Tom Harper books and not having read any of them, they glare at me menacingly from the To be read pile (TBR) and lose out to demands to read and review. This means i have had no real chance to experience his writing.... Until now.
This sort of taster short story is an excellent idea, not only do i think Tom Harper has a very readable fast paced style, but his plot line sucked me in immediately. I HAVE to read The Orpheus Descent and once im finished with that i will get stuck into his other books Secrets of the Dead The Book of Secrets Lost Temple and the rest.

If you have not read his work then try this freebie....you will be hooked.

(Parm)

[McKenzie Richardson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very good read. Non-stop action and excitement. The writing was beautifully descriptive. Harper has a true way with words.

The excerpt from The Orpheus Descent: A Novel was also very intriguing. It included the first two chapters of the novel, which were just as captivating as The Twelfth Tablet. Definitely plan on reading The Orpheius Descent and more of Tom Harper.

[Cmadler · Rating 2 out of 5]

The prose is solid, but this short story doesn't really add up to much. It's the story of a patsy in the heist of an ancient Greek "tablet" (which seemed, anachronistically, to be on paper). There are hints of the supernatural/mythological, but it's possible that it's just a theft, and nothing more. By the end of the story I was shaking my head and asking myself, "WTF?" And not in a good way.

[Rebecca Dehart Ellis · Rating 2 out of 5]

I did not realize this was a short story until I was done reading it. I was disappointed because I thought the premise was interesting and would have liked to see it fleshed out into a novel. I did not particularly like the language and there was one scene that was a little uncomfortable.

[Dawn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not what I had expected. It was pretty straightforward and a quick read. The characters weren't as relatable like most books are. They're actions all made since though. There was plenty of action and enjoyable, none the less.

[Louise · Rating 3 out of 5]

The beginning of this was promising, but then , it just kind of abruptly ended. The author set up a situation where an academic is tempted by possible employment and $$ to provide access to a precious antiquity. Then things go very wrong and they do so much more quickly than they should.

[Liette · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was just a teaser to make me one to read "Orpheus Descents" or so it seemed. The plot here was a bit weak, but the shortness of the book certainly made it hard to elaborate. Still, I want to read Orpheus:)

[Taylor Neal · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this snippet. It was easy for me to read and continue reading without getting bored. The length felt like a sample and the ending wasn't satisfying by any means. If this were made into a full on BOOK book, or series, I would like it more

[Hope · Rating 1 out of 5]

Very short story..even though it was a free kindle book, it was not worth it.

[Samantha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short, but good.

[✿Claire✿ · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm not entirely sure what the point of the story was, it was too short for anything to be explained properly.

[Megan]

I'm not really sure how to rate this. It was so short and it really had the potential for a great story behind it. It felt a little rush and I felt a little cheated, I wanted more.

[Jamie]

This was a strange one

[Frances Shellings · Rating 4 out of 5]

OMG

Need the next book!!!!! Like yesterday!!!!! Leaves u hanging at the edge of your seat!!!! I went back thinking i had pressed the book to the last page on accident

[Donna · Rating 2 out of 5]

The idea was interesting but the story didn't excite me. It was predictable and dull, in direct contast to what it should've been.

[Arianne · Rating 4 out of 5]

teaser for orpheus descent, read this one first, then orpheus. very enticing, had to read orpheus, didn't regret it at all. it definitely did its job as a teaser/hook.

[Irma · Rating 1 out of 5]

so basically a guy meets to completely strangers who first harrass him and then ask him to rob a multi millionair banker and all he says is "Yes"? what the hell

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a decent enough read about a young english man studying abroad who is lured into committing murder and theft by two unscrupulous villians

[Jacquel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting thriller

Although this short story has some elements of "The Da Vinci Code", it was nonetheless very exciting and made me want to read more about the tablets.