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

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This is pacey, readable historical fiction with a good sense of period and atmosphere. I enjoyed Pearce’s narration, and the one-upmanship type of relationship with his brother adds an interesting dimension to the expedition dynamics. However, I never submitted sufficiently to Paver’s spell to find anything particularly scary. I’ll try again with her other ghost story, Dark Matter, about an Arctic expedition from the same time period. Michelle Paver (born 7 September 1960) is a British novelist and children's writer, known for the historical fantasy series Chronicles of Ancient Darkness, set in prehistoric Europe. [1] For the sixth book of the series, Ghost Hunter (2009) she won the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize, a book award judged by a panel of British children's writers. [2] Biography [ edit ] A terrifying 1930s ghost story set in the haunting wilderness of the far north * PIPER AT THE GATES OF FANTASY *

With an elegant, dark undertone, Wakenhyrst transported me to a place where all gothic fans craving for.Once we get further into the story, and higher up the mountain, the creepiness begins. At the start, there are just small occurrences of unease, a shadow at the edge of Stephen’s vision or the dark shape of a man further up the mountain. But as we read on, weirder things begin to happen. I loved the atmosphere Paver created in this novel, you can really lose yourself in scenario’s and feel the plummeting sense of fear and dread that plagues Stephen.

Wakenhyrst has been a long time in the making, so I was hoping it would live up to my expectations, but it absolutely blew me away and exceeded them beyond what I could ever have realistically imagined. It's a darkly gothic historical tale rich in its imagery and the creepy atmosphere Paver creates in the setting of a haunted manor house is deliciously oppressive. This is essentially a gothic mystery with a dual timeline set in 1913 and 1966 and explores the themes of witchcraft and the dangerous nature of spreading or relying on gossip and rumour. The feeling of profound menace runs throughout and was responsible for creating a tense and unforgettable tale. Author Michelle Paver was another wonder to me. Her knowledge of life in the Arctic is so extensive I had to find out more about her and read that Michelle traveled to Finland, Greenland, Sweden, Norway, Arctic Canada, and the Carpathian Mountains. She has slept on reindeer skins, swum with wild killer whales, and gotten nose to nose with polar bears and wolves to research her books. That explained why her book was so realistic and believable. Paver has written a similar book to this one called Thin Air, cold snowy horror, ghosts & isolation etc, so I was worried this one would feel too samey for me to really appreciate it, but boy was I wrong! ⁠ 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.

Summary

perfectly executed little ghost story set in the Arctic wastes in the late 1930s, featuring the adventures of AN AWESOME HUSKY NAMED ISAAK and I suppose some humans as well. One of my favorite movies is the thing. I’m gonna read this one. Cold skin is more along the line of h.p. Lovecraft This is the perfect present to yourself now that we're going into winter and the need arises for darker, scarier reads. Trust me: you won't be sorry * MY FAVOURITE BOOKS *

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."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.

This is a tense, atmospheric novel set in India in the 1930s. An expedition set on the way to a mountain that claimed many before. The story is told from the viewpoint of Stephen, who is a doctor and the younger brother of the group leader Kits. The novel starts in a soul very likely to Jules Verne's Around the World in 80 days but as Stephen meets with an ex-mountaineer that had climbed the killer in the past, we immediately get the picture- this is no happy adventure...Something terrible awaits on the mountain. When the summer is over and darkness sets in, you can truly visualise the derelict trappers hut, the ice, the snow and harsh landscape. It's an elegantly told tale with a vivid sense of place - and it's deeply scary -- Lesley Glaister * SUNDAY HERALD GLASGOW *Paver definitely seems to be the go to author during the spooky season as this gothic Edwardian mystery is just as compelling as her ghost stories.