Dark Matter

By: Michelle Paver

Narrated by: Jeremy Northam

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

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)

Thoroughly Ingrossing.

Wonderfully creepy and surprisingly claustrophobic tale. Narration is superb. Very well written. I highly recommend this book to anyone with a love of ghost stories.

Couldn't Stop Listening!!!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

A Must Listen! Amazingly, the author wrote it without one cliché, and each adverb and adjective needs to be respectfully absorbed and assimilated. And JEREMY NORTHEM, best narrator yet! Beautiful English voice with perfect timing and inflection.

I could listen to this book again and again...

I loved it!

Would you consider the audio edition of Dark Matter to be better than the print version?

I would because I can do other things as well as read a book.

What did you like best about this story?

The suspense. You were always waiitng for the thing to get him

Have you listened to any of Jeremy Northam’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I'm not sure, but he is amazing.

If you could rename Dark Matter, what would you call it?

Dark Matter fits too well to rename the book.

Any additional comments?

Amazing book. I loved how it held you in suspense the whole time. And watching the changes in Jack as he writes in his journal.I will be recommending this book to my friends and family. I am always after them to join Audible all the time.

Excellent Listen!

If you love ghost stories in the gothic/vitorian vein, then this is a tale well worth reading and listening to. I believe that this "chilling" tale will become a classic. The narration is spot on and the writing is tight and well developed.

A classic ghost story

I enjoyed the writing style of this book. The atmosphere is dark and isolated, but it isn't boring. The story is light but not fluffy. The story is creepy without being gross. If you like gore, this book is not for you. It's a well-written, easy read that has great imagery that isn't a love story or fluff piece.