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The Pandora Room

The Pandora Room

Dark FantasyHorror
Published
2019
Language
English

Synopsis

Ben Walker, an investigator of the inexplicable working for the National Science Foundation - a front for DARPA - is sent to Kurdish northern Iraq, where archaeologist Sophie Durand has unearthed a hidden underground city. Deep within it lies a sealed chamber holding an ancient jar that may be the true source of the Pandora myth - in one old variant there were two jars, one holding the blessings of the gods and one holding the world's curses. As rival governments scramble to claim the discovery and jihadist forces close in, members of Sophie's expedition begin to sicken, and the question of what the jar contains - and whether it should ever be opened - turns deadly. The second Ben Walker novel, following the Bram Stoker Award-winning Ararat.

Prose complexity
4/10

Vibe

TenseDarkAtmosphericMysterious
SurvivalMystery BoxBetrayalSacrificeQuest

Genres

Dark Fantasy Horror Thriller

About the author

C
Christopher Golden

Christopher Golden (born July 15, 1967) is a New York Times bestselling author of horror and dark fantasy who has been called 'the king of the horror-thriller.' Born and still living in Massachusetts and a graduate of Tufts University, he is best known for novels including the Bram Stoker Award-winning Ararat, Snowblind, Road of Bones, All Hallows and Red Hands, and for his debut vampire series the Shadow Saga. He works across media: with Mike Mignola he co-created the comics 'Outerverse' - home...

Characters

Ben WalkerProtagonist

A recurring investigator of the inexplicable for the National Science Foundation, a front for DARPA, sent to assess the discovery.

Sophie DurandSupporting

The archaeologist who excavated the underground city and found the sealed jar.

All characters in The Pandora Room

Frequently asked questions

  • Do I need to read Ararat before The Pandora Room?

    It is the second Ben Walker novel, after the Bram Stoker Award-winning Ararat, but it tells a self-contained story and can be read on its own.

  • What myth does the title refer to?

    It draws on a less common version of the Pandora legend in which there were two jars - one holding the blessings of the gods and one holding the world's curses - rather than a single box.

  • Who is Ben Walker?

    He is the series' investigator of the inexplicable, officially employed by the National Science Foundation, which in the novels is a front for DARPA.

  • Where does the story take place?

    In an excavated ancient underground city in Kurdish northern Iraq, where the sealed jar is discovered.

  • How does it fit into the series?

    It is the middle Ben Walker novel, between Ararat and Red Hands.