While what the vast majority of people know about Egypt are its pyramids and mummies, there are Egyptologists _ not all scholars _ who find it, particularly its ancient history, fascinating. Indeed, what is called the ancient world.
THE BOOK OF CHAOS by Nick Drake, 376pp, 2012 Black Swan paperback. Available at Asia Books and leading bookshops, 395 baht
!A number of Egyptologists have turned to penning historical fiction about different aspects of their subject. Hieroglyphics can be read and artefacts found. Contemporary lands kept records of their dealings with Egypt, decyphered in recent years. Some point to age-old mysteries, raising more questions than they answer. British author Nick Drake focuses on ancient Egyptian mysteries, carefully laying them out, then giving his own solutions. Making them seem so plausible that other explanations seem unlikely.
Of Queen Nefertiti, why she vanished at the height of her glory. Of Pharaoh Tutankhamun, why he died at 19.
!In The Book Of Chaos, another mystery still. Why did Queen Ankhesenamun ask Egypt's arch-enemy, the Hittite ruler, for the hand of one of its royal princes in marriage?
It did happen. The papyrus with the proposal still exists and has been authenticated. Drake's placing it in the context of the time is a feather in his cap.
!The protagonist of his ancient Egypt series is Thebes Detective Rahotep, Seeker of Mysteries. The author's literary creation is middle-aged, has a wife, three daughters and a young son. Good at his job, he's given a hard time by his superior, who isn't.
!Egypt is a great empire, yet the queen agonises that she has no heir to continue the 18th Dynasty. Her first husband passed away while a teenager. Her second husband is old and rotting away. Army General Horemheb covets the throne and is known for killing those he doesn't like. And he doesn't like the queen.
!Egypt and the Hittites have been fighting so long, they forgot its cause. The queen thinks the unlikely marriage will produce peace and an heir. She sends an envoy and the detective on the secret mission to the enemy with her letter. They have many adventures along the way, opium smugglers the most dangerous.
!We are given detailed descriptions of Egypt and the Hittites, more so than in novels by other writers. There's a truly surprising twist at the finis. Drake uses modern names for ancient places. He eschews the title pharaoh, preferring king. A good read, even if you aren't an Egyptologist.
THE GLASS GEISHAS by Susanna Quinn, 358 pp, 2012 Hodder paperback. Available at Asia Books and leading bookshops, 395 baht
Dumb belles abroad
As the Nite Owl columnist for several decades, I realised early on that the numerous bars in Bangkok, Pattaya, Phuket, etc, relied on prostitutes, at least as much as drinks, to make a profit. From the barkeeps, customers, girls themselves via interpreters, I learned what being on the game was like and wasn't judgemental.
!Those in the world's oldest profession were in it for the money _ the customers the spenders. They supplied the insatiable demand, the girls, foreign and domestic, the endless supply. The underworld became involved. The authorities took bribes to turn a blind eye to its illegalities. Countless novels have been penned about the nitery entertainment field in general, its prostitutes in particular. A few by the girls defending themselves against the customers charges of having been cheated or worse.
!The tales of woe of the girls are the worst. Not because they are the saddest, but for the reason that they label them dumb belles. Going to work in bars with no notion that they are meant to play a sex role. Such naivete would be funny if it weren't so pathetic.
!The Glass Geishas by Susanna Quinn is such a story. Not one, not two, but three English girls, 20ish, close friends who should know the score in this day and age, go to Tokyo to work as club hostesses. High salaries for just getting well-heeled customers to order expensive drinks.
!Annoyed that the club owners demand their passports, it must be a Japanese custom they rationalise. Indeed, there's a whole lot of Japanese customs need getting used to.
Such as Yakuza not paying for drinks, the money deducted from their salaries. As are designer clothes, cosmetic surgery, jewellery. They become heavily indebted to their employers.
!Steph, Annabel and Julia split up. Working in different clubs, they lose touch. Girls are drugged. Videos taken of the sex they are subjected to while unconscious. For which they are paid a substantial bonus. Many girls like the money so much, they volunteer for more orgies.
!Only Steph, who is telling the story firsthand, refuses to indulge and steals back her passport. But not to return home. She's come to like the mores of traditional Japan.
Having lived in Japan for years, this reviewer predicts that given Steph's mentality, she's likely to have more trouble.