The first in a new thriller series from Christopher Golden, Ararat takes us into the mountains and to a possible discovery of Noah's Ark. Full of action, interesting characters (especially the new main character Golden follows through the next few books in the series), this is a fun read perfect for long winter nights...

Such a good story, we have romance, violence, sneakiness, supernatural shenanigans and people going a little bit bat crap crazy.

It all works very well together, twisting and turning until the very, very end.

I highly recommend this book, 2 huge thumbs up from me!

Meryam and Adam take risks for a living. But neither is prepared for what lies in the legendary heights of Mount Ararat, Turkey.

First to reach a massive cave revealed by an avalanche, they discover the hole in the mountain’s heart is really an ancient ship, buried in time. A relic that some fervently believe is Noah’s Ark.

Deep in its recesses stands a coffin inscribed with mysterious symbols that no one in their team of scholars, archaeologists and filmmakers can identify. Inside is a twisted, horned cadaver. Outside a storm threatens to break.

As terror begins to infiltrate their every thought, is it the raging blizzard that chases them down the mountain – or something far worse?

Isn’t just always the way; you discover a centuries old burial site that could hold secrets relating to one of ancient history’s biggest mysteries and before you know it a blizzard has arrived, everyone is trapped and one by one they start to die. Is there a deranged killer amongst them, or is there something far more sinister? Christopher Golden’s latest, Ararat, is a masterclass in slow burning tension.

The thing I like most about this author’s writing style is the attention he pays to his characters. He does a fantastic job of establishing each of them. The dynamic between the two leads, Meryam and Adam, is well realised. Having spent years together, their entire relationship is based on an inherent trust. As the stresses of running the dig increase and events go from bad to worse, you can see that trust being eroded. Another character I warmed to was Ben Walker. He is the action man of the piece. There is a certain air of mystery that surrounds Ben, and I liked his no-nonsense approach to problem solving. The author does briefly touch upon Ben’s history. I would have loved to learn more. I am not sure if this relates to another novel or not, but I certainly hope so. What is revealed sounds like it would make for another exciting tale that I would be more than happy to read.

There is a moment in the novel, about halfway through, where the tension suddenly turns up a notch and things start to get genuinely creepy. Just when I thought I had sussed what was going on with the story, events spiral off in completely different direction. The narrative descends into some full on, bloody horror and I loved it. I’ll be honest, I wasn’t expecting this abrupt change of pace, it caught me completely unaware. I thought we were firmly in the realms of psychological terror, boy was I wrong. I’ll admit it, you lulled me into a false sense of security, Mr Golden. Well played. I’m a huge fan of any author who throws me a curveball like that and catches me off guard.

Now there might be part of you that is thinking “I have no interest in reading fiction based on a Bible story”. You would be making a huge mistake, I wouldn’t dismiss Ararat quite so quickly. I am a confirmed atheist, but I am also interested in history. I do sometimes ponder the origins of religious doctrine and I like the idea that ancient texts, like the Bible, have a kernel of truth in them. There may well have been an ark, or several arks. I’m not suggesting that all the animals were transported two by two in order to save them all from a world-encompassing flood, but perhaps there was some disaster that is the seed of this tale. Many historians believe that the legends of Robin Hood are a based on the lives of multiple men. I suspect the Bible falls into a similar category. My point is that I have no issue at all with reading fiction that is based on any form of mythology.

Christopher Golden is skilled when it comes to creating a sense of unease in his work. I read Snowblind a few years ago and there was the same claustrophobic eeriness in that book as is on display here. Ararat taps into that primal fear of the unknown. If anything, I was reminded of John Carpenter’s cinematic masterpiece The Thing. When you are trapped in an enclosed space and there is something stuck in there with you, there are only two choices – accept your fate or fight tooth and nail to survive. Watching the group unravel as they each choose what path to follow is fascinating.

It may be a little obvious, but my musical recommendation for Ararat is the soundtrack to the movie Everest by Dario Marianelli. I reckon the sinister grandeur of the music captures the same tone as the book, reinforcing that theme of unknown terror once again.

If you are looking for a modern action adventure novel with a distinctly supernatural twist then I can confirm that Ararat is the novel for you. Christopher Golden always produces first rate, solidly entertaining fiction and Ararat is no exception. When it comes to fiction you just can’t beat shoving a group of people into a highly stressful situation, turning the screws and watching them all squirm.

This book is a classic horror story. A few years ago I absolutely loved this kind of stories.

An earthquake at Mount Ararat in Turkey.An avalanche reveals a cave. In this cave there is an arch and some bodies. One of the bodies is horned. A team of documentary filmmakers and archeologists comes together to examine the arch. But there is something evil still alive.

