Ararat

This book was an easy 4-star read and probably flirting with 5 stars for the first 50 percent of the book, before the final third just went off the rails and drove down my rating. It was gang-busters and fun and propulsive and then it was repetitive and silly and just not so great.

I could not do this to myself. When halfway through the book I still felt no interest in any of the characters or even the scenario as it was being portrayed, I decided to walk away. Based on the other reviews of this book, it looks like you, fellow reader, will fall into one of two camps (and only TWO!) - you will either enjoy this book, or you will question the Bram Stoker award, the publishing industry, and what passes for well-written horror these days.

For myself, I'm in the latter camp.

Another possession! Much less psychological this time #bookclub4m psychological horror genre

Ararat is a creepy and thrilling novel at the intersection of faith, archeology, and adventure. A new site is discovered in Turkey- could it be Noah's ark? Within it is a strange and ancient corpse...with horns. Is it human, demon, or something else? As evil is uncovered on the ark the explorers must confront darkness both on the mountain, and within themselves. Ararat is suspenseful and keep me interested despite not normally being a huge fan of this kind of horror. I did feel that it dragged a bit, but not so much as to lose me. Additionally some characters felt underdeveloped and at times Ararat felt like a later book in a series, rather than the first. I had a sense that I was missing information, or relationship, with some of the characters. Overall I enjoyed the book and plan to read the next installment in the Ben Walker series, but I'm glad I checked this one out from the library instead of buying it on Audible. I doubt I'll read it again.

The Thing meets the Exorcist meets the Da Vinci Code. Looking forward to the TV series.