The shadow of the black lotusa novel that mixes Ancient Egypt with fantasy and has a young embalmer as its protagonist, has today been proclaimed winner of the Minotaur Prize in its 20th edition. The author of the book, presented with the original title of The Wrath of the Jackal —who certainly leans more towards Anubis and less towards Tintin than the one chosen for publication— is the writer África Vázquez (Zaragoza, 35 years old), with around thirty published books and winner of awards such as Kelvin 505 at the Celsius 232 festival in Avilés. The novel will be published on March 25.
Vázquez, who collected the prize, endowed with 6,000 euros, in an event held at the top of the Urquinaona Tower in Barcelona, 70 meters high (half the height of the Great Pyramid of Cheops), is a graduate in history, passionate about Pharaonic Egypt and a fan of Christian Jacq, one of whose novels in the series about Ramses II, The son of lightwas his literary introduction to the old country of the Nile, as he explained to this newspaper. Sinuhe the Egyptianthe novel by Mika Waltari in which the protagonist doctor is forced to work in the Beautiful or Rejuvenation House embalming corpses, “came later, but it has also been a great influence.”
The shadow of the black lotus focuses on Imet, who as the narrative begins is a 16-year-old novice at the temple of Isis in Philae. The discovery of a corpse and the poisonous black lotus of the title that sprouts in the Underworld causes Imet to be taken to Abydos as an embalmer’s apprentice dedicated to turning fresh corpses into incorrupt mummies. The young woman will then devote herself to carrying out an infiltrated revenge at the royal court in Thebes. The author sets her novel in a magical and timeless Egypt and in fact uses the name “kingdom of Ta-Mri”, one of those used by the ancient Egyptians to refer to their land. Nor does he place his story in the coordinates of any historical pharaoh, but rather of the fictional Nekht-en-sen, although he admits that he was thinking of Ramses II and the New Kingdom. “I have mixed everything I like about Egypt and I have done it with the most absolute freedom,” he stressed. “MY story has many layers.” From one of the reference novels that mix Ancient Egypt with fantasy, The Gates of Anubisby Tim Powers, he points out that he has not read it but that he really likes the author.
África Vázquez has explained that her great initiation moment was the trip she took with her parents and her older sister to Egypt at the age of 13. The author revalidated her love for the country of the Nile on another trip at 27. Her favorite place is Abu Simbel, which does not appear in the novel, although other places that fascinate her do, such as the Valley of the Kings and the Valley of the Queens of Luxor. The writer has pointed out how in The shadow of the black lotus This love for Egypt is combined with another of his passions, which is fantastic literature. The award-winning novel is conceived as self-contained and in principle Vázquez does not plan to continue it.
The award presentation ceremony, hailed as the reference award for fantastic literature, was attended by a wide representation of fans of the genre, including the bookseller of Mal, Antonio Torrubia, from Gigamesh, and Alberto Plumed, from Cyberdark.net. Vicky Hidalgo, editorial director of Minotauro (Planeta group label), has highlighted the “very healthy panorama” of science fiction, horror and fantasy in our country and has pointed out how the fantasy genre is in turbulent times both a good refuge and a tool to imagine other possible futures. Regarding the award, he highlighted that for the first time in the originals received, a total of 216, mostly from Spain but with some novels even arriving from Saudi Arabia, fantasy has surpassed science fiction and horror. Some degrees have also been received romantasyworks that prioritize the romantic plot. The two-time winner of the Minotauro (2020 and 2025) and member of the jury Sabino Cabeza has proceeded to read the award decision and has stated with notable enthusiasm that in the winning work “you can smell the embalmers’ ointment.” It should be noted as a curiosity that there is a paleontologist on the jury, Francesc Gascó, director of the Benagéber museum, in Valencia.
The jury has assessed The shadow of the black lotus as “meticulous, devastating and relentless”, and “a dazzling journey to the heart of Ancient Egypt with a unique protagonist who captivates from the first moment”, and has advanced that in the “dark and enveloping” story, plagues, trips to the Underworld or “corpses that return to life and threaten to plunge the country into chaos” appear.