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Dark Matter

The bestselling Richard & Judy book club pick

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Dark Matter

By: Michelle Paver
Narrated by: Jeremy Northam
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About this listen

 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 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...

Read by Jeremy Northam

(p) 2010 Orion Publishing Group©2010 Michelle Paver 20th Century Genre Fiction Ghosts Historical Fiction Horror Literary Fiction Scary Haunted

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Critic reviews

Dark Matter is a spellbinding read - the kind of subtly unsettling, understated ghost story MR James might have written had he visited the Arctic
Told in the increasingly fearful words of Jack as he writes in his journal, this is a blood-curdling ghost story, evocative not just of icy northern wastes but of a mind as, trapped, it turns in on itself
'From the first page Dark Matter gripped me with a quiet relentless intensity - every word is perfectly placed, every silence heavy with dread... absolutely unmissable' (Simon Pegg)
Paver has created a tale of terror and beauty and wonder. Mission accomplished: at last, a story that makes you check you've locked all the doors, and leaves you very thankful indeed for the electric light. In a world of CGI-induced chills, a good old-fashioned ghost story can still clutch at the heart
Paver is the mistress of suspense, and the strangeness that humans can suffer from when exposed to the Arctic wilderness is brilliantly exploited in this period piece
Deeply affecting tale of mental and physical isolation
The ultimate test of a good ghost story is, surely, whether you feel panicked reading it in bed at midnight; two-thirds through, I found myself suddenly afraid to look out of the windows, so I'll call it a success
Dark Matter is terrific....(a) wild beast that grabs you by the neck
Dark Matter is brilliant. Imagine Jack London meets Stephen King. The novel virtually defines a new genre: literary creepy. I loved it
It's an elegantly told tale with a vivid sense of place - and it's deeply scary
Disquieting and poIgnant in equal measure, Paver's novel reminds us that fear of the dark is the oldest fear of all. An ideal read for long winter evenings
This gripping ghost story has moments of horror and beauty
An atmospheric ghost story that would give Susan Hill a run for her money
More than just a ghost story, this is an exquisitely told psychological thriller. Unputdownable!
Ghost stories don't frighten me much but this one did. Quite a lot, actually ... Chilling in every respect
All stars
Most relevant
This really is an excellent book, and far surpasses the basic storyline of a small group of people going to the islands of Svalbard to study weather patterns. All starts well, but it isn't too long before the first sense of foreboding is triggered by the question 'Did you speak to him?'
After this the sense of menace slowly mounts, until two wrong choices Jack makes from misguided altruism lead to the inevitable tragedy, albeit not the one expected.
This is a strongly written story, and so goosepimply atmospheric that at times I felt myself actually there by Jack's side, experiencing the horror of his two fatal and irrevocable mistakes. It was impossible to escape the feeling that this wasn't going to end well; in fact, it was one of the most poignant endings I've come across in a long time.

Excellently written, superb narration and highly recommended.
If you like having your spine tingled, buy this audio-book! You will not be disappointed.

Storytelling at its best...

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This is a very fine novel, beautifully and evocatively written. Jeremy Northam's superbly atmospheric narration makes it a terrific audiobook, in both senses of the word. Far more than a ghost story set in the Arctic, it is a profound meditation on loneliness, darkness, fear, love, loss, memory and death. Without being in the least sentimental, it is a deeply moving story, movingly read by a great actor.

Terrific audiobook

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It's hard for a book to really capture a spine-tingling ghost story, but this book does it fantastically. The harsh landscape is really captured in this writing, and the characters are excellent. My heart was really racing at times, and the mix of landscape and cultural mythology and factual history was utterly compelling. An excellent story and fabulous narration all combined to make this a real treasure.

So haunting and atmosphere - a gem of a story

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Like a mug of hot chocolate in front of a log fire on a sheep skin rug..... Good story telling all round and well read. Perfect, just seems like a classic old tale. I have had a bit of a break from audio books in the past year and this one was just the ideal book to come back to and hit all the buttons I needed to have me madly searching audible for the next thing that was going to engross me and make me happy to just have the time to sit back and listen to a great story being told to me very well. Thank you for this one :) Very memorable this one will stick with me and I will listen again I am sure.

Good old fashioned Ghost Story...

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This is an outstanding work of both literature and narration. I cannot recommend highly enough. The narrators performance is incredible, the story is gripping and compelling. I couldn't stop thinking about it when I wasn't listening- my first waking thought- "gruhooken"....
So glad I came across this story- Michelle Paver is an inspirational and a very fine author, the best.

A Masterpiece- the finest audiobook I have ever heard.

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