Nick Drake's "Egypt: The Book of Chaos"

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Nick Drake's critically acclaimed novel Nefertiti was shortlisted for the Crime Writers’ Association Ellis Peters Historical Crime Award; his Tutankhamun was a Publishers Weekly top 100 books selection. He has published two award-winning collections of poetry, and his play Success was performed at the National Theatre in London, where he is a literary associate. Drake's screenplays include the critically acclaimed Romulus, My Father (starring Eric Bana), which won Best Film at the Australian Film Awards in 2007.

Here he writes about the actor he'd like to see play the lead in an adaptation of his latest novel, Egypt: The Book of Chaos:

Rahotep, the detective at the heart of Egypt (and its two predecessors), is a man who feels at home in the rough backstreets of Thebes, but spend much of his time in the extraordinary elite world of the Palace and high government. As a detective, he's someone who just looks at a crime scene, to see what is there that should not be, and what is not there that should be. He's also someone who understands the labyrinth of the human heart. I'd love someone like Eric Bana to play him - charismatic, complex, with an edge of danger and an emotional depth and feeling for the dark poetry of the soul of things. Bana is an incredibly gifted actor with a powerful presence; I often had him in mind while I was writing.

Learn more about the book and author at Nick Drake's website.

The Page 69 Test: Egypt: The Book of Chaos.

--Marshal Zeringue