Listen free for 30 days

Listen with offer

  • The Sphinx Scrolls

  • The Ballashiels Mysteries, Book 1
  • By: Stewart Ferris
  • Narrated by: Gavin Osborn
  • Length: 13 hrs and 53 mins
  • 3.5 out of 5 stars (40 ratings)
Offer ends May 1st, 2024 11:59PM GMT. Terms and conditions apply.
£7.99/month after 3 months. Renews automatically.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
The Sphinx Scrolls cover art

The Sphinx Scrolls

By: Stewart Ferris
Narrated by: Gavin Osborn
Get this deal Try for £0.00

Pay £99p/month. After 3 months pay £7.99/month. Renews automatically. See terms for eligibility.

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £15.99

Buy Now for £15.99

Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.

Listeners also enjoyed...

The Last Airship cover art
How to Survive the Afterlife: Books 1-3 cover art
The Mask of Atreus cover art
Under Ordshaw cover art
White Haven Hunters: Books 1-3 cover art
The Summoner cover art
The Vestal Conspiracy cover art
Eminent Domain cover art
Baghdad Heist cover art
The God Particle cover art
Hellbounce: Demons Don't Always Hide In The Dark cover art
The Four Symbols cover art
Wild Cards I cover art
Anachronist: A Time Travel Adventure cover art
Capitol Break cover art
Relics cover art

Summary

An ancient Mayan prophecy. A dangerous Nazi descendant. A passionate archaeologist. And an aristocrat desperate for cash.

Mayan legends tell of a location where the secret to surviving the end of the world may be found. One part of that legend is recorded on a stone tablet in the dusty attic of Lord 'Ratty' Ballashiels' crumbling manor. The other twin part disappeared from a Berlin museum when the Nazis took power. When Ratty seems about to sell his tablet to the adopted son of Josef Mengele, his friend, the archaeologist Ruby Towers, is appalled.

Soon it is clear that more than archaeology is at stake. The quest to rescue historic Central American artefacts becomes a race to prevent an apocalyptic threat when Ruby discovers that the ancients have set in motion something that will threaten the world today.

©2016 Stewart Ferris (P)2016 Audible, Ltd

What listeners say about The Sphinx Scrolls

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 3.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    15
  • 4 Stars
    7
  • 3 Stars
    8
  • 2 Stars
    4
  • 1 Stars
    6
Performance
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    16
  • 4 Stars
    7
  • 3 Stars
    8
  • 2 Stars
    3
  • 1 Stars
    3
Story
  • 3.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    14
  • 4 Stars
    6
  • 3 Stars
    9
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    6

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Poor quality in a mediocre genre..

What disappointed you about The Sphinx Scrolls?

Straight paragraphs lifted from the best of the pyramadiots books... and transferred willy nilly to South America - very little to do with the title. Poor understanding of the Maya civilsation. Very bad plot, poor 2 dimensional characters, the obligatory nazis - and no saving graces.. bad relic hunters with a poor vocabulary and an embarrassing script.. an insult to the reader/ listeners intelligence

Has The Sphinx Scrolls put you off other books in this genre?

No, just it should be put to the bottom of the pile, there are many others better and more thought provoking. This had no redeeming features and was an insult to a genre that doesn't have much going for it.

Which scene did you most enjoy?

The deus ex machina reading of the Sphinx scrolls of the title in a crumbling mansion kitchen... the schrolls having been earlier destroyed, they are suddenly available in translation, much reduced, and edited and delivered by being selectively read out.. it encompasses both the best and the worst of the books.. and again, how on earth did it get by the editors? Shouldn't have been published/

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Does no one need an agent these days? Is there no such thing as an editor.. and how are book buyers supposed to distinguish between writing and pulp fiction ..I paid for this rubbish...

Any additional comments?

Does no one need an agent these days. Some stuff should not be published.. in defense of the waste of ink and trees, never mind the poor people who try and read it, in all innocence.
The narrator should get a medal for ploughing through and delivering, straight faced and not hamming up the audible version.. and making a very poor narrative a mediocre book.. on audible..I would not recommend reading it, or listening to it, in anything other than ironic mode., or as a how not to...

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Enjoyed it

Overall a good story but found it a little difficult to follow at times. A few loose ends but not sorry I bought it. Very interesting concept and ideas.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Such great potential!!

This book has all the elements I love in fiction writing but I was frustrated by Rose Towers... She just doesn't get it - or the author doesn't want her to get it!!

For most of the chapters I was trying to figure why the lead character is left behind in the plot. It would have been okay if the author had kept us in the dark too but it's not that hard to figure out that a rocket propulsion specialist might be brought in to investigate an aircraft or maybe even a space craft - come on Ms Towers.

Most of the support characters are great and well developed, Ratty is a riot, but others like Otto also seem to slow the story down.

I really wanted this book to be great but it was just okay.

I don't think I'll go on to read the next installment anytime soon.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

To long

Good story but in places it’s to long so you tend to lose concentration.the storyteller was good.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Dreadful plot

Dreadful plot, annoying characters, irritating narration and hard work to get to the end of it. This one is being returned and it is the last time I take any notice of recommendations!!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Very enjoyable

I really enjoyed this. it has adventure, a little outdated conspiracy theory stuff, great characters (I particularly loves Ratty) and has that feel good factor. looking forward to the next one!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!