Engaged couple Adam Holzer and Meryam Karga live for the thrill of mountaineering. They have co-authored several books about their excursions and hope to one day secure a television program focusing on their many adventures. An unexpected phone call causes them to put everything on hold, including their wedding plans, to travel to Turkey. A recent avalanche has exposed a massive cavern more than four thousand meters up Mount Ararat, and the lure of possibly finding anything associated with the legendary resting place of Noah’s Ark is too strong to resist. Several other groups assemble with them at the base of the mountain, waiting for the Turkish government to lift a climbing ban. When the ban is finally lifted, Adam and Meryam, along with their Kurdish guides, set out at a grueling pace and manage to be the first team to arrive at the cavern, thus securing exclusive rights of exploration. Deep in the cavern, they discover timber beams, multiple decks, and the mummified remains of animals and humans. Is it possible they really have found Noah’s Ark?

In a few short weeks, Adam and Meryam assemble a multi-disciplinary international research team to examine the structure and its contents. One artifact of particular interest is a sarcophagus containing the corpse of a hideous horned creature with the body of a man. The corpse defies explanation and becomes the focus of close scrutiny. As the research team continues to examine and document the corpse and the contents of the timber structure, strange things start to happen. Team members begin to have emotional breakdowns and hallucinations, some individuals become violently ill and break out in a sweat despite the freezing conditions, and people come up missing. The very atmosphere begins to feel sinister, and the remaining team members become convinced demonic forces were released when the sarcophagus was tampered with. A decision is made to abandon the site, and that is when things begin to spiral out of control. Team members violently turn on each other, and people lose their lives. Is it possible for Adam and Meryam—or anyone--to make it off Mount Ararat alive?

“Ararat” is one of those books that once you start it, you don’t want to put it down. The concept of finding Noah’s Ark was particularly intriguing to me. However, I don’t think many people associate the Ark with demonic forces, so that made for a very interesting and unusual story line. And that ending? Well, I still have chills! I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would recommend it to fans of mysteries/thrillers who can handle a little horror thrown in for good measure.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for a complimentary digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Golden has been red hot lately and his latest ARARAT is hotter than them all. An adventure tale about an engaged couple of explorers who learn Noah's Ark may have been discovered atop Mount Ararat. But among their findings is an ancient casket containing what appears to be the skeleton of a demon.

ARARAT then becomes a suspense-filled thriller full of possessions, intrigue, and soul searching that will have you captivated until the very last word.

I received a free copy of this through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The story opens with an earthquake in Turkey that reveals a hidden cave inside Mount Ararat. The cave turns out to be an ancient ship that has been long buried. When news of this find gets out, many believe the ship to be Noah’s Ark. A newly engaged couple, Adam Holzer & Meryam Karga, is notified by a friend of theirs, Feyiz, a local guide, about the find. They want to be the first ones inside to lay claim to the find before another team, headed by Armando Olivieri, does. Adam and Meryam are adventurers who write books and make videos “to help ordinary people overcome their fear of taking risks”. The couple is accompanied by guides, Hakan & Feyiz. To beat Olivieri’s team, they decide to take an alternate, more dangerous route up Mount Ararat. After a long, treacherous climb, they reach the entrance to the ship. Inside, they find a sarcophagus with a deformed corpse. A few weeks later, Adam and Meryam are joined by Father Cornelius Hughes, a linguist and historian, Ben Walker, a DARPA agent traveling under the guise as a researcher for the National Science Foundation, a representative from the UN, Kim Seong, and additional archaeologists and filmmakers to record their findings.


I really enjoyed this book. The idea that this ship could be Noah’s Ark was definitely something that fascinated me. It was nice that the author touched on some of the religious implications but didn’t dwell or hit you over the head with their religious viewpoint. I liked the characters and there was enough of a back story for each to be able to relate to them but not be tedious. I thought the story was cohesive and there were no loose ends with the character story lines. The author did a good job with the pacing of the book. It captured my interest from the first chapter when the cave/ship was revealed, to the hairy ascent made by Adam & Meryam’s team, and the finding of the corpse. As the team(s) continues to investigate the corpse and speculate as to its origins, people start to disappear. But are they leaving of their own accord or is something else responsible? To make matters worse, an enormous blizzard sets in. As the story progresses, tensions rise and the violence escalates. I found the story compelling, a page turner, and couldn’t wait to see how it ended! And I was not disappointed! Anyone looking for an adventure story with a bit of horror thrown, this is definitely the book to read.

