The Rosetta Key

By: William Dietrich

Narrated by: Jeff Woodman

Surviving murderous thieves, a nerve-racking sea voyage, and the deadly sands of Egypt with Napoleon's army, American adventurer Ethan Gage solved a 5,000-year-old riddle with the help of a mysterious medallion. But the danger is only beginning.

Gage finds himself hurled into the Holy Land in dogged pursuit of an ancient Egyptian scroll imbued with magic, even as Bonaparte launches his 1799 invasion of Israel, which will climax at the epic siege of Acre. Pursuing Napoleon to France, where the general hopes ancient secrets will catapult him to power, the wily and inventive Gage faces old enemies with unlikely new friends, and must use wit, humor, derring-do, and an archaeological key to prevent dark powers from seizing control of the world.

Entertaining and vividly evocative, The Rosetta Key is William Dietrich at his fast-paced, cliff-hanger best. For lovers of stirring historical adventure laden with intriguing mystery and puzzles galore, The Rosetta Key is a terrific thrill ride not to be missed.

©2008 William Dietrich (P)2008 HarperCollins Publishers

Critic reviews

"Ever the incorrigible gambler and all-around scamp, Gage makes an irresistible antihero." ( Publishers Weekly)

continuation

Don't listen to this unless you've READ the first book NAPOLEAN'S PYRAMIDS (unavailable in Audible)because this is a continuation of that book. It is a good adventure and does give some details of what happened previously but first things first! The other problem I had is that the reader doesn't sound anything like the character.

A Good Book

This is a good story. It is not a great story. It is not something that I left thinking, "WOW I'm glad I read that". It is although entertaining and keeps you interested. The characters are shallow, Except Gage, and the story line is adequate. It makes you wnat to find out what's next, but it never enthrals you.

I will read whatever he writes next though. I love books, and the author is good enough for me to purchase his wares.

Rosetta Key

Story was slow to start but got more interesting as it went on. The action and adventure also grew as the story went on. Lots of information on Napoleon's battles in the middle east. If you liked Dan Brown's book you will like this one.

National Treasure - Napoleonic Style

Pure formalistic action adventure that is fun and totally unbelievable. Saying that it is a good listen to. Jeff Woodman does an excellent job and this book is better than the previous. Yes it is over the top in parts and the history is skewed but what a romp through the sands of the Holy Land. A fun action adventure that would of kept the serial movie viewers of the 1930s very happy. Don't expect too much from this book and you will be pleasantly pleased by a fun story.

So So

Maybe I'm just tired of the lost religious/mystical/magical secret theme, but I couldn't get completely behind this one. I also had a problem placing the narration in the early 19th century.

The bones of the story are awesome. But...

Would you try another book from William Dietrich and/or Jeff Woodman?

I don't think I will. I read the first in the series, and it was intriguing, although I would have liked more story and less history lesson throughout. I thought an audio book would help me through the lull in action with this book, but I just sort of found myself tuning out instead.

What could William Dietrich have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

For sure we need some historical context to put Ethan Gage in the proper time and space, but exposition often gets lost amid the constant reminders that, yes, this is happening in a real place in a real time.

Which character – as performed by Jeff Woodman – was your favorite?

It would have to be the titular character.

Could you see The Rosetta Key being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

Absolutely. I couldn't say who the stars would or should be, but I think with some paring down, this entire series would make either an excellent film franchise or a great Netflix project.

Any additional comments?

The Ethan Gage series has the potential to be awesome. But with William Dietrich being a historian, the plot gets hung up on the semantics of the time and place of the events. So, yes, there is action, but it's muddled with a story that reads/sounds less like a novel and more like a history text book.

Don't Waste Your Time

This is nothing but a knock-off of Raiders of the Lost Ark. The main personage sounds like a 12 year old kid although he is supposed to be an adult. The narrator makes him sound too young to be believable. There are a few humerous parts but for the most part this book is very tedious and I would find myself skipping bits to see if it got any better. It never did. The story is not bad but the way it is told by the author makes it seem incredibly boring. Don't waste a credit on this book.

The Rosetta Key

I did not like this book at all. The dialog was childish and trite. I see this book as a boring knock-off of Raiders of the Lost Ark. The narrator has a child-like tone which contributes to the childish dialog. The book continually references past many past events which probably indicates that this is one of a series. I ploded through to the end wishing for some improvement but finding none.