This book was a kind of throwback to me. I really enjoyed this kind of books for quite a while. And I enjoyed this one, too. It is an entertaining read and fast paced. I liked the setting, the isolated cave on the mountain, a blizzard outside and some strange and spooky things are happening. For my taste there was a bit too much talking about religion. Almost every character claims to have no issues with religion but somehow deep down they want to believe. I did not like that. It was just too much. The problem with these kinds of stories is always the end and “Ararat” is unfortunately no exception. I would have wished for a less fantastic solution. I was a bit disappointed.

I am a bit torn between 3 or 4 stars. The book was entertaining and an easy read. On the other hand the religious aspect was obtrusive, even for a book about Noah’s Arch. I stay with 4 stars because it was creepy and I enjoyed it.

Do you remember a long time ago when the movie Alien was first released and the impact it had on you, as the horror unfolded, and how gradually Ripley and her crew were destroyed by a creeping evil. The tension and fear was created by the not knowing...not knowing who or what had entered the good ship Nostromo or where it would strike next...and when it did strike (which it surely would) there was nowhere to go...Ararat has had a similar impact on me, having absorbed the 300+ pages in two sittings resulting in a very restless night of sleep where I to encountered my own demon (I kid you not!)

Meryam Karga and Adam Holzer are two high risk documentary makers and with the support of the Turkish government, have agreed to investigate a strange large cave newly revealed following a recent avalanche at Mount Ararat in Turkey. So setting off with a diverse crew of adventurers and guides "who knew the secrets of the mountain better than the curves of their wives' flesh" they make swift progress and soon enter the exposed cave where a discovery is made....a strange inverted wooden ship. This ancient relic is believed by many to be the last hiding place for Noah and his motley bunch of travellers when God decided enough was enough and he destroyed the world by flood...."He'd only been in the ark for hours and already felt the tension of the place. It wasn't just the mountain or the creaking of the timber as the weather shifted." A bitumen covered casket is exposed containing a cadaver..."The fingers were inhumanly long, curved into hooks, by the millennia it had spent dead in the box. The skin stretched tight over its chest had a purplish-gray hue. It had withered and there were spots in which the flesh had caved in. Bone showed through in various places on its skull and one cheek had crumbled to dust. The eyes had sunken to dried berries in its head. The horns were pale, dusty white, like ivory elephant tusks...."

"The thing's got horns. It's not human"..In the story of Noah a demon or beast found residence in the hull of the ship and killed two of Noah's sons and a granddaughter. Is the same fate now destined to befall this expedition? If a demon has been released how will it manifest itself? So with bad weather closing trapping the explorers, and seemingly blocking any chance of escape the Karga/Holzer expedition has little choice but to withstand the unpleasantness that the beast will surely unleash....To say much more about the course of the action would spoil a rattling good story. There are shades of "The Exorcist" here and just like the adventurers the reader is frightened and alarmed as no one can tell what the demon will do next or how he plans to spread his evil once released. As the weather improves those "remaining" realize the only hope for survival is to escape the torture that is Mount Ararat and so a bid for freedom must be made. Will they survive? will they destroy the demon? The last part of this adventure is unsurpassed in its excitement and the final revelation is truly brilliant...possibly leaving the way open for a sequel? This story has greatly disturbed me and has truly made me understand and appreciate the value of the written word. I do not often have sleepless nights following my reading adventures but this book has been an inspiration and it is a joy to know that there are some damn good horror/supernatural thriller writers out there! Many thanks to the good people at netgalley for supplying me with this gratis copy in exchange for an honest review and that is what I have written.

An earthquake and subsequent avalanche on Mt. Ararat leads to the discovery of a cave in which the final resting place of Noah's Ark is believed to have been discovered. A team of experts is hastily assembled to ascend the mountain and establish whether it is indeed the Ark.

Events take a sinister turn when a coffin-type box encased in bitumen is forced open and the remains of a hideous, horned cadaver are revealed. Could this really be a demon? A growing sense of unease and claustrophobia ensues and the team become increasingly unsettled and unnerved. When events take a violent turn, they need to evacuate the mountain immediately but there's a problem. A fierce blizzard is howling outside and anyone foolish enough to risk leaving may pay for it with their life. If they remain inside the cave they will almost certainly die too.

Ararat is a must-read for any ardent horror devotee. The sense of claustrophobia and ensuing doom is palpable; so much so that I could not put this book down! Anyone who has seen the movie 'The Thing' will understand the hopelessness and bleakness of the situation presented to the reader. I came to care about the characters and their backstories. I needed to know if they were going to survive or if the evil lurking inside the cave would claim them.

