Thin Air: The most chilling and compelling ghost story of the year

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It completely transported me away from the darkness of my own life and if even for a brief moment made me forget and drew me in so wholly that I was lost in this wonderful book, and that is something that seems to be very rare these days. Set in the Himalayas, 1935. Five Englishmen set off from Darjeeling determined to conquer the sacred summit of Kangchenjunga.

Thin Air: The most chilling and compelling ghost story of the Thin Air: The most chilling and compelling ghost story of the

After finding herself mesmerised by the history, vastness and the terrifying solitude of the Himalayas, Michelle Paver uses it as the setting for this undeniably gripping account of a 1935 expedition up Kangchenjunga...Step in with excitement, yet the greatest of caution... * ABERDEEN PRESS & JOURNAL *The whole thing just sort of left me wanting more. The ending was creepy (credit where it's due) but the suspense sort of needed to be featured a bit more throughout, it seemed like we were at the finale before we had time to really understand it. Paver has an object, and I whimpered anxiously as it brought the added accretion of my memory of Jacobs'story into the room. * LADY FANCIFULL *

Thin Air by Michelle Paver review – Touching the Void meets

Paver constructs her narrative expertly. The human drama is engaging, while the scares are unfurled slowly but surely, to chilling effect. * CATHOLIC HERALD * I’ve been in the mood for a good ghost story for a while, and when another book blogger told me that Michelle Paver’s novel Dark Matter was not only suspenseful and spooky, but also set in a wild remote place, I didn’t need any more persuasion! And I must say that it lived up to all my expectations. I've been a long term fan of Michelle's, for over twelve years since Wolf Brother came out and started an obsession with worlds and words that just won't ever leave me (and I hope it doesn't!). I've always been more of a YA reader. Adult fiction doesn't normally do it for me, but I have authors that are auto-buys, or auto-reads, meaning I will get whatever they choose to publish, be it their masterpiece or a shopping list. And Michelle is right at the top of my auto-read list, so I read her first ghost story, Dark Matter, when it came out a few years ago. I had always hoped Michelle would do another ghost story because I think her writing lends to them so well. She just builds suspense so masterfully and has you absolutely rapt. So when I knew Thin Air was on the way I could not of been more excited. On a personal note the book came on a day when I was feeling particularly down, given the horrendous year I've had, and the proof came with a little note from Michelle herself who is a lovely lady and I hope to meet again some day as I have fond memories of meeting her when I was a teenager! 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 constructs her narrative expertly. The human drama is engaging, while the scares are unfurled slowly but surely, to chilling effect. * CATHOLIC HERALD Five Englishmen set off from Darjeeling, determined to conquer the sacred summit. But courage can only take them so far - and the mountain is not their only foe. Although technically a ghost story, the real horror for me is the sense of creeping dread and isolation and loneliness as the last man left in the endless night of an arctic camp. Most chilling of all is the man’s horror at contemplating the afterlife should he perish there and become a ghost himself – not just a winter of endless night alone, but an eternity. I found the book had a dry humour in parts which worked as I suppose in that sort of situation you would have to try see the dry funny side of things. I am not sure if anyone who has read this felt the same?

Thin Air – hooked! – Michelle Paver Thin Air – hooked! – Michelle Paver

Thin Air by Michelle Paver is a ghost story that takes place over the course of a British expedition to reach the summit of Kangchenjunga in the 1930s. The narrator, Stephen, is part of a small team of British climbers led by his older brother Kits, with whom he has little in common. Stephen is also the team's doctor, and the team is supported by a large contingent of Sherpas who act as porters and guides - and indeed, without whom the expedition wouldn't be possible at all, although you wouldn't guess this from the patronising, dismissive and outright racist attitudes of the British climbers The story is also fascinating on the subject of such expeditions and the attitudes of those who took part in them. The white men on the expedition are essentially gentlemen-adventurers. They are privileged enough to be able to undertake such challenges as amateurs and are disdainful of anyone who might dare to be a professional - thus effective denying anyone other than the wealthy a chance at taking part. They are believers in Empire and their treatment of the Sherpas is, needless to say, appalling. Intellectualism is scorned - indeed, it's Stephen's academic nature that's been the cause of friction between him and Kits for most of their childhood.The wide-eyed wonder at the expeditions's arrival in Longyearbyen and the first impact with the reality of the Arctic is an amazing part of the novel. The details conjure up the atmosphere of infinite space and edge-of-the-world reality faced by the group in a very convincing manner and the passage from the blinding light reflecting on the ice to the relentless darkness set a heavy weight on my chest as I was reading.

Thin Air by Michelle Paver | Waterstones

I’m sitting on the floor by the latrine on the delayed and crowded 16.47 from Marylebone to Haddenham… Reading thin air, utterly hooked, and reliving my own alpine climbing days… the discomfort, pain, cold, hunger, exhaustion… making the best of an unplanned overnight bivi… I could feel the chilly winds and the cold in this one and the eerie feel of the mountain really comes to life in her vivid writing. The Sherpas are wrong. This mountain has no spirit, no sentience and no intent. It’s not trying to kill us. It simply is.” [famous last words…]

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I love reading about the Arctic, about people traveling to the Arctic, about getting lost in the Arctic, about the never-ending nights of winter, the aurora, the weird twilight, the running about by the light of a full moon trying to 'get things done while there's some light.' I love the dogs, the huskies, and the wind blowing and the snow coming down so fast and furious it all but covers your hut/tent/makeshift shelter. It's just so damn creepy. Chosen for Simon Mayo’s Radio 2 Book Club, this is the chilling new ghost story from the bestselling author of Dark Matter. The slowly building sense of dread in this book may not be for everyone. If you're looking for jump-in-your-face scares, you won't find any. I could (and did) read this book alone late at night. But if you're in the mood for a subtle buildup of terror, I think this is a great book. I don't know why I didn't see it coming but when Stephen was abandoned at Camp 3, it was awhile until I truly thought he was a goner and that all of his paranoid imaginings had actualized