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Dark Matter

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Dark Matter

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

January 1937. Jack Miller has just about run out of options. His shoes have worn through, he can't afford to heat his rented room in Tooting, and he longs to use his training as a specialist wireless operator instead of working in his dead-end job. When he is given the chance to join an arctic expedition, as communications expert, by a group of elite Oxbridge graduates, he brushes off his apprehensions and convinces himself to join them.

As the young men set sail from a gloomy Britain on the verge of war, Jack feels the overwhelming excitement of not knowing what lies ahead. Little can he imagine the horrors that await him in their destination, Gruhuken, a place that cannot escape the savage echo of its past.

©2010 Michelle Paver (P)2010 Orion Publishing Group Limited Ghosts Horror Scary Haunted

Critic Reviews

Dark Matter is brilliant. Imagine Jack London meets Stephen King. The novel virtually defines a new genre: literary creepy. I loved it (Jeffrey Deaver)
It's an elegantly told tale with a vivid sense of place - and it's deeply scary (Lesley Glaister)
Ghost stories don't frighten me much but this one did. Quite a lot, actually ... Chilling in every respect (Richard Madeley)
'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)
All stars
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A beautiful atmospheric story. It had me captivated by its darkness and tension
The beauty of this novel is not what is described but that which is implied. Don't listen to it expecting a hair raiser, just allow yourself to be immersed in the cold.

Grim and frost bitten

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This story kicks off with a very effective opening monologue. The first person point of view provides the story with a fantastic atmosphere. The writing style combined with a brilliant narration performance by Jeremy Northam allow the reader to become fully immersed in the story, which itself is quite creepy and realistic. The setting is realistically portrayed and allows the reader to really get a sense for the intense cold and isolation experienced by the protagonist as he progresses through the story.

I honestly cannot give enough credit to Jeremy Northam for this performance. I believe he presented the story flawlessly. Even his portrayal of the various Scandinavian accents are extremely realistic. Often narrator's attempts at various accents can detract from the story and drag the reader out of the experience, but this is most definitely not an issue in this case.

A well deserved four stars!

Believable and Atmospheric

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Great story. Loved the Arctic descriptions. Narrator terrific. Would recommend to lovers of ghost stories

Spooky and good

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What an amazingly well crafted and evocative story. And excellent narrating. I highly recommend it.

Beautifully crafted horror.

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Creeping chills and a taut atmosphere. I really enjoyed it, and the narration was excellent, it perfectly brought the story to life.

Eery

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I loved this book... the characters in it, the dogs, and the relationships between them all.
The narrator is brilliant, and really makes you feel like you are right there in that beautiful yet spooky place.
It is a great ghost story, but also pretty disturbing. I can't stand animal cruelty, so just a warning for others who feel the same.

Disturbing spooky story...

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I’ve been meaning to read Michelle Paver - this was phenomenal, and I wish I’d got to it sooner. Atmospheric, bleak and alive.

Narrator was perfect, also. Highly, highly recommended.

Absolutely blown away.

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A brilliant and creepy book. Absolutely loved it. Strongly recommend this book to horror/ghost story lovers. The narrator was exceptional.

Brilliant narrator and brilliant story

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Pavers stand alone; “thin air”, “Wynk…” and this ‘dark matter’ are all masterpieces of unsettling horror immaculately researched and sublimely told. All are classics in their own right, and this is the pearl in the crown of those three classics.

Flawlessly unsettling

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I enjoyed every moment of this book It's a study on loniless, isolation, sanity and despair. But it's also an account of courage and resilience against a formidable force made more so by the environment in which it resides. The arctic becomes it's own character. And it's terrifingly beautiful. The suspense is executed brilliantly. And the dread is all too real.

Chilling and Captivating

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