Before Egypt

"Before Egypt" by E. K. Jarvis is a science fiction adventure story written in the mid-20th century, during the 1950s. The narrative follows the journey of Mike Mallison, a big game guide, who is hired by Professor Brandon and his daughter Doree to embark on a perilous space expedition. Their quest centers around a mysterious ancient papyrus scroll believed to hold the key to an extraterrestrial origin of early Egyptian civilization, leading them to a distant planet in the Orion sector. The story unfolds with Mallison and his team encountering various dangers, including kidnapping and betrayal by unscrupulous individuals, McKee and Talbott, who seek to exploit the knowledge contained in the scroll for their personal gain. After facing a harrowing series of events, including a crash landing on a jungle planet and confrontations with hostile natives, Mallison's resourcefulness and bravery shine through as he fights to rescue Doree and the professor from their captors. Ultimately, the narrative explores themes of loyalty, courage, and the quest for knowledge, culminating in a thrilling escape that highlights the perseverance of the human spirit in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Robert Albert Bloch was an American fiction writer, primarily of crime, psychological horror and fantasy, much of which has been dramatized for radio, cinema and television. He also wrote a relatively small amount of science fiction. His writing career lasted 60 years, including more than 30 years in television and film. He began his professional writing career immediately after graduation from high school, aged 17. Best known as the writer of Psycho (1959), the basis for the film of the same name by Alfred Hitchcock, Bloch wrote hundreds of short stories and over 30 novels. He was a protégé of H. P. Lovecraft, who was the first to seriously encourage his talent. However, while he started emulating Lovecraft and his brand of cosmic horror, he later specialized in crime and horror stories working with a more psychological approach.