Bookseller Reviews
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Missed the mark for me
This tale of arctic exploration and ghosts of past deeds sadly missed the mark with me. Although her descriptions of the desolate and isolated environment ... READ MORE
Scared out of my wits!
This book is still haunting me, especially whenever I recommend it to someone as I retell the story of the ghostly apparition with the stooped shoulder and... READ MORE
Dark Matter
Heading off on a trip of a lifetime to the Artic, Jack keeps a diary on his travels and when he finds himself alone on the island he realises he may not ac... READ MORE
Dark Matter
Nerve shreddingly scary this book lives up to the promise of it’s awesome concept. A team of young scientists head north to explore the magnetic Pole and f... READ MORE
Chilling to the bone
This is, genuinely, the scariest book I have ever read. Forget Woman in Black, this one ramps it up to 11.
Set in the dark wasteland of the Arctic, duri... READ MORE
Full of suspense and atmosphere!
The eerie story of a scientific expedition to the Arctic set in 1937. The party of four set of for a fact finding expedition expecting to have to deal with... READ MORE
Eerie isolation in a bleak, unforgiving landscape
So brilliant is Michelle Paver’s writing, that I could hear the sound of London in the background from the very first pages, feel the chill within the oppr... READ MORE
A Chilling Ghost Story That Gets Under Your Skin
Although set in a cold climate, this was a different ghost story to Thin Air.
Recommended years ago by a fellow bookseller I put this off as Michelle Pave... READ MORE
Synopsis
THE EXCITING 15TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION OF THE RICHARD AND JUDY BESTSELLER. NOW WITH AFTERWORD FROM SIMON PEGG.
'The novel virtually defines a new genre: literary creepy ' JEFFEREY DEAVER
'Paver is the mistress of suspense' GUARDIAN
'An atmospheric ghost story' INDEPENDENTONSUNDAY
January1937. 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 join 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...
Publisher information
- Publisher: Orion Publishing Co
- ISBN: 9781398724112
- Number of pages: 304
- Dimensions: 196 x 128 x 24 mm
- Weight: 265g
- Languages: English
Customer Reviews
View allAn Arctic Story
There is only one word to describe this book, chilling.
Jack is offered the chance to join an Arctic expedition, and jumps at it. There are four in the gr... READ MORE
Great book
Really good back, just as good as her chronicles series of books, but at times really scary!!
wonderful
I read this book in two sittings and thoroughly enjoyed it. The characters are liekable and believable. Very well written and great chapters full of suspen... READ MORE
Excellent
I love this book! Made me check those dark corners twice. Looking for similar now as i enjoyed it so much. Great read for cold dark winter evenings. You wo... READ MORE
I will never stop recommending this.
It takes a lot for a book to frighten me, but this one actually managed to stop me sleeping. It's a traditional ghost story, sure, almost too M R James in ... READ MORE
Page turner
Good Ghost Story set in the Artic
f you like ghost stories, then this is a very interesting book to read. The descriptions of the arctic environment are vivid, really building an atmosphere... READ MORE
One of my favourite books
Fell in love with this book, Paver writes with such fluidity and ease, creating a world of real characters and atmosphere. The plot was tight and the chara... READ MORE
Different
Atmospheric, dark at times and not brilliantly written but I loved it. I really felt for Jack and what was going to happen to him. A strange tale but well ... READ MORE
Chilling!
I loved this book! It's very atmospheric, and although best read in the dead of night, don't expect a good night's sleep... The build up throughout the boo... READ MORE
A brilliant ghost story
This book is the journal of Jack, who was part of an expedition in the Arctic in 1937. For many reasons all his companions leave one by one and he found hi... READ MORE
As dark and chilling as the arctic night
This is a meticulously constructed psychological thriller which guarantees the reader some uncomfortable moments and restless sleeps. Not since Asimov's cl... READ MORE
This'll make you shiver!
I wasn't sure that I would like this book as I read the first ten pages, but it gradually drew me in until I knew that I could not escape!
The opening is ... READ MORE
Absorbing.
An interesting slice of Arctic life which demonstrates the perils of loneliness and isolation. It's slow to get going but once it does it becomes decidedly... READ MORE
Very atmospheric
A very atmospheric book which made it easy to imagine the locations and moods of the characters. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes something ... READ MORE
Dark Matter by Michelle Paver - rubbish
Despite the rave reviews on the back cover, on websites, and inside the book, I was singularly unimpressed. I have a perfectly good sense of imagination, b... READ MORE
Dark Matter is not a typical ghost story, it's more like a bore story.
"Dark Matter" was one of those novels I would see in a lot of blogs. It would be recommended a lot online and numerous, 'famous' authors would say how ama... READ MORE
Fantastic ghost story!
I absolutely loved this book. The "ghost" is introduced in quite a subtle way, but almost literally creeps up on poor old Jack. I think the permanent night... READ MORE
It was ok
It is a ghost story that much is true, but I found there wasn’t much suspense and it was very predictable. I also thought that nothing really happened unti... READ MORE
dark matter
I’m finding this a difficult book to talk about without spoiling it for others. I found it well written, creepy and very chilling (which may have something... READ MORE
Haunting
I’m not a big reader of ghost stories. Not because I have a particular aversion to them, but the rise in crime thrillers seems to have eclipsed the hauntin... READ MORE
Perfect ghost story
I've heard a lot of reviews saying that they found this book so terrifying that they couldn't have it in the house. While I didn't find it anywhere near th... READ MORE
Atmospheric but not scary!
Twenty-eight-year-old Jack had always dreamt of becoming a scientist, of going on expeditions, of discovering the origins of the universe. However, followi... READ MORE
Creepy and atmospheric
This book is dark, brooding and atmospheric. The author's descriptions are beautiful, yet desolate. I was effortlessly transported to Gruhuken in 1937.
Th... READ MORE
Phenomenal and unsettling.
Paver never fails to break my heart and disturb my sleep pattern! If you were a fan of Wakenhyrst and want to be kept up at night, I highly recommend. This... READ MORE
A classic M.R. James-style ghost story
For some weeks after reading this novel, I was too afraid to get up in the night for a wee unless my husband was also awake. It’s a proper ghost story, but... READ MORE