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Thin Air

The most chilling and compelling ghost story of the year

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Thin Air

By: Michelle Paver
Narrated by: Daniel Weyman
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About this listen

 Chosen for Simon Mayo's Radio 2 Book Club, this is the chilling new ghost story from the bestselling author of Dark Matter.

The Himalayas, 1935.

Kangchenjunga. Third-highest peak on earth. Greatest killer of them all.

Five Englishmen set off from Darjeeling, determined to conquer the sacred summit. But courage can only take them so far - and the mountain is not their only foe.

As the wind dies, the dread grows. Mountain sickness. The horrors of extreme altitude. A past that will not stay buried.

And sometimes, the truth does not set you free.©2016 Michelle Paver Genre Fiction Ghosts Horror Psychological Haunted Scary Suspense Fiction Paranormal

Critic Reviews

A wonderfully atmospheric and hugely enjoyable ghost story (Anthony Horowitz)
Looking for a proper ghost story? Thin Air is a creepy, compelling tale of a Himalayan climbing expedition, where strange events on the mountain stir dread and panic.
This vivid ghost story reads like a classic
There are no obvious shocks here but instead a sustained creeping dread as the likelihood increases that it's not all in Pearce's mind and that they are heading for tragedy just like Lyell and company. Subtitled 'A Ghost Story', this is very much the classic approach, concentrating on mood and subtllety to create chills in the reader. (James Evans)
Spellbindingly creepy (Eithne Farry)
Michelle Paver's descriptions of Himalayan mountain-climbing are terrifyingly lifelike - the lashing winds, glittering ice: you can see it all...Paver's style is lively and clear; and the tale just rips along...Just fantastic (Wendy Holden)
Chilling in every sense (Violet Hudson)
This haunting new novel and long-awaited sequel to the chilling Dark Matter certainly doesn't disappoint. The plot of Thin Air is undeniably gripping and a genuine page-turner. After finding herself mesmerised by the history, vastness and the terrifying solitude of the Himalayas, Paver used it as the setting for this undeniably gripping account of a 1935 expedition up Kangchenjunga. (Kate Whiting)
Paver's descriptions of the isolated and intimidating landscape create an eerie, unsettling atmosphere that gets under your skin
A ghost story to chill and thrill...Like Touching the Void rewritten by Jack London, Thin Air is a heart-freezing masterpiece. (Amanda Craig)
There's just something about the bleakness, the sheer depth of the isolation and the unfamiliarity of this terrain to me that I love in this book. Put that alongside the fact that it's a mix of psychological thriller and ghost story , and you've got a winner.
The scariest part of the story for me was the bit with the rucksack. I think the hair on the back of my neck stood up. Very macabre and creepy
A hauntingly, spine chilling epic of a book!
I was surprised and delighted to find this an utterly absorbing tale that I think I would have read in one sitting regardless as once I began I didn't want to put it down
Thin Air is a wonderfully evocative and creepy story but it's more than that - it's a capturing of the awe of nature, the exhilaration of climbing and of a time during British colonialism which combined some noble endeavours but also an awful lot of ignoble behaviour. Of course, of course, of course, I recommend Thin Air to you.
I loved her previous ghost/terror novel, Dark Matter. This is similar, the tension tightens slowly, with the turn of every page, until you cannot put the book down.
All stars
Most relevant
By no means bad, but missing the emotional impact and real sense of dread/horror of the excellent Dark Matter

Less resonance than her last book

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Loved this book. I listened to Dark Matter first, and I did find myself comparing the two. I found the story a little too similar, however it took on it's own life in the second half and there was definitely a twist that offered a little bit of horror. A slow burn, eery and atmospheric novel. Not really that scary though. The narration was excellent.

Eery

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Very similar structure to Michelle's other ghost story Dark Matter but I don't mind that at all. Emotional and isolating - it's definitely a fun ghost story :) I wanted a horror with the dangers of climbing and I got it. Now I'm off to see if Michelle has written any more horror.

Great ghost story.

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Paver is a master is f the build up and the flawless delivery. Her research is sublime and her ability to u settle the reader is second to none. She is a master of eerie stories.

Unsettling

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It's a shame to get to the end of this book without any of the feelings of Michele Paver's former ghost story, Dark Matter. In several ways this is a faint photocopy of that fine book.

Cannot recommend, because Dark Matter exists, and if you want a great ghost story, go straight to it.

Paver's other books, especially the Wolf Brother series are so brilliant, this is not written with the same conviction nor their finely hewn prose.

A poor cousin to Dark matter

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