Dark Matter

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What to expect

January 1937. Clouds of war are gathering over a fogbound London. Twenty-eight year old Jack is poor, lonely and desperate to change his life. So when he's offered the chance to join an Arctic expedition, he jumps at it. Spirits are high as the ship leaves Norway: five men and eight huskies, crossing the Barents Sea by the light of the midnight sun. At last they reach the remote, uninhabited bay where they will camp for the next year. Gruhuken.

But the Arctic summer is brief. As night returns to claim the land, Jack feels a creeping unease. One by one, his companions are forced to leave. He faces a stark choice. Stay or go. Soon he will see the last of the sun, as the polar night engulfs the camp in months of darkness. Soon he will reach the point of no return - when the sea will freeze, making escape impossible.

And Gruhuken is not uninhabited. Jack is not alone. Something walks there in the dark...

Read by Jeremy Northam

(p) 2010 Orion Publishing Group

Critics Review

Dark Matter is a spellbinding read - the kind of subtly unsettling, understated ghost story MR James might have written had he visited the Arctic
GUARDIAN
Told in the increasingly fearful words of Jack as he writes in his journal, this is a blood-curdling ghost story, evocative not just of icy northern wastes but of a mind as, trapped, it turns in on itself
DAILY MAIL
'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
Paver has created a tale of terror and beauty and wonder. Mission accomplished: at last, a story that makes you check you've locked all the doors, and leaves you very thankful indeed for the electric light. In a world of CGI-induced chills, a good old-fashioned ghost story can still clutch at the heart
FINANCIAL TIMES
Paver is the mistress of suspense, and the strangeness that humans can suffer from when exposed to the Arctic wilderness is brilliantly exploited in this period piece
THE TIMES
Deeply affecting tale of mental and physical isolation
SUNDAY TIMES
The ultimate test of a good ghost story is, surely, whether you feel panicked reading it in bed at midnight; two-thirds through, I found myself suddenly afraid to look out of the windows, so I'll call it a success
OBSERVER
Dark Matter is terrific....(a) wild beast that grabs you by the neck
THE TIMES
Dark Matter is brilliant. Imagine Jack London meets Stephen King. The novel virtually defines a new genre: literary creepy. I loved it
It's an elegantly told tale with a vivid sense of place - and it's deeply scary
Disquieting and poIgnant in equal measure, Paver's novel reminds us that fear of the dark is the oldest fear of all. An ideal read for long winter evenings
IRISH EXAMINER
This gripping ghost story has moments of horror and beauty
SUNDAY TELEGRAPH
An atmospheric ghost story that would give Susan Hill a run for her money
INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY
More than just a ghost story, this is an exquisitely told psychological thriller. Unputdownable!
WOMAN'S WEEKLY
Ghost stories don't frighten me much but this one did. Quite a lot, actually ... Chilling in every respect

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