You have this incredibly readable style: I noticed this earlier this evening for reasons which you know. Once I start a story, I know that I will finish it: you will keep me 'turning the pages'. Things I particularly liked here: the three-knocks-exactly followed by the detailed description of the visitor reminded me of reading good children's stories and especially fairy tales and Diana Wynne Jones. I felt that stir of excitement - what's going to happen next? I also liked the way you kept the voices distinct, and not just the different speakers' voices, but their mode of speaking - Ricky's dad sounds very different talking to the lawyer compared to his 'storytelling' voice. It felt as if he had narrated this (or had it narrated to him) many times before. (This fits with your description of the scroll.) I also liked the historial setting - having done a little bit of Roman history at the Open University last year, I'm pleased to count myself an educated ignoramus, so I appreciated the three names, the customs - even the name
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Many thanks. Yes, Serapion was specifically an Egyptian name, from the god Serapis - a later development from Osiris. As for the rest, I don't consciously try to have different voices, and in fact I worry that people might be all talking too much like me, but on the other hand I feel that the dramatic situation tends to impose its own tone - Ricky's father would take a more literary voice as he is telling the ancient family story (and only those parts he wants to tell, of course).
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