The Ancient

by Muriel Gray

Amongst towering mountains of trash in the backstreets of Lima, three young boys are trying to raise an ancient demon. They don't think their incantation has worked; but that night a teenage drugrunner is gunned down across their makeshift altar. As his killers walk away, his body stirs. Not because it still contains a spark of life. But because something is stirring beneath it…

Port Callao. The MV Lysicrates, a three-quarter-mile long supertanker, is being loaded with hundreds of tonnes of trash. Watching from the bridge, in a bleary state of hungover gloom, is second-in-command Matthew Cotton; more interesting is the arrival of a young American student who has missed the boat she should have been on.

They should have paid more attention to the trash.

Genres: Horror, Fiction, Thriller, Science Fiction

336 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

Reviews

[Oliver Clarke · Rating 4 out of 5]

‘The Ancient’ falls squarely into one my favourite sub-genres: Monster in a confined space. This time the monster is an Ancient Incan deity and the confined space is a cargo ship. The story is populated with a great cast: a kickass heroine who wouldn’t be out of place in a James Cameron movie, a drunk in need of redemption and a cowardly, scheming human villain who causes almost as many problems as the monster. Along the way are some great scary scenes, a tonne of gore, enough action to keep things satisfying, a smattering of humour and just the right mount of technical detail about life on a cargo ship (enough that you feel like you’ve learned something but not so much it gets boring). All of the above makes me really keen to read Gray’s other two novels (I had a paperback copy of her first ‘The Trickster’ for years but never quite got to it) and disappointed that she has only published three.

[Nelio Gomes · Rating 4 out of 5]

A novel about an ancient demon stirring within the confines of a load of trash aboard a massive cargo ship sounds like it could be plodding and monotonous. But instead, author Muriel Gray gives us interesting characters, a plausible chain of events, and intertwined mysteries, topped off with a dollop of horror – and such ingredients did make it near “unputdownable” (as Stephen King is quoted on the cover)! The threads of plot, and relationships between characters, all flow easily together as they are slowly revealed… and that makes the encompassing horror all that much more vile.

[Larissa Washington · Rating 2 out of 5]

Esther Mulholland's discovery of an Incan tribe yields an opportunity for her to commence writing her thesis to one-up a despised professor. Unbeknownst to Esther, the only female on the ship, she has become an unwitting pawn in the entity's plans. Yet, Esther's story is not the only one unfolding on this trash-filled ship. There is that of Matthew Cotton, first officer, and that of Captain Lloyd Skinner. So many demons while dealing with a demon. Even the back cover of the book provides insight into another portion: "Amongst towering mountains of trash in the backstreets of Lima, three young boys are trying to raise an ancient demon." So, about those boys...What happened? Guess they can now be called The Lost Boys. They were not significant enough to be developed.

Slow to develop, The Ancient is inundated with ritualistic ideas and practices, from summoning and possession to cannibalism and virginal sacrifice. Of course, while floating in a steel barge bad things happen, and the reader knows what it is but that information is not privy to those on the Lysicrates. Speaking of the bad thing, an ancient demon, it was more grotesque than ferocious or something to fear. The demonic entity is absurdly boring. It continuously dwells on past glories and boasts about its plans--that old, "I will make the world..." (fill in the blank). Its ability to utilize the crew aboard the Lysicrates to reveal each person's sins is reminiscent of Linoge from Stephen King's Storm of the Century. Let's just say, I like Linoge more.

A standard text of good and evil, The Ancient houses unlikely saviors and a trail of manipulation. Additionally, there are grammatical errors, and the story, as well as the ending, lacked the piece de resistance of The Trickster.

I enjoyed The Trickster. The history and depth of Grays writing in The Trickster were gut-wrenching and I could not put it down. While I respect the energy it took to research and write The Ancient, I do not recommend this book and cannot fathom rereading it.

