Gary Corby's "Death Ex Machina"

Gary Corby is the author of the Athenian Mystery series, starring Nicolaos, his girlfriend Diotima, and his irritating twelve year old brother Socrates.

The books in order are The Pericles Commission, The Ionia Sanction, Sacred Games, The Marathon Conspiracy, and the newest addition, Death Ex Machina.

Here Corby dreamcasts an adaptation of Death Ex Machina:

It’s lovely to be back for My Book, the Movie, for no less than the fifth time. I write a series, the Athenian Mysteries, with two regular detectives called Nicolaos and Diotima.

Death Ex Machina is the perfect book for My Book, The Movie! Because this is a very theatrical murder.

Death Ex Machina takes place in 458BC, at the Theater of Dionysos, the world’s first theater, when plays and acting have only just been invented. A ghost is haunting the theater, and it’s Nico and Diotima’s job to rid the theater of the ghost, plus solve a murder that happens along the way.

Casting this for a movie is going to be fun, because most of the ancient world’s greatest playwrights are characters in the book. So let’s begin.

The play in the book is Sisyphus, King of Corinth. It was written by none other than Sophocles.

The best actor to play Sophocles is none other than Sophocles himself. Sophocles was a boy actor before he turned to writing plays, so I’m sure he’d do a great job.

Next is Aeschylus, the man credited with creating modern theater. Surely Aeschylus could play his own character.

Next character out of Death Ex Machina is a creepy and intense tragic fan called Euripides. I’m pretty sure the real Euripides would overact hideously, but that won’t stop me casting him.

Then comes Pericles. A man of his rhetorical talents ought to be able to carry off a minor part, particularly when the part he plays is himself.

The leader actor in Sisyphus is fictional. To play him I think we must have Richard Burbage, who was lead actor in all of Shakespeare’s plays.

Lastly, we have Nicolaos and Diotima, my detectives. For them I’ll cast the young Kenneth Branagh and Emma Thompson, because I think they’d be awesome.

Visit Gary Corby's blog.

The Page 69 Test: The Pericles Commission.

My Book, The Movie: The Pericles Commission.

My Book, The Movie: The Ionia Sanction.

The Page 69 Test: The Ionia Sanction.

The Page 69 Test: Sacred Games.

My Book, The Movie: Sacred Games.

The Page 69 Test: The Marathon Conspiracy.

My Book, The Movie: The Marathon Conspiracy.

Writers Read: Gary Corby.

--Marshal Zeringue