Dark Matter

This was pretty good, but I was definitely left dissatisfied. I wanted more of just about everything!

Paver did a good job of harkening back to earlier styles of writing without making it inaccessible, so I appreciate that.

I enjoyed the dynamic between Jack and Gus and Jack and Isaak, but I wanted more of a slow burn progression in both cases. I didn’t feel like I had enough to go on.

I also enjoyed the menace of the haunting. Once again, I didn’t feel quite as much unease as I was hoping to feel. I needed something stronger. Oddly enough I think the bits about the bear post created the most unease for me.

I’m glad that Jack’s opinion of Algie shifted because wow, he was so fat phobic at the start, and it was frustrating to read. I was dreading Algie being villainized for his weight, but that isn’t the way it goes at all.

But what does it mean, 'haunted'?
I looked it up in Gus' dictionary. To haunt: 1. To visit (a person or place) in the form of a ghost. 2. To recur (memory, thoughts, etc.), e.g. he was haunted by the fear of insanity. 3. To visit frequently. [From ON heimta, to bring home, OE hemettan, to give a home to.]
I wish I hadn't read that. To think that something so horrible should have its roots in something so - well, homely.

So I've been making a concerted effort to read more horror fiction for about a year now. Some hits, some misses, but overall it's been a grand old time and I'm glad I finally gave the genre my attention.

This was the first book to scare the fuck out of me.

I'm talking full-on goosebumps and physical reactions to words. I'm talking difficulty sleeping after reading certain passages. I'm talking about a newfound fear of looking out of windows at night.

What I'm trying to say is that this book was awesome and you should read it.

I was nervous going into it because I had just recently read The North Water by Ian McGuire - a historical drama taking place in the Arctic Circle and focusing on themes of isolation - and I was afraid that I would make too many unfair comparisons with this book - a historical drama taking place in the Arctic Circle and focusing on themes of isolation. Fortunately I lucked out in that these two books are pretty different once you look under the surface. Instead of straight prose, Dark Matter is presented in the form of several journal entries over the course of an academic expedition that is firmly at the mercy of Murphy's Law. It's also decidedly less gory and violent than The North Water; everything that happens here is much more of a slower, more subtle buildup, but still with one hell of a climax.

This book is kind of marketed as a ghost story, but this isn't a silly man with a sheet pulled over their head or a wacky poltergeist story; the core supernatural aspect of this story is downright sinister and angry and unfortunately as we find out later, justified. It was a really interesting take on the subgenre that I found convincing, specifically the idea that if something truly, deeply heinous occurred at a particular place, why wouldn't it resonate and echo long after it happened? And why shouldn't those echoes sometimes be more threatening than others?

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to turn all the lights on and crank up the heat.

Dark Matter by Michelle Paver is a slow burning ghost story; slowly the tension builds and builds until... The story kicks off on 7th January 1937, the first entry being written in the journal of Jack Miller who is preparing for an expedition to Gruhuken. This uninhabited location in Arctic is the back drop of this chilling story, the atmosphere and solitude all playing a role in building the tension within this story. The relationship between Jack and his companions Gus, Algie, Hugo and Teddy are one of the key aspects that hold this book together.

It’s really hard to review a book like this as I don’t want to give too much of this book away, but I’ll try my best. The story was a very basic one, the isolations, feeling of being completely alone works rather well in the book. The plot and surroundings all slowly build the tension that Jack is feeling. I started off reading this book feeling a little distracted but the further I got in the book the more absorbed in the story I found myself. It’s one of those books you want to read on a cold winter night; the snow outside and nothing but the creaking of the house to keep you company. Unfortunately it never snows and never gets cold here but I can just imagine reading this book in that situation and enjoying it a lot more.

The novel is a well polished ghost tale, reminding me of the old gothic novels of the 19th century; building the tension and characters as you read. While it’s a short book it did a great job at capturing all the key elements to haunt the reader. I’m reminded a bit of The Turn of the Screw by Henry James and even to a less extent The Woman in Black by Susan Hill in the way they can build tension in such a short time. I really love the chilling gothic styles of a book like this, I would love to read some more books similar to this one and compare it to the ones I’ve already read. While I really enjoy this novel I can’t see myself rating this book higher than three and a half stars, but I can’t tell you what was missing in this novel.