[John Wiltshire · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would class the horror in this book more in the 'yuck' genre than the genuinely horrific: it's more interesting than scary. In addition, I had a terrible, terrible copy! I thought it was just my download until I read the blurb on this site where they appear to have the wrong name for the main character. She's Esther Mulholland, not Esther Weiss. Also, it's The Ancient, not Ancient Tpb, so maybe there's something wrong with the original copy that throws up all these errors. Seriously, my copy had luck instead of the f-version of that word throughout. What the luck?
However, all that aside, this is a pretty good read.
It's basically all set in one secure, isolated location, which always leads to some tense situations. In this instance, a cargo ship sailing over the Mariana Trench. There is a small cast of characters. Another good trait in any horror novel. There is a supernatural horror and a more run-of-the-mill manmade one, two interconecting themes which were brought together quite satisfactorily.
The main character, Esther, is a bit of a polarising figure. She's at college on an army scholarship and has, apparently, attended some form of pre-basic training to win that grant. Those who love kickass heroines and who think women can do everything better than men are going to love her until she discovers she needs to be deflowered to break the power of the supernatural demon chasing her virginity. I think Stephen King did this in It, although he had children do it... Esther having to have a drunken man deflower her seems to rather knock her feminist credentials. Being raped by the demon anyway definitely does. Those of us who have more reaslistic views on the ability of women to outdo a ships' male crew and defeat a supernatural entity by herself all because she was on an army scholarship at university won't find her raped and unconscious figure at the end of the novel all that surprising.
But put annoying Esther to one side (I'd stake some serious money on the fact that this author knows absolutely nothing about the army), and this is just a good read. It's like watching Dawn of the Dead: its entertaining and nothing more.

[Lora Kempka · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Only half…was visible from where she waited, but it was enough to skin her soul.” (p.286)

I have to admit, Muriel Gray’s book The Ancient made my skin crawl more than once. This work is a creature fiction and an unsettling example of why some cultural differences should not be explored, let alone accepted.
Ester Mulholland’s intent is not to attract the attention of an ancient evil, but she does.
What made The Ancient so unique, other than the story is, all but the first three chapters take place on a cargo ship in the middle of the water, far away land.
Gray’s pace speeds the story along without cheating the reader out of any creepy details but leaves room for the imagination. A balance not easily mastered.
I highly recommend The Ancient to anyone who enjoys atmospheric horror, evil creatures and strong, well-developed characters. I do want to thank Glasgow’s Waterstones bookstore employee for recommending Muriel Gray’s work.

[Deborah Carmichael]

This is the most terrible book I've ever read. There are way too many descriptive words. She doesn't elaborate about people's feelings. She writes about things in overly descriptive words and then trashes the things she wrote about. This book is a waste of time to read.
The layout is confusing. She jumps from one thing to another without joining the ideas in a smooth, coherent way.
Trashy book.

[Richard Howard · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book would, perhaps, work better as a screenplay for a film. It has an interesting premise and is well plotted and well written. For a horror book, however, it lacks any real tension and the gory images do not really work well here but would make for a suitably icky B movie. It is difficult to care about the many victims, as very few have a backstory. It is an enjoyable read though.

[Gary Meades · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gory, tiger-by-the-tail horror story with a high ick factor (not just from the gore). The Ancient has an interesting antagonist/monster, but the rest of the characters are a little underwritten and the story itself contains few surprises and feels very familiar. Still, it rattles along at a fast pace and doesn't outstay its welcome. Alien meets The Relic, on a ship...

[Hugo · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cracking monster horror, rarely stinting on the gore and description, building up characters and isolated setting, but then abandoning most of that for a fairly routine runaround final section, which inevitably disappoints.

[Puddle Jumper · Rating 4 out of 5]

lots of very very scary ways to die here...

[Fiona · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this, good characters, story moved at a good pace. Made me want to keep reading which is how I judge how much I rate it.

[Deanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

As soon as I finished it I wanted to read it again!

[Zoe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wasn't too happy with the ending. Felt dramatic and out of place from the rest of the book.

[James Cooke · Rating 4 out of 5]

An impressive horror thriller with sacrifice, evil visions & a foul monster all aboard the same vessel. Well worth a read!

[Jacob O'connor · Rating 2 out of 5]

Decent monster. Poor characters. No soul

[Paul SWITZER · Rating 4 out of 5]

Better than I was expecting...

[Meagan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a book on the edge. On the edge of being terrifying, being utterly suspenseful, of being climactic and dramatic. It never tipped over that edge for me, but it was still an alright little read!

[Gary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another fun ride from Muriel Gray, shame she hasn't written anything lately, her horror stuff is very well written and always very original. This is about a nasty ancient Inca demon manifesting on a container ship hauling trash, but in her trademark style there's a parallel plot and threat. The story is populated by well rounded and credible characters and the maritime aspects are well researched, lending credibility to the endeavor - recommended.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't enjoy this one as much as her other two Horror books. I think the setting of an oil tanker didn't really help; there are only so many ways you can describe metal boxes and bulkheads. Still better than a lot of supposedly scary books out there though.

[Farrah · Rating 2 out of 5]

could not get into this one, the setting and characters just did nothing for me. having said that, there was nothing 'wrong' with the writing or the story, it just wasnt my cup of tea and im a major horror fan.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book to be interesting and suspenseful. There were so many different things to follow and solve.

[Marit · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it!