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The Temple Scroll
They say the desert holds many secrets. But one secret lies beneath them all.
During their expedition into the Judaean desert, Yael and Nathaniel, 2 bright archeology students, happen upon a cave that was sealed for 2,000 years. A cave that holds the secret of a legendary treasure, said to have been lost since the last days of the Second Jewish Temple and disappeared from within its ruins.
2 millennia prior to their discovery, the daughter of a Temple priest and a Jewish rebellion leader are fighting to safeguard their home and heritage from the Roman invaders. They race against both time and adversaries to hide the Temple’s riches from greedy legionnaires, dishonorable soldiers and desperate pillagers.
Now in possession of incredible knowledge, Yael and Nathaniel hunt down the lost treasure, but there are ancient and powerful forces trying to keep the secret lost forever. They would rather bury the two alongside the treasure than let it see the light of day again.
Based on real historic events, The Temple Scroll’s fictional narrative spans over two thousand years of history, traditions, myths, and ancient secrets. It masterfully combines parts of Jewish history with thrilling, suspenseful adventures set in present-day Israel.
During their expedition into the Judaean desert, Yael and Nathaniel, 2 bright archeology students, happen upon a cave that was sealed for 2,000 years. A cave that holds the secret of a legendary treasure, said to have been lost since the last days of the Second Jewish Temple and disappeared from within its ruins.
2 millennia prior to their discovery, the daughter of a Temple priest and a Jewish rebellion leader are fighting to safeguard their home and heritage from the Roman invaders. They race against both time and adversaries to hide the Temple’s riches from greedy legionnaires, dishonorable soldiers and desperate pillagers.
Now in possession of incredible knowledge, Yael and Nathaniel hunt down the lost treasure, but there are ancient and powerful forces trying to keep the secret lost forever. They would rather bury the two alongside the treasure than let it see the light of day again.
Based on real historic events, The Temple Scroll’s fictional narrative spans over two thousand years of history, traditions, myths, and ancient secrets. It masterfully combines parts of Jewish history with thrilling, suspenseful adventures set in present-day Israel.
387 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2020
190 people are currently reading
43 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
December 3, 2023
Mostly, I enjoyed this book.
The dual timelines worked for me, as they showed both the Relics being secreted in a desert cave, at a most high cost in human treasure, and then the modern timeline in which the archaeologists sought to unravel the mystery of the Relics.
The red-headed Yael/Yaeli was a nice linkage but the Epilogue, which I think must have been appended just in case a reader somehow had failed to make the correlation, fell flat. And, we never did find out what happened to some of the members of the Brotherhood of the Secret.
Learned some ancient Near-Eastern and Jewish history. Also, I was in Israel back in January, so I really enjoyed it whenever mention was made of a familiar place or foodstuff.
Generally speaking, the book was written with serviceable prose but errors of syntax and grammar were sprinkled throughout, becoming much more noticeable for some reason toward the end of the novel. In terms of story coherence, when the Roman officer got shot by an arrow in the eye during the ambush, but a mere few paragraphs later, he appeared to be fine. Grumble, grumble.
The dual timelines worked for me, as they showed both the Relics being secreted in a desert cave, at a most high cost in human treasure, and then the modern timeline in which the archaeologists sought to unravel the mystery of the Relics.
The red-headed Yael/Yaeli was a nice linkage but the Epilogue, which I think must have been appended just in case a reader somehow had failed to make the correlation, fell flat. And, we never did find out what happened to some of the members of the Brotherhood of the Secret.
Learned some ancient Near-Eastern and Jewish history. Also, I was in Israel back in January, so I really enjoyed it whenever mention was made of a familiar place or foodstuff.
Generally speaking, the book was written with serviceable prose but errors of syntax and grammar were sprinkled throughout, becoming much more noticeable for some reason toward the end of the novel. In terms of story coherence, when the Roman officer got shot by an arrow in the eye during the ambush, but a mere few paragraphs later, he appeared to be fine. Grumble, grumble.
March 27, 2022
Too predictable
The main characters had names too similar making it too time consuming to have to stop and think about who this person is. The constant jumping from time period to time period made the book drag. The book didn't
really have an ending, just let the reader know that the person was a descendant of the original character which I thought was obvious and read the entire book with that assumption. Not sure why this is labeled as a thriller. Nothing gets resolved.
The main characters had names too similar making it too time consuming to have to stop and think about who this person is. The constant jumping from time period to time period made the book drag. The book didn't
really have an ending, just let the reader know that the person was a descendant of the original character which I thought was obvious and read the entire book with that assumption. Not sure why this is labeled as a thriller. Nothing gets resolved.
