上
Volume I · 20 May 2014
13番目の石板 上
Take Shobo · translated by 森野そら (Sora Morino)
ISBN 978-4-8124-8900-0
Edition details
Novel
The 13th Tablet
An archaeological thriller about a looted cuneiform tablet, ancient flood traditions and the dangerous uses of knowledge.
Current status
Available for new fiction representation and future publishing opportunities.
The story
Iraq, 2004
Lawlessness is spreading throughout the country and looters have plundered museums and archaeological sites. Mina Osman, a young American archaeologist of Iraqi descent, is trying to protect what remains.
When she encounters an ancient cuneiform tablet, its cryptic text points towards something far more consequential than another object on the antiquities market. With former US Army Major Jack Hillcliff, Mina follows its history across countries and centuries while others pursue the tablet for very different reasons.
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Book trailer
A short trailer made for the original publication of The 13th Tablet. The video is loaded only when you choose to watch it, keeping this page fast.
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International edition
The 13th Tablet in Japanese
Take Shobo published the novel in Japan in 2014 as a two-volume paperback translation by Sora Morino.
下
Volume II · 20 May 2014
13番目の石板 下
Take Shobo · translated by 森野そら (Sora Morino)
ISBN 978-4-8124-8901-7
Edition details
Reader reviews
Amazon readers on the novel
Selected reader responses from Amazon UK and US. The short summaries below paraphrase the original reviews.
Amazon UK · July 2012
“Page-turner with a fascinating background”
Jonathan Oakey highlighted the speed of the story and the historical material underpinning the plot.
Jonathan Oakey
Amazon US · January 2013
“Middle Eastern Mystery”
David Konstan praised the balance between action and learning, from Iraq and Israel to ancient Babylonian riddles and later Jewish traditions.
David Konstan
Amazon UK · February 2014
“kickass heroine”
Roseanya particularly enjoyed Mina as the active rescuer at the centre of the thriller rather than a passive heroine.
Roseanya
View 3 more reader reviews
Amazon UK · August 2014
“Great story, genuine characters”
Misty Meanor singled out the academic grounding of the novel and its treatment of the destruction and looting of Iraq’s archaeological heritage.
Misty Meanor
Amazon UK · October 2012
“Hard to stop reading”
Paul S described reading the novel on an intercontinental flight and being reluctant to stop when the plane landed.
Paul S
Amazon UK · October 2017
“Cracking tale”
cathk recommended the pace of the thriller and especially enjoyed the Jewish historical background woven into it.
cathk
Behind the novel
Myth, history & archaeology
The research goes much further than the novel needs. These short companion notes preserve some of it for readers who want to follow the historical threads. Several also restore images from the original Haus companion material produced for the book.
Noah & Gilgamesh
Why the Mesopotamian and biblical flood narratives are so closely connected — and where the fiction begins.
Read research note →Benjamin of Tudela
A real twelfth-century traveller whose itinerary provided a bridge between antiquity and the imagined history of the tablet.
Read research note →Baba Sali in Safed
A modern religious tradition connected with the Ari and the mystical geography used in the novel.
Read research note →Mina’s Tablet
How the fictional artefact was turned into a physical object from drawings, photographs and archaeological notes.
Read research note →Ancient Qanats
A small piece of hydraulic archaeology that enters the thriller without stopping the story for a lecture.
Read research note →Myth & History
How archaeological uncertainty becomes fictional material — and why this remains a contemporary thriller rather than a historical novel.
Read research note →Events & appearances
The book in public
Launch-period talks, readings and signings in Brussels.
Publication history