-DEBUT AUTHOR-
AVRAM NOBLE LUDWIG
"Part political thriller, part Hollywood novel..."
Ari Basher is the stuff of legends, the man who always gets the impossible-to-film shots. In Cairo, however, he faces the most difficult and dangerous challenge of his career: Never before attempted, he must photograph up close, from mere feet away, the face of the Imperishable Sphinx. The film’s fate depends on it, but if Ari damages the ancient Sphinx, he could end up in an Egyptian prison for life or even dead.
Compounding his troubles, Ari has saved Farah, a smoldering, dark-haired revolutionary, from being raped by government thugs, and she has turned his life around. Now he is caught in a web of intrigue, torn between his need to work with the military dictatorship to "get the shot" and his desire for this passionate revolutionary. Losing her is not an option. But will Ari pull it all off?
Will Ari join in the liberation of Egypt? Will he and Farah escape Egypt alive? And finally . . . Will Ari get the shot?
Praise for SHOOTING THE SPHINX:
“An exciting first book…”
Publisher’s Weekly
“…swift, sensual, smoothly written….
Part political thriller and part Hollywood novel,
Shooting the Sphinx will rivet you.”
William Martin, New York Times bestselling author
“…a fast paced and gripping tale with a profound message.”
Ambassador Joseph Wilson
“A darkly brilliant journey…
One of those stories you never want to end but can't stop reading until you get to that last fabulous page. …a real thrill ride.” Whitley Strieber, New York Times bestselling author of Wolfen, The Hunger, Alien Hunter and The Day After Tomorrow
“Sphinx-like…. Ludwig gets Cairo….the dust, the sweet tea, and the tear gas.” – Geraldine Brooks Pulitzer Prize winning author of the New York Times Bestsellers March, Nine Parts of Desire, Caleb’s Crossing and The Secret Chord.
“Ludwig's protagonist has the thrusting, take-no-prisoners drive of a bull, but the soul of a poet." -- Doug Liman, director of The Bourne Identity, Mr. & Mrs. Smith, Jumper, Fair Game
“This novel is, itself, Sphinx-like. What begins as a funny, high-voltage frolic amid the high stress, high-stakes world of blockbuster movie-making winds up as something much more probing and inscrutable. Producer Ari Basher, dispatched to Cairo to get key footage, finds himself plunged into a revolution that forces him to confront generals, secret policemen, and his own conscience. Ludwig gets Cairo: its manic energy, its bureaucratic sclerosis. You can taste the dust, the sweet tea, and the tear gas. – Geraldine Brooks Pulitzer Prize winning author of the New York Times Bestsellers March, Nine Parts of Desire,
Caleb’s Crossing and The Secret Chord.
“A darkly brilliant journey down the pathways of an Islamist state. Vivid with realism and insight into a world that most of us barely know. One of those stories you never want to end but can't stop reading until you get to that last fabulous page. Thank you Avram. You gave me a real thrill ride.” —Whitley Strieber, New YorkTimes bestselling author of Wolfen, The Hunger, Alien Hunter and The Day After Tomorrow
“A darkly brilliant journey down the pathways of an Islamist state. Vivid with realism and insight into a world that most of us barely know. One of those stories you never want to end but can't stop reading until you get to that last fabulous page. Thank you Avram. You gave me a real thrill ride.” —Whitley Strieber, New York Times bestselling author of Wolfen, The Hunger, Alien Hunter and The Day After Tomorrow
“Shooting the Sphinx Is a fast paced and gripping tale with a profound message to all who would wander, well intentioned or not, into the morass that is the Middle East. If American political leaders had read it before taking the nation to wars in the region, they might have had second thoughts”---Ambassador Joseph Wilson, author of The Politics of Truth
"Set against the backdrop of a burgeoning revolution in the explosive heart of Egypt, Shooting the Sphinx offers an insider's take on Hollywood's relentless — even fatal — drive to "get the shot," consequences be damned. Here is a propulsive, cinematic tale in which both the action sequences and romantic relationships pulsate with tension. Make no mistake: Ludwig's protagonist has the thrusting, take-no-prisoners drive of a bull, but the soul of a poet." -- Doug Liman, director of The movies Bourne Identity, Mr. & Mrs. Smith, Jumper, Fair Game and Live, Die, Repeat.