May 14, 2022
A fascinating, fast-paced doubleheader. Not only the archeology students searching for Second Jewish Temple treasures and at the same time 2,000 years before the drive to save the treasures as the Romans drive to take them. I don't want to say much, as the story is so beautifully linked. My only problem was keeping all of the Y names separate. If you love history, antiquities and unknown treasures read this book.
December 1, 2022
Great
Love the two storylines, ancient times to today. The determination of the students was inspirational. I hope students today are as determined. The love of the couple from ancient times not only for each other and their daughter but also her father. Their determination and self sacrifice to save the Temple artifacts was unbelievable. She was so close to her love... Great job. Thank you.
Love the two storylines, ancient times to today. The determination of the students was inspirational. I hope students today are as determined. The love of the couple from ancient times not only for each other and their daughter but also her father. Their determination and self sacrifice to save the Temple artifacts was unbelievable. She was so close to her love... Great job. Thank you.
April 20, 2022
Parallel Plots
The story is engrossing in both current and historical. The writing is easy to read, but I had non named characters were hard to keep in actions. The plots suspenseful and thrilling. The characters were very realistic. They were diverse and not very deep. The descriptions of the mideast were excellent, both modern and historic.
The story is engrossing in both current and historical. The writing is easy to read, but I had non named characters were hard to keep in actions. The plots suspenseful and thrilling. The characters were very realistic. They were diverse and not very deep. The descriptions of the mideast were excellent, both modern and historic.
May 1, 2022
The 2nd Temple Treasure
Even though the book was not written in the best possible way, or maybe not perfectly edited, it gave the reader another perspective on this mystery.
Going back in time was a great idea. Connecting the places in time made the story even more interesting.
Quick question, does almost all Jewish names start with "Y"?
Even though the book was not written in the best possible way, or maybe not perfectly edited, it gave the reader another perspective on this mystery.
Going back in time was a great idea. Connecting the places in time made the story even more interesting.
Quick question, does almost all Jewish names start with "Y"?
January 14, 2023
While I enjoyed the story, I found myself often becoming confused about who people were as the story jumped around to different time periods and characters throughout this nearly 2000 year old story. I was also disappointed by the course language at the concluding chapters of the story, which had been absent throughout the previous 100 (yes, there are 120 chapters!) or so chapters of the book.
May 1, 2022
DNF. Too many characters with similar names, and I got fed up if the relentless barrage of "all Israelis are smart, handsome, and heroic, and everyone else is a villain, terrorist or untrustworthy."
And it needs an editor. It's SCOTCH whisky, not Scottish whisky, among many other errors.
And it needs an editor. It's SCOTCH whisky, not Scottish whisky, among many other errors.
October 31, 2022
Ehh...
Too many typos, wrong adjectives and bad grammar found in this one. Distracting.
Easy to skip over paragraphs because so obvious.
However, still enjoyable. Just could have been a lot better.
Too many typos, wrong adjectives and bad grammar found in this one. Distracting.
Easy to skip over paragraphs because so obvious.
However, still enjoyable. Just could have been a lot better.
March 28, 2022
A stunning untrue history of modern and past Israel.
A stunning book for those of us that lived through the Israel war, weather there or in the US. A long read but a good one.
A stunning book for those of us that lived through the Israel war, weather there or in the US. A long read but a good one.
April 22, 2022
One of the best historical fiction I have read in 70 years.
Extremely well done, never gets boring wonderful character development.
Extremely well done, never gets boring wonderful character development.
November 2, 2022
Very confusing
Everybody is named Y..something. Why? It is hard to follow the characters most seem to have the same names! ...
Everybody is named Y..something. Why? It is hard to follow the characters most seem to have the same names! ...
July 12, 2023
Diverting
Imaginative and well written, with believable characters, but either the translation suffers in places or the editing does. It just never quite grips the reader fu.ly
Imaginative and well written, with believable characters, but either the translation suffers in places or the editing does. It just never quite grips the reader fu.ly
January 13, 2022
‘We’re the first to have stepped here in two thousand years!’
Israeli author Erez Hassul earned his degrees in geology from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and has been absorbed by his research on the connection between archeology and geology/geophysics. THE TEMPLE SCROLL is his debut novel, translated from the Hebrew by Grace Michaeli.
Cautiously, and successfully, blending true historical facts with polished fiction, Erez incorporates his special knowledge of geology/archeology with a fine style of writing, leading the reader into the mystery with an moody Prologue: ‘The wanderer paced slowly along the winding path up the mountain. It was a late afternoon hour, and the autumn sun hung low in the sky, casting long shadows. His dark cloak was stained with dried blood; some was his, but most belonged to people whose lives he had taken. He no longer remembered how many there had been. His young muscular shape was visible beneath the hood and heavy cloak. …It was late when he reached the temple gates, and the place was empty of people and worshipers. Wary, the wanderer stood in front of the gates and contemplated what he should do. He knew there was no place else for him to go…”Take me to the High Priest,” he said. I carry something important for him.”
