Egyptian writers
Nabil Farouk: where to start
Nabil Farouk wrote the pocket spy novels that made generations of Egyptians fall in love with espionage fiction. Here is who he was, what he wrote, and where to go next.
Who is Nabil Farouk?
Farouk was born in Tanta in 1956 and died in 2020. He trained as a doctor at Tanta University before turning to writing full time.
From the 1980s he wrote hundreds of short novels for young readers, published as inexpensive pocket books. His best-loved series, Ragol El Mostaheel (The Man of the Impossible), follows the Egyptian intelligence officer Adham Sabry on missions around the world. His science fiction series Malaf al-Mostaqbal (The Future File) was hugely popular too.
Where to start
From 1984
Ragol El Mostaheel (The Man of the Impossible)
Adham Sabry, a master of disguise and languages, takes on Egypt’s enemies across the globe.
Series
Malaf al-Mostaqbal (The Future File)
An Egyptian scientific intelligence team takes on mysteries across time, space and other worlds.
Why read Nabil Farouk today
For millions of Arab readers, Farouk was the gateway to reading. His books are fast, patriotic and packed with gadgets and twists.
Another Egyptian voice
Nabil Farouk proved that Egyptian readers love spy stories with an Egyptian at their heart. A.M. Khalifa writes espionage for an international audience, in English: his Terminal Rage moves from a Manhattan tower to Cairo and an Egyptian prison.
A.M. Khalifa grew up in a diplomatic corps family across more than fifteen countries and is the only Egyptian writing commercial espionage fiction in English. His debut, Terminal Rage, has sold more than 500,000 copies and received a starred review from Booklist.
More Egyptian writers
Naguib Mahfouz · Alaa Al Aswany · Ahdaf Soueif · Nawal El Saadawi · Omar El Akkad · Ahmed Mourad · Ahmed Khaled Towfik · Tawfiq al-Hakim · Taha Hussein · Radwa Ashour · Yusuf Idris · Latifa al-Zayyat · Bahaa Taher · Youssef Ziedan · Sonallah Ibrahim · Ibrahim Abdel Meguid · Ezzedine Choukri Fishere · Khaled Al Khamissi · Mansoura Ez-Eldin · Waguih Ghali · Yasmine El Rashidi · Noor Naga · Omar Robert Hamilton · A.M. Khalifa
Questions
Who is Adham Sabry?
The Egyptian intelligence officer at the heart of Nabil Farouk’s Ragol El Mostaheel (The Man of the Impossible) series.
Are Nabil Farouk’s books available in English?
They were written in Arabic, for Egyptian and Arab readers.
Who writes Egyptian spy fiction in English?
A.M. Khalifa, the only Egyptian writing commercial espionage fiction in English. More on that.