Monday, April 3, 2017

Ararat - by Christopher Golden

5 of 5 Stars     Review Copy

After an earthquake in the mountains of Turkey, a new cave is uncovered on Mt. Ararat.

"They spotted a cavern up on the southeast face that wasn't there before. Big one. Geologically, it shouldn't exist."

The news reaches documentary adventurers, and engaged couple, Meryam Karga and Adam Holzer who were eager to be the first to the site so they could potentially control the project. They are not alone on their quest and when the Turkish government finally gives their permission to start the climb, they are off on their journey.

Their nearest competitor was Armando Olivieri, the leader of a group of Arkologists—the people who believed the biblical version of the story of Noah's ark and had dedicated their lives to finding its resting place.

Other key players in Golden's intricately constructed story include Feyiz and Hakan, guides to the region of Mt. Ararat. Ben Walker supposedly working for the National Science Foundation, but actually for DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency). There's also Kim Soeng, a UN observer, and Father Cornelius Hughes, an expert on ancient civilizations and languages.

What is found in the ark causes those assembled at the site, Muslims, Jews, Christians, and Atheists alike, to question their beliefs and leaves them shaken enough to become confrontational with one another.

The current of hostility running under the surface of almost every interaction in the cave could have been ascribed to any number of origins. Most of these people had been crammed together inside the ark for weeks, unable to get truly warm or comfortable enough for a deep restorative sleep. The Kurdish guides and workers shot one another suspicious glares, some kind of fracture withing their own group. The project foreman, Hakan, seemed to hate pretty much everyone on general principle. And that whole stew of animosity existed even before they brought religion into the mix.

Ararat is truly the stuff great motion pictures are made of. Action, adventure, a love story, and a killer that seemingly can't be stopped. And, a story that keeps the reader guessing all the way to the terrifying conclusion.

Available in hardcover, e-book, and audio CD formats, from St. Martin's press.

From the author's bio - Christopher Golden is the New York Times bestselling author of such novels as Snowblind, Dead Ringers, Tin Men, and so many others.  Golden was born and raised in Massachusetts, where he still lives with his family. His original novels have been published in more than fourteen languages in countries around the world.

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