Related in brief and pungent chapters, the fascinating mystery unfolds as the synopsis explains: ‘During their expedition into the Judaean desert, Yael and Nathaniel, 2 bright archeology students, happen upon a cave that was sealed for 2,000 years. A cave that holds the secret of a legendary treasure, said to have been lost since the last days of the Second Jewish Temple and disappeared from within its ruins. 2 millennia prior to their discovery, the daughter of a Temple priest and a Jewish rebellion leader are fighting to safeguard their home and heritage from the Roman invaders. They race against both time and adversaries to hide the Temple’s riches from greedy legionnaires, dishonorable soldiers and desperate pillagers. Now in possession of incredible knowledge, Yael and Nathaniel hunt down the lost treasure, but there are ancient and powerful forces trying to keep the secret lost forever. They would rather bury the two alongside the treasure than let it see the light of day again.’
Erez comfortably traverses the distance of two thousand years, making every entry memorable and credible. This is a very well crafted saga that offers insights to Jewish history through the eyes and thoughts of contemporary youthful guides. Highly recommended.
Israeli author Erez Hassul earned his degrees in geology from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and has been absorbed by his research on the connection between archeology and geology/geophysics. THE TEMPLE SCROLL is his debut novel, translated from the Hebrew by Grace Michaeli.
Cautiously, and successfully, blending true historical facts with polished fiction, Erez incorporates his special knowledge of geology/archeology with a fine style of writing, leading the reader into the mystery with an moody Prologue: ‘The wanderer paced slowly along the winding path up the mountain. It was a late afternoon hour, and the autumn sun hung low in the sky, casting long shadows. His dark cloak was stained with dried blood; some was his, but most belonged to people whose lives he had taken. He no longer remembered how many there had been. His young muscular shape was visible beneath the hood and heavy cloak. …It was late when he reached the temple gates, and the place was empty of people and worshipers. Wary, the wanderer stood in front of the gates and contemplated what he should do. He knew there was no place else for him to go…”Take me to the High Priest,” he said. I carry something important for him.”
Related in brief and pungent chapters, the fascinating mystery unfolds as the synopsis explains: ‘During their expedition into the Judaean desert, Yael and Nathaniel, 2 bright archeology students, happen upon a cave that was sealed for 2,000 years. A cave that holds the secret of a legendary treasure, said to have been lost since the last days of the Second Jewish Temple and disappeared from within its ruins. 2 millennia prior to their discovery, the daughter of a Temple priest and a Jewish rebellion leader are fighting to safeguard their home and heritage from the Roman invaders. They race against both time and adversaries to hide the Temple’s riches from greedy legionnaires, dishonorable soldiers and desperate pillagers. Now in possession of incredible knowledge, Yael and Nathaniel hunt down the lost treasure, but there are ancient and powerful forces trying to keep the secret lost forever. They would rather bury the two alongside the treasure than let it see the light of day again.’
Erez comfortably traverses the distance of two thousand years, making every entry memorable and credible. This is a very well crafted saga that offers insights to Jewish history through the eyes and thoughts of contemporary youthful guides. Highly recommended.
October 1, 2022
The new Robert Ludlum
The plot is great, the chapters that alternate between the two stories (that are connected) are perfectly timed and the characters feel like 'real people'. This book reminds me very much of the early books by Robert Ludlum.
The plot is great, the chapters that alternate between the two stories (that are connected) are perfectly timed and the characters feel like 'real people'. This book reminds me very much of the early books by Robert Ludlum.
February 20, 2022
The author's knowledge of history and geology shines in this fast-paced Indiana Jones-type thriller centered around a scroll discovered in the Judaean desert that could lead to the hidden treasures of the Second Temple. The novel is an informative and enjoyable adventure through Jewish history and contemporary Israel, with a villainous secret society hot on the heels of our heroes, a team of grad students, scholars, and a desert guide determined to uncover the secrets that the society would kill to hide. Highly recommended to fans of the Dead Sea Scrolls, ancient history, and mystery thrillers like the Da Vinci Code.
Read my full review here: https://mirisaspacestation.blogspot.c...
p.s. I am related to the author, but I genuinely enjoyed the book!
Read my full review here: https://mirisaspacestation.blogspot.c...
p.s. I am related to the author, but I genuinely enjoyed the book!
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews