The Ark by Ken Newman

Set in an antediluvian steampunk world as modern as our own, The Ark is a new spin on the Biblical account of Noah.

Noah, patriarch of the affluent House of Seth, is a troubled man. Despite his strong walk with God, and his best efforts, his atheist wife, Kira and their three sons have bought into the depraved world system around them. While Noah struggles with his wayward family, humanity is fighting and losing a ruthless war with a hybrid of human and angel; a savage race called the Nephillim.

Disgusted with rebellious humanity, the Lord has decided to destroy all life on earth; however, Noah has found favor in His sight.

Noah secretly builds the vast ship, unaware that he is the target of a deadly conspiracy. Lucifer, to prevent the advent of the promised Messiah, who will come from Noah's bloodline, has warned the Nephillim of the coming cataclysm. Plotting the destruction of both the Ark, and the House of Seth, the Nephillim will make certain that when the waters recede, it will be they, and not humanity who inherit the new world.

This is an interesting retelling of the Bible’s story about Noah and his ark. It is an unusual story to begin with, and Mr. Newman has managed to make it even more so.

The plot takes place in modern times, although it’s a slightly shifted modern world, where things are a bit different from how we know them. People worship strange gods and keep turning away from the true one Noah believes in. The author managed to catch my attention from the beginning, and, since I’m not a Christian, this should tell you that no matter your religious denomination it is a great story with a fast plot. The author does a nice job of building a credible situation of something that is so hard to believe.

Something that I found interesting was the way that he chose to make Noah’s wife more rebellious than her Biblical counterpart. It made everything more even more complicated than it would have originally, and really added another layer to the basic story. We got to know Noah’s role in his own family, which is something we don’t get from the Bible.

I really do recommend this one. It is quite different from the usual, but hugely rewarding.