Tablets of Ararat [Paperback]

C. J. Illinik (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 2002

What if Noah had kept a record and it survived? This epic adventure uncovers a legend and traces a journey of faith and love that spans the centuries and circles the globe. Guaranteed fiction! (20040603)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This ambitious debut novel geared for the Christian market juggles a multitude of time periods and subplots to trace the history of ancient gold-covered clay tablets on which Noah kept an inventory of the animals in his ark. The story is loosely framed around an American archeologist, Arianna Arista, who discovers two of the gold tablets in an underground well in Turkey. Rather predictably, she also finds romance with team accountant/photographer Morgan McCauley and a new interest in God. Another tablet is held by Turkey's chief archeologist, and the history of this tablet's broken corner piece also figures largely in the tale. Unfortunately, the story quickly fragments into multiple time periods and locations, including Turkey in 1969, ancient scenes "before the Great Flood," Beijing in the 1960s and 11th-century Armenia. The result is a series of short stories with the common thread of the golden tablets, rather than a seamless, cohesive work. The distracting footnotes are inconsistent; "cartoon" is footnoted as a "preliminary drawing or sketch," but "caravanserai" remains unexplained. Foreign words followed by their definitions interrupt the narrative flow, and contrived scenes require generous suspension of disbelief. Illinik's historical asides often take on an instructive tone, but her colorful cultural details are the book's greatest asset. Although it's a tough read, there's enough potential here to hope for better things in Illinik's sophomore outing.

Review

The Tablets of Ararat is an unique and original, superbly written, thoroughly fascinating, thought provoking, and enthusiastically recommended drama. (Midwest Book Review )

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Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Kregel Publications; First edition. edition (May 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0825429080
• ISBN-13: 978-0825429088
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,313,606 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Conceptually brilliant, but lacking..., March 12, 2003

By 

Donald S. Meador "imthman" (Novo Hamburgo, Brazil) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Tablets of Ararat (Paperback)

The Tablets of Ararat by C. J. Illinik is a brilliantly conceived novel. The story line is solid. The historical detail is rich. The food is well described, unlike many novels I have read. The characters are lively and intriguing, though they sometimes do inconsistent things.

The book is more of a braided novel, or a series of short stories that set the stage for a novella, than a novel that tells a single story. However, that is not really accurate. The story being told is the story of a corner of a tablet on which Noah had inventoried the animals on the ark. This being so, we follow the story of the corner through time and space. Up to the point of around the 1960's. At that point, we pick up the story of Arianna Arista and her cohorts in their quest that leads them to find two more tablets. The story really picks up at this point - the first 150+ pages covers the story of the corner, the final 200+/- pages tell the story of Arianna et. al.

I read 195 pages before discovering that this book actually was Christian fiction. However, the reader will find more characters in the book praising Allah (Turkish Muslims), than Christians praising Yahweh. The book seems to lend credibility to the idea that the two are actually the same. So, the reader should read with caution and discretion.

One annoying aspect of the book is that the author very frequently uses italicized foreign words, followed by a brief explanation in English. Personally, just using the English would have contributed greatly to the flow of the book.

One glaring error comes when the author writes that St. Paul baptized Cornelius. The statement is footnoted with Acts 10, which plainly tells us the Peter, not Paul, baptized Cornelius.

At one point, the author throws in comments about women's issues in Turkey. A comment is made by one character that demeans women who do want to be housewives.

There are several places in the book where information in the story conflicts with other information the reader has already been given. An example of this is when Morgan strips to his shorts and swims to a boat to save Arianna. While on the boat, he kicks in a door with his size 13 boot. I would think boots would make the swimming difficult. Several more lapses like this are present in the book.

All in all the story is conceptualized brilliantly. It kept my interest throughout. I think many readers will enjoy the book, but I did want to share the comments above. I hope this author continues to write, maybe even the sequel that this book leaves hints of. If you buy this book, I hope you enjoy it immensely. However, if you are like me, you will find yourself annoyed at some aspects of the book.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An intriguing and well written book, December 13, 2002

By 

Neal Boliou (Boise, Idaho) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Tablets of Ararat (Paperback)

Tablets is a thoroughly intriguing read, comparable to James Michener and Leon Uris. CJ Illinik's writing style easily captures both men and women readers and the premise is plausible with the characters both colorful and developed. Anyone who has lived or explored in Turkey will enjoy the descriptions of different Asia Minor cultures over the centuries. I particularly enjoyed the Gregorian monk character. I look forward to reading more from CJ Illinik.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A thought provoking, and enthusiastically recommended drama, November 10, 2002

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tablets of Ararat (Paperback)

The Tablets Of Ararat is an original novel by C. J. Illinik and based upon a fascinating premise: What if Noah, the ark-builder of Biblical history, left behind a record of his life and work that survived to the modern day? Arianna is an American archaeologist who discovers ancient tablets in Turkey. Her find could create overwhelming potential repercussions for traditional Judeo/Christian faiths and doctrines. Arianna soon finds herself at a crossroads, with a possible romance on one side, and on the other, a lethal danger from men determined to exploit both her and the tablets. The Tablets Of Ararat is an unique and original, superbly written, thoroughly fascinating, thought provoking, and enthusiastically recommended drama.