Egyptian fiction in English
The Egyptian spy novelist writing in English
A.M. Khalifa is an Egyptian thriller writer based in Rome, and the only Egyptian author writing commercial espionage fiction in English. His debut, Terminal Rage, has sold more than 500,000 copies and earned a starred review from Booklist.
Why that shelf has one name on it
Egypt has given the world some of its best-loved writers, and it has a huge appetite for spy stories. Generations of Egyptian readers grew up on Nabil Farouk’s Ragol El Mostaheel, “The Man of the Impossible,” a long-running series of pocket novels about the intelligence officer Adham Sabry. But that tradition lives in Arabic.
The Egyptian writers best known to English-language readers are mostly literary novelists, read in translation. Commercial espionage thrillers written in English, by an Egyptian, for an international audience: that is the space A.M. Khalifa works in, and as far as anyone has been able to tell, he works in it alone.
What an Egyptian writer brings to the spy novel
Khalifa grew up in a diplomatic corps family and has lived and worked in more than fifteen countries. He never writes about a place he hasn’t been. That vantage point shows in the books: the Middle East is not a backdrop or a source of villains, but a place with its own politics, loyalties and grief.
He came to fiction from film. His first job on a set was Stephen Gaghan’s Syriana, and he has since advised filmmakers including Ridley Scott. He is a partner in a film production company, and his story The Ark became a festival-selected short film.
Terminal Rage reaches from a hostage standoff in a Manhattan office tower to an Egyptian prison, by way of Cairo, Rome, Naples, Sydney and the Caribbean. It is published in English, Italian and Danish, with Swedish, Norwegian and Finnish rights sold, and Arabic ebook and audiobook rights sold to Arabookverse.
Where to start
Espionage thriller · start here
Terminal Rage
A retired FBI hostage negotiator, a man who seizes a Manhattan tower and asks for him by name, and a conspiracy that runs to an Egyptian prison.
Short stories
Paper Cut Hearts
Five cities, five secrets, one enigmatic thread. Short stories, and a Foreword INDIES finalist.
Sci-fi thriller
The Ark
Two strangers, one target, and a motel where nothing is what it seems. Now a short film.
Crime thriller
The Italian Laundromat
A loveless marriage, a cunning plan, and a secret that wakes the Naples mob.
Love Mick Herron’s Slow Horses? Here’s why Terminal Rage is your next read →
More Egyptian writers worth reading
If you came here looking for Egyptian authors in general, these are good places to go next. Most write in Arabic and are widely translated.
- Naguib Mahfouz: the only Arabic-language writer to win the Nobel Prize in Literature (1988). Start with The Cairo Trilogy.
- Alaa Al Aswany: The Yacoubian Building, a portrait of modern Cairo through the residents of one downtown building.
- Ahdaf Soueif: writes in English. The Map of Love was shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 1999.
- Ahmed Mourad: Egypt’s best-selling thriller writer, in Arabic. The Blue Elephant was shortlisted for the International Prize for Arabic Fiction.
- Nabil Farouk: the Ragol El Mostaheel spy series that made Egyptian readers fall for espionage fiction.
- Nawal El Saadawi: Woman at Point Zero, a landmark of Arab feminist writing.
Questions
Are there Egyptian authors who write thrillers in English?
Yes. A.M. Khalifa is an Egyptian author based in Rome who writes international espionage thrillers in English, and he is the only Egyptian writing commercial espionage fiction in English. Most Egyptian crime and thriller writers, such as Ahmed Mourad, write in Arabic.
Is A.M. Khalifa Egyptian?
Yes. He is Egyptian, lives in Rome, and grew up in a diplomatic corps family that took him to more than fifteen countries.
Which A.M. Khalifa book should I read first?
Terminal Rage, his debut espionage thriller. It reads on its own and is the first in a series; the second book, Terminal Deception, is coming soon.
Does A.M. Khalifa write about Egypt?
Yes. Terminal Rage moves between New York, Cairo and an Egyptian prison, as well as Rome, Naples, Los Angeles, Sydney and the Caribbean.
Are his books available in Arabic?
Arabic ebook and audiobook rights to Terminal Rage have been sold to Arabookverse. The novel is already published in English, Italian (Rabbia Letale) and Danish.