Dark Matter: the gripping ghost story from the author of WAKENHYRST

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Finding a good horror novel – a truly resonant one, that manages to terrify you, entertain you, make you care for its characters, all while simultaneously giving you food for thought (and potential nightmares) – that is an increasingly rare thing, I think. It has been a long time since I’ve found a horror novel (or film, for that matter) that has managed to incite all of these emotions in me. 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 * In the interim, she “took a bit of a wrong turn”, becoming a biotechnological patents lawyer for 13 years. “I thought, ‘I’m quite good at exams, why don’t I do law for a couple of years and maybe I’ll be published by then?’” After years of trying to write in the evenings and at weekends, and not really wanting to be a lawyer at all, she “had to jump off the treadmill”. She resigned without a book deal. During her six months’ notice period, she landed one. “My earnings fell off a cliff. I went from six figures to earning less than a student teacher. But it was unbelievable how much it felt like the right thing. I didn’t have to dress up in Armani trouser suits, I could just wear jeans.”

A blood-curdling ghost story, evocative not just of icy northern wastes but of a mind turning in on itself.” The Book Smugglers » Blog Archive » The Half-Year Mark: Best Books of 2011 (so far) June 18, 2011 at 12:03 am Michelle Paver's second series Gods and Warriors is set during the Bronze Age. It tells the story of Hylas, a 12-year-old goatherd, whose adventures take him to Ancient Crete and Ancient Egypt, and Pirra, the daughter of a high priestess with a crescent shaped scar on her cheek. The story crucially features animals in the plot – a lion, a falcon, and a dolphin; the dolphin from the first book, the lion from the second book onwards, and the falcon from the third book onwards.We now learn of her father's sins in his own childhood as well as his view on married life and children through the diaries he keeps that young Maude keeps reading secretly. She learns things even more horrible than one might expect from the above description, believe me. Her father, on the other hand, hates the landscapes, hates animals and forbids any pets (except the two horses needed for the carriage).

During a walk through the local church yard, Edmund spots an eye in the undergrowth. His terror is only briefly abated when he discovers it's actually a painting, a 'doom', taken from the church. It's horrifying in its depiction of hell, and Edmund wants nothing more to do with it despite his historical significance. But the doom keeps returning to his mind. The stench of the Fen permeates the house, even with the windows closed. And when he lies awake at night, he hears a scratching sound – like claws on the wooden floor... I loved this story. I couldn't put it down. It's as creepy as an M R James ghost story and yet, even though it's set in the 1930s, it doesn't feel self-consciously dated as many neo-Gothic stories do. It feels absolutely relevant. Not many people can write historical fiction without anachronism but with a contemporary feel and Michelle Paver is one of them. Dark Matter comes highly recommended * THE BOOK BAG * I've been meaning for a long time to write a review of this atmospheric and unsettling novel by Michelle Paver that I've read quite a few months ago. Paver's writing style managed to read like a diary or first person tale from an actual survivor of a mountain climbing disaster. She expertly set up a failed 1907 Lyell Expedition and explained the impact it had on climbers in the 1935 Cotterell expedition at hand. Because of this, combined with the likability of everyman narrator Stephen Pearce, I was pulled in from the beginning. I loved Maud, the manor, the Fen. I loved the darkness, the obsessiveness, the building sense of dread. I loved Chatterpie. I hated Maud's father, but found his journals made for excellent reading.Compelling… direct… relentless” writes Helen Rumbelow in The Times. “Dark Matter is terrific. It is a ghost story, but it is also a metaphysical meditation on what lies beneath our little lives.” Although none of the characters are particularly likeable, but the portrait of Edmund Stearne is a powerful study of self-obsessed tyranny. People are more frightening than the supernatural here. There is a terrific sense of place and the fen is a character in its own right. Paver draws on folklore and tradition and there is an interesting description of eel-glaving. Some of these traditions continue and you can buy eels at my local farmers market. The combination of Edmund’s patriarchal tyranny with his puritanical protestant classicalism makes it chilling to watch his road to committing murder. The struggles of the imaginary Alice Pyett make for interesting reading as well. This is a blood-curdling ghost story” agrees Victoria Moore in the Daily Mail, “evocative not just of icy northern wastes but of a mind as, trapped, it turns in on itself.” For anyone looking for a good ghost story with a rich, atmospheric setting and a historical element (yes, this book has it all!), I cannot recommend this book highly enough! A tightly wrought tale that keeps the reader wondering to the end whether the terror is merely psychological, or if there is in fact something dark haunting the slopes of Kangchenjunga.

For others that are looking for a spooky October read-- this story has no chilling or scary moments! I can't understand why that is even stated in the Publisher's summary. There is nothing in this book that comes close to being spooky, it is all cruelty and unfairness in the life of an intelligent young girl. The opening chapter of this novel really does draw the reader in, I enjoyed the atmosphere and descriptions of the the Manor House and fens. But unfortunately the Plot was slow and uneventful. I felt the story dragged and the mystery and suspense created at the beginning, seemed to wane the further along the book I read. I wasn’t a fan of the constant switching between narratives as a lot of the story became repetitive and quite confusing. From the award-winning author of The Twisted Ones comes a gripping and atmospheric retelling of Edgar Allan Poe's classic "The Fall of the House of Usher." Bestselling children's author Paver's genuinely terrifying tale will have you shaking under the covers * PSYCHOLOGIES *Why did I read this book: After hitting so many duds and meh reads lately, I decided that I was really in the mood for something dark and terrifying. I had completely forgotten that I had Dark Matter on my shelf, and then I remembered how much Ana loved the book when she read it last year. It seemed like the perfect time to give the book a read.

Gruhuken is reportedly haunted, and hints as to why are skilfully drip-fed through a tense and strangely beautiful narrative that bristles with the static electricity of a stark, vast, frozen Arctic night * METRO * 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. A small group of guys get together for an expedition in the wild northern Arctic. They've already chosen a spot for their observations. The problem is, the spot happens to be haunted!This is a great read and I can't wait for Michelle's next book to come out if it is anything like this one * THE FRINGE * When the summer is over and darkness sets in, you can truly visualise the derelict trappers hut, the ice, the snow and harsh landscape. With an elegant, dark undertone, Wakenhyrst transported me to a place where all gothic fans craving for.