Ararat by Christopher Golden

St. Martin’s Press, 2017

ISBN-13: 978-1250117052

Available: Hardcover, paperback, Kindle edition. Audible, audio CD.

It has been several years since a novel truly unsettled this reviewer enough to produce repeated nightmares. Ararat, though, is a read that nestles under the skin.

In Ararat, a team of explorers, scientists, and scholars have discovered something embedded into the rock of Mount Ararat that may be Noah’s Ark. However, instead of animals two by two, they find a handful of human corpses… and one mummified being with horns. Something on the mountain is not quite dead, but is waiting until the time is right for it to show itself. The expedition’s members struggle to figure out the dark puzzle, as a blizzard threatens to make the mountain cave their tomb.

Golden’s characters breathe, live, and fear on every page. Adam and Meryam, who spearhead the Ararat expedition, drive the story, along with Ben Walker, sent from DARPA to assist in ascertaining the true nature of the find. Secondary characters become fully fleshed beings, with nearly everyone turning a bit part into something crucial.

Christopher Golden has penned some great tales in the past– most recently, the disturbing Dead Ringers– but Ararat just might be his best. In this novel, Golden takes advantage of tropes common to the thriller and horror genres, while stepping deftly around the typical pitfalls. Golden tears perceptions and twists the plot in unexpected directions throughout.  Is it a thriller with horror, or horror in a thriller format?  Doesn’t matter– labels will soon be forgotten once the pages whiz by.

Ararat calls to mind classics like The Thing, The Exorcist, and The Omen,  but it stands on its own. Golden’s knack for intertwining sympathetic characters and the horrific with suspense ensures that this unsettling story will be read in just a few sittings. This is a story that begs for a blockbuster-style movie, but it’s one that this reviewer won’t be viewing. The nightmares aren’t worth it. Readers of thrillers and horror will be talking about this one for year.

Reviewed by Dave Simms