Ahmed Khaled Tawfik Farrag (10 June 1962 – 2 April 2018), also known as Ahmed Khaled Tawfek, was an Egyptian author and physician who wrote more than 200 books, in both Egyptian Arabic and Classical Arabic. He was the first contemporary writer of horror, and science fiction in the Arabic-speaking world, and the first writer to explore the medical thriller genre. Tawfik is considered by many to have been one of the most influential writers of his time. His legacy has influenced thousands of Arabic-language authors.

Biography

Born on 10 June 1962 in the northern Egyptian city of Tanta, Tawfik graduated from Tanta University's medical school in 1985. In 1992, he joined the Modern Arab Association publishing company and began writing his first series of novels the following year. In January 1993, he published the first installment in his horror/thriller series Ma Waraa Al Tabiaa, which translates to Beyond nature or "Metaphysics". He also wrote periodical articles for journals and web-based magazines such as El Destoor and Rewayty. His writing style appealed to both Egyptian and broader Arabic-speaking audiences, gaining him popularity in Egypt, and the rest of the Middle East. Tawfik's novels typically feature all Egyptian characters, and are set both in Egypt, and around the world. Some of his characters are semi-autobiographical. Tawfik draws from personal experiences in their creation; fans consider him their "godfather" and identify him most closely with his character Refaat Ismael, who is featured in the Ma Waraa Al Tabiaa series. His book Utopia may even reflect Egypt as it is becoming, with rich and poor and no middle-class.

Characters

Refaat Ismael

Refaat Ismael is the main character of Ma Waraa Al Tabiaa. He is a retired doctor who leads a life chock-full of paranormal experiences. A bachelor with a sarcastic attitude, this character is widely loved by fans of Egyptian pocket novels.

Alaa abdel Azeem

Alaa abdel Azeem is the main character of the Safari. He's a young Egyptian physician who works for a fictitious medical establishment named Safari, with branches in African countries. Safari's sole purpose is to hunt diseases. The character is married to Bernadette Jones, a Canadian pediatrician. This character is witty, nervous, not the greatest physician but a quick study who enjoys performing surgeries.

Abeer abdel Rahman

Abeer abdel Rahman is the main character of the Fantazia series. She's a simple Egyptian housewife with average looks, but well read. She marries a handsome computer programmer, Sherif, who has invented DG-2 (Dream Generator 2), a high tech device that can materialize preexisting human knowledge into dreams. With the device, Abeer has the chance to participate in any story she knows and live with any character (Superman, Batman, Adham Sabri).

Works

Tawfik began writing his stories when he was only ten years old, and he wrote, in all, more than 500 books. His series Fantasia was the first of its kind; a plot that presents famous literary works to young people, through an interactive presentation. Fantasia presented his readers to a wide spectrum of topics from Arthur Conan Doyle and Sikhism, to Fyodor Dostoevsky and the Mafia's Cosa Nostra. Other works include:

Death

Ahmed Khaled Tawfik died on 2 April 2018 at El Demerdash Hospital in Cairo, Egypt. He had undergone, on the same day, a cardiac ablation surgery to correct his long-term arrhythmia. The immediate cause of death was reported to be cardiac arrest due to ventricular fibrillation that he suffered a few hours after waking up from the surgery.

Recognition