Sam Ward is an ex-photojournalist for National Geographic turned guide on Mount Ararat in eastern Turkey after the death of his fiancé. When Faye Roberts asks his help to find her father, a biblical studies professor who went missing while searching for Noah’s Ark on the mountain.

I got the impression this was written as a script for a television show or movie. Sam is sarcastic, and spews off a number of “one-liners”. I might not have minded this, however nearly all the other characters also made “zingers” —even at inappropriate times and when it did not fit within their character. Additionally, the storyline is unbelievable. I was disappointed in this one. ( )

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J.R. Rain gives the reader in The Lost Ark an adventure story of biblical proportions. Okay, maybe not quite that big, but I'm sticking by my phrasing.

An American tour guide in Turkey struggles with his own ghosts when a woman from his own homeland walks in needing a guide up Mount Ararat in search of her father who disappeared with a student a month before. She will go with or without him as a guide. Sam Ward takes her up because he knows he is the only one she will be able to trust. The problem lies in someone with wealth and power has 'claimed' the mountain. They find themselves running for their lives from crazed men with weapons and the possibility of Noah's ark being nearby. They are in for the surprise of their lives.

The story started off a little slow, but it was building the background and setting the scene with the characters. In fact, that slow start was needed. Rain does an excellent job in developing characters while not making them too close nor too far removed from the reader. The action, once it starts, is non stop. I enjoyed that. The two main characters hardly have time to catch their breaths as nature and madmen interfere with things.

I had trouble putting the book down. I had to know where the missing people were, did the find the ark, and how were they going to get out of there. I wasn't disappointed in the story. There is violence and there is swearing in the pages.

If you like adventure, a little history, and dealings with crazy men set out to destroy the world, you have to read this book. It is well worth it.

Note: This book was purchased with my own funds. ( )