'Dark Matter: A Ghost Story'

Very sorry, not the best photo ever.  I'd recommend Kindle, though, which I read this on.

Let's be frank here:  I am a big fan of Michelle Paver's.  In my eyes, she can do no literary wrong.  Her 'Chronicles of Ancient Darkness' series was stunning, and I was really miserable when it ended, and reread it repeatedly.  So naturally, I was very excited, jubilant, even, when I discovered she had written and released a ghost story.  Ever the history lover, I was even more excited when I found out it was set in the late 1930s.

War is beginning to hang in the air in 1937 London, and when the opportunity to go on  an expedition to the Arctic arises, lonely Jack Miller, who is down on his luck, jumps at the chance.  The five men travel on the Barent Sea, although two have to drop out, and Jack, handsome 'Boys' Own' hero, Gus Balfour, and Algie, must continue without them.  They arrive at their destination, Gruhuken, with eight huskies, and establish a dwelling for the dark and frozen Arctic winter.

However, it quickly becomes apparent that the group and their huskies are not alone.  There is something else in Gruhuken, and when disaster strikes, and Gus and Algie are forced to leave Gruhuken, and, other than the dogs, Jack is abandoned with the...  Ghost?  Echo?  Gruhuken is slowly revealed to have a horrific and gruesome past.

'Dark Matter' is perhaps Michelle Paver's best novel so far, and I don't use that term lightly.  She's a truly magnificent writer, as anyone who has read the 'Chronicles of Ancient Darkness' will know.  And 'Dark Matter' is no exception.  It's an exciting, shocking, emotionally exhausting book, which I thoroughly enjoyed and was terrified by.  I lapped it up in a matter of hours.  But the ending...  Argh, the ending...  It's a tragic book, make no mistake.  It will play on your mind for weeks.

Vaguely psychological, utterly frightening, supremely well-written and definitely worth reading.

Why, hello!

Welcome to my humble blog.  I hope you'll enjoy reading my reviews and strange reflections on life.

A short overview of what you'll find here:

• Reviews - mostly of books, as I'm a somewhat prolific reader.  These will be fiction, for the majority, with non-fiction interspliced if I feel like it.  There may also be reviews of other media, such as films and podcasts.
• Ramblings - the majority will be my musings on life, and may well be humorous or blatantly uninteresting, I suppose it depends on your sense of humour, really.  Potentially horses, music (clarinet, violin, singing, music theory, orchestra, choir, big band) and weirdness.
• Writing - my own, most likely, probably fanfiction.  I love writing, and am currently working on two original novels.
• Righteous ranting - I am an advocate of women's rights (I'm a feminist), animal welfare (particularly in the dressage world, as I own horses and think all horses should be treated well.  Feel free to check out my other blog, www.thebarebonesofdressage.tumblr.com for more information), and other such things.

That's all I can think of at the moment!