LoveReading Says
LoveReading Says
Oh, I never get tired of reading this book. My copy is very well-thumbed and I can’t tell you how many copies I’ve bought for other people and pressed it into their hands. To me, it’s a perfect story with not a wasted word. Set in the 1930s, it tells the story of Jack Miller who is part of an expedition to a remote, uninhabited bay in the frozen north. The nights of the Arctic Winter are long and harsh and, one by one, Jack’s companions are forced to leave. Finally left by himself as the nights lengthen and his imagination runs riot, Jack feels a creeping unease and wonders if he really is alone. The setting is as chilling as the story and it will have you huddling by your fire while you read. I can’t recommend this enough.
Selected by Carole Matthews, Our Winter 2021 Guest Editor. Click here to read the full Guest Editor Piece.
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One of our Great Reads you may have missed in 2011.
A classic, good old fashioned ghost story set in the Arctic in 1937. Evocative, chilling and superbly unsettling, it tells of a meteorological expedition that goes horribly wrong.
A Richard and Judy Autumn Read 2011.
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Dark Matter Synopsis
'What is it? What does it want? Why is it angry with me?' January 1937. Clouds of war are gathering over a fogbound London. Twenty-eight year old Jack is poor, lonely and desperate to change his life. So when he's offered the chance to be the wireless operator on an Arctic expedition, he jumps at it. Spirits are high as the ship leaves Norway: five men and eight huskies, crossing the Barents Sea by the light of the midnight sun. At last they reach the remote, uninhabited bay where they will camp for the next year. Gruhuken. But the Arctic summer is brief. As night returns to claim the land, Jack feels a creeping unease. One by one, his companions are forced to leave. He faces a stark choice. Stay or go. Soon he will see the last of the sun, as the polar night engulfs the camp in months of darkness. Soon he will reach the point of no return - when the sea will freeze, making escape impossible. And Gruhuken is not uninhabited. Jack is not alone. Something walks there in the dark.
About This Edition
| ISBN: |
9781409121183 |
| Publication date: |
1st September 2011 |
| Author: |
Michelle Paver |
| Publisher: |
Orion (an Imprint of The Orion Publishing Group Ltd ) an imprint of Orion Publishing Co |
| Format: |
Paperback |
| Pagination: |
288 pages |
| Primary Genre |
Modern and Contemporary Fiction
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| Other Genres: |
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| Recommendations: |
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Press Reviews
Michelle Paver Press Reviews
'You have plenty of time to clear your TBR piles to make room for this book as it won't be published until October, but make room you should as Michelle Paver's Dark Matter is a ghost story of terrific menace written with consummate skill'
CORNFLOWER BOOKS
I was hooked right away and finished it in just a few days. Dark Matter is the kind of horror story that can chill just about anyone
LITERARY STEW
'Dark Matter is one of the spookiest stories I've read in recent years. It's not a teen novel, but unsurprisingly, given Michelle Paver's background, the style shares many YA traits. The main character, Jack, has a strong voice and the writing is tight. The pace builds gradually, yet Michelle Paver keeps the action moving and doesn't stray into superfluous description. Everything in this book has been retained for a reason'
CHICKLISH
'Definitely a book to read in large bites (if not in one mouthful) if you are a lover of the strange and chilling'
MIDLETON BOOKS
'Dark Matter is a true ghost story. It will chill, terrify, and haunt you, while still leaving you feeling satisfied. I cannot praise this book enough. Perfectly written'
EMPIRE OF BOOKS
Author
About Michelle Paver
Michelle Paver was born in Malawi; her father was South African and her mother is Belgian. They moved to England when she was small and she was brought up in Wimbledon, where she still lives. After gaining a first in biochemistry at Oxford she became a lawyer and was until recently a partner of a large City law firm, specialising in patent litigation. She has now given up the law to write full-time. She is the author of Without Charity, A Place in the Hills, The Shadow Catcher and Fever Hill all published by Corgi.
More About Michelle Paver
