The Rosetta Key

The Rosetta Key, William Dietrich, Harper Books, 2008

Set in the eastern Mediterranean of 1799, this is the story of gambler and adventurer Ethan Gage. At the end of the previous book, he found himself on a British ship heading for the Holy Land. He agrees to help the British slow down, or stop, Napoleon Bonaparte's coming invasion (the British don't give him a choice). In the meantime, he continues to look for the Book of Thoth, an ancient scroll of great power that Moses supposedly stole from Egypt, and brought to Jerusalem.

Gage is an American and protege of Benjamin Franklin, so he knows something about electricity. He puts his knowledge to use more than once, including during a major French siege of the city of Acre (present-day Lebanon). Gage switches sides between the French and British, more than once, and not by choice. He cheats death more than once, mostly because there are enough people who hear that Gage is looking for an ancient scroll and automatically think "gold and treasure."

Throughout much of the book, Gage has a big hole in his heart. At the end of the previous book, he watched Astiza, his Egyptian lover, fall from a hot-air balloon into the Nile River, in the clutches of Count Alessandro Silano. They are presumed dead, but Gage has to know for sure. In this story are also Jewish mysticism, the Knights Templar, the discovery of the Rosetta Stone, and enough action and narrow escapes to satisfy anyone.

Here is an excellent piece of writing. For those who like their thrillers to be historically accurate and swashbuckling, look no further. This will keep the reader very entertained.