Thank you Netgallery for the opportunity to read Ararat. I have read previous novels by Christopher Golden. He has a great sense of the supernatural and keeps the reader captivated. His new novel is no different. Ararat takes the reader to a scary place. Can Noah's Ark be found today? Readers will find this novel engrossing. Keep the lights on for this one. Recommend.

I was drawn to Ararat by the prospect of reading a horror novel based around Noah's Ark. I've never read Christopher Golden before, never read anything marketed as fiction involving Noah's Ark either. So, really, I had no clue what I was getting myself into when I picked up the book.

Ararat is a fast-paced horror thriller with a good dose of atmosphere. When they're inside the ark, you can immediately feel the evil settling into the air. What do you get when Jews, Muslims, and Catholics all find themselves clustered in what could be one of the biggest religious discoveries? At first, just a bunch of people there to do their jobs, which was refreshing! I liked how Golden set things up, with the UN oversight, the restrictions about not claiming the area for any one religion, etc. It kept it from taking a left turn into becoming a festering ball of religious one-upmanship and animosity. So, when tensions start to build after the evil has firmly got its hooks in, it's easy to read it without bias.

I wish that the book had focused a little bit more on Meryam (and Adam) as I felt there were some unexplored possibilities there. Towards the end, I felt like I didn't know Meryam nearly as well as I wanted to. That made it a bit harder to root for her, and to feel the appropriate emotions at certain times. Instead, the main protagonist of Ararat is exactly the type of guilt-ridden male figure you expect to find in these books. I do give the author points for saddling him with some actual issues, though! He - the whole cast, really - was still interesting enough that I had trouble putting the book down to go to sleep!

But, people that read a lot of horror novels are going to be able to lay out the rough details of the last half of Ararat. The author does throw one or two curve balls at you, but the rest of it is fairly predictable. Ararat is an enjoyable read, but just not as exciting for the more jaded readers. The way the last few pages are written, you can tell Golden is setting the stage for a possible sequel at some point down the road. I'm ambivalent about that. I think a large scale version of the possibilities he's left dangling would be interesting, but I'd have no interest in reading something that centered on just a few people.

Overall, while not a breath-taking thrill ride, Ararat is a great introduction to a talented author if you've never read Christopher Golden before. If you have read him before, I have a feeling you'll be satisfied with this latest work. There's plenty of action, tons of atmosphere, and people dying all over the place. What's not to love?

Fans of Dan Simmons’ THE TERROR will love ARARAT, the thrilling tale of an adventure that goes awry. When a newly engaged couple climbs Mount Ararat in Turkey, an avalanche forces them to seek shelter inside a massive cave uncovered by the snow fall. The cave is actually an ancient, buried ship that many quickly come to believe is really Noah’s Ark. But when a team of scholars, archaeologists, and filmmakers make it inside the ark for the first time, they discover an elaborate coffin in its recesses…and when they break it open, they find that the cadaver within is an ugly, misshapen thing…and it has horns. A massive blizzard blows in, trapping them in that cave thousands of meters up the side of a remote mountain…but they are not alone.

Five stars.
What did I think:
OMG I just finished it and I loved it, if you've ever read anything by James Rollins then you need to pick this book up, because the story is kind of like something he would and could of wrote, once I started to read it, I just couldn't seem to put it down, it pulled me into the story and I was hooked, the more I read of it the more I had to know what was going on and what was going to happen next, so this is a must read if you love thrillers that is non stop, from beginning to the very end, once again I have to say thinks to Netgalley for giving me a chance at reading what turned out to be a really great book for me to read and for helping me find a new author to check out, as well as a chance to review it in change for my honest opinion.

An earthquake uncovers a cave on Ararat. Visible within that cave are the remains of what many believe to be Noah’s ark. Meryam and Adam are determined to be the first team in the cave regardless of the horrid conditions on the mountain. As they begin the excavations they are not prepared for what they find and soon discover they are not alone on the mountain.
Don’t start this late at night or during a blizzard. If you want to be up all night, ignore this warning. Golden has given us a white-knuckle ride complete with a fully defined, diverse cast. This is a quick read because you just can’t put it down. Leave yourself plenty of time, not only to read but to reflect on what happens on that mountain.


(This is scheduled to be posted on my tumbler and Amazon the Monday prior to the publication date. If you would prefer it sooner, you can contact me. )