A novel deserving of applause Sonallah Ibrahim In a region where there are not many novels in the thriller genre, Ahmed Mourad's racy and dark portrayal of pre-revolution Egypt comes as a welcome addition. Gulf News Ahmed Mourad is a distinctive, indeed a unique voice, and... Bloomsbury Qatar Foundation and Robin Moger, its stylish translator, have done us a considerable favor in making that voice available to Western audiences... Vertigo is possessed by a powerful vision of Mubarak's Egypt as a cesspit of graft, greed, and ruthless hypocrisy. World Literature Today It is a beautiful and interesting novel -- Osama Ghareeb Al Masry Al Youm (Mourad) has got involved and done something big. The Daily Star, Lebanon What Vertigo captures that is so essentially 2011 is the desire to rock our corrupt, and degraded world by - somehow - speaking the truth... Like the spirit of this year, this is truly brave M. Lynx Qualey, Al Masry al Youm, Egypt

Born in 1978, Ahmed Mourad is a photographer, graphic designer and a novelist who has won several awards for his short films.