Tomb Seven

by Gene Snyder

High in the mountains of Mexico, an ancient tomb filled with priceless relics is uncovered, unleashing the terrifying curse of the Old Ones, and the Russians and Americans race to unlock its powerful secret

Genres: Horror, Fiction, Thriller

288 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1985

Reviews

[Phil · Rating 3 out of 5]

Published in 1985, TS was marketed as horror, but it is really just a thriller. Our main protagonist is Jason, a 'generalist' archeologist from Wales. After a conference in the USA, he is approached by an old friend who is now piloting a new form of archeology, one blended by people with phi power to help. Jason, a cliched 'rationalist', is of course skeptical, but after a demonstration by a lovely gal who identifies various objects just by sensing them, he agrees to go on a dig in Mexico (especially as the lovely Lupe is going along as well). One thing that got Jason really interested was an artifact recovered from the dig-- a priceless gold carving/statue that demonstrated remarkable craftsmanship and precision. He had never seen anything like it. So, Jason and Lupe arrive in Oaxaca, but we know there is something shady going on, as Snyder tosses in a greedy Mexican billionaire who is obviously up to no good and somehow involved with the dig...

If you come to Tomb Seven looking for a horror novel, you will be disappointed; while we do have an old lady give a curse and warn people not to 'disturb the dead' at the dig (right before she keels over dead herself), this is more of a cold war thriller involving the smuggling of ancient artifacts. It was also a blast from the past-- the Mexican peso was a strong currency while the US dollar was troubled by inflation; KBG agents running around; and early computer technology. The relationship between Jason and Lupe was pretty trite and it seemed like every time Snyder mentioned Lupe, a few adjectives on her loveliness had to be used. So be it. A decent pulp thriller with some (meager) supranational aspects. 2.5 stars rounding up.

[Rob · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read this the first time when I was a teen. It's followed me around for years. Finally read it again. Didn't remember it being this bad. Predictable, highly cliche.

Read my review here: http://pubwrite.wordpress.com/2013/04...

[Krista · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book sucks. It's marketed as horror, but there's no horror element...it's a boring Cold War spy thriller about Russians looting archaeological artifacts that may or may not have come from Atlantis or from aliens or something...I honestly got so bored I stopped paying attention and skimmed the last 1/4 of it. The characters are one-dimensional; there's a mishmash of ancient curses and psychics and money laundering subplots that go nowhere; the insufferable lead characters predictably fall in love and then refer to each other as "my darling" so often that you want to puke. A forgettable waste of time.

[Blake Kourik · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well written but boring. A little too much dialogue and talky talky talky… no more talky. Went in thought this was going to be a horror novel though… it was not. TLDR— international thriller- the Russians try to rob an excavation site. Not bad. Middle of the road.

[Brett]

Horror