If you don't already own a copy of this book - GO AND GET IT. You won't be disappointed. It's one of the best horror novels I've read.

Ararat by Christopher Golden

Adam and Meryam live for adventure. A modern couple, newly engaged, they have become well known for the videos they record on their perilous expeditions across the globe. But everything they have done before now is about to fade into insignificance once they take a call from an old friend and trekking guide in Turkey. An earthquake and avalanche has hit Mount Ararat and a huge cavern has been exposed high in the mountain’s side. They aren’t the only explorers who want to know what’s in that cave and the race is on to claim it first. Meryam and Adam win.

The cave is all that anyone could hope for – it is the Ark, trapped in the mountain, astonishingly well-preserved and now exposed for the first time in countless ages. Meryam is project manager but the team that now investigates it is large, including archaeologists, linguists, pathologists and doctors, as well as others whose job it is to watch. There are mysteries hidden in the wreck and governments are interested, particularly here so close to Iraq. And that’s even before the religious connotations of the Ark are considered. Can any one religion lay claim to the Ark?

But all of this goes by the by once Meryam and her team descend further into the body of the vessel and find a mummified corpse encased in an inscribed sarcophagus, covered in pitch. On its head are the remains of horns while its limbs are distorted. It is abundantly clear that this hideous corpse is most definitely not Noah.

Christopher Golden is such a fine writer of horror (and other things) – I loved his earlier novels Snowblind and Dead Ringers, both of which chilled me to the bone (I’ll never forget the ending of Dead Ringers – that book gave me nightmares!). I’m delighted to say that Golden has done it again. Taking us far away from the comforts of modern life into the Godforsaken cold of the remote and lethal wintry mountain, we can expect anything to happen. And it does, almost immediately. How I love horror novels set on cold, isolated mountains and frozen wastelands.

The team find it hard enough to get along as it is, even without the horror that is thrown at them, and the tension is immense. Some characters we get to know better than others (for some rather obvious reasons), but the ones that we do get to know are developed very well, with hints of their past lives beyond the mountain. There are several little groups of people within the larger team and it’s intriguing moving between them. Not that it pays to get close to anyone in Ararat. The rate of attrition is high to put it very mildly indeed.

Ararat is a frightening novel (hooray!) and it is also a very gory and violent one. There are bits you might want to read with your eyes closed. Obviously you have to suspend your powers of disbelief and there is something rather inevitable about much of what happens but Ararat delivers exactly what I wanted from it. It’s a very well-written, satisfying, frightening, chilly and gory horror extravaganza and, if that’s what you want, that’s what you’ll get. More, please!

Other reviews
Snowblind
Dead Ringers

Quite a good book, interesting premise and take on the story of the flood / contents of Noah's ark. Let down at the end bit a predictable twist.

A grisly horror story based on Noah's Ark on Mount Ararat that starts off somewhat confusingly but builds into an intriguing violent tale. Various heroes meet a bloody end as it builds towards a denouement with a touch of Rosemary's Baby. A worthwhile diversion!

I wouldn't usually read about mountaineering, now I am concerned with what I have been missing out on!
The novel centres around a bunch of various specialists within their individual fields. I loved that this group included a mixture of men and women and people of various faiths. The group being diverse gives the plot a realistic/real feel to it. The specialists are exploring mount Ararat and in particular a secret myth that it contains Noah's Arc within it's cave systems. The group make a disturbing discovery and find themselves battling an evil entity and eventually themselves.
Their slow descent into turmoil and their focus to add some sense & logic to the situation makes for gripping reading.
The plot also has a very clever ending & I was hugely impressed by this author.
This was my first by this author but definitely wont be my last!
*I tried to read this novel, alone in the dark at 5am, with the room only lit by the light from my kindle and I was genuinely too terrified. lol

Well-written, fast-moving, and unputdownable; in short, everything I'm come to expect from Christopher Golden. I've read pretty much all of his books, apart from the TV/film tie-ins, and this is up there with the best of them.

As the title and cover suggest, this is set on Mount Ararat, <spoiler>the fabled landing area of Noah's Ark after the Great Flood. Many have searched for the Ark, but to no avail. When an avalanche reveals a cave, there's a race to be the first to see what's inside, and to claim the right to the resulting archaeological investigation. However, some things are better left undiscovered. </spoiler>

A cracking read. If you haven't tried this author before, this is a good one to start with.

I only wished I had more time to read this excellent novel, once I started it i did want to put it down exceptionally good plot and remarkable characters highly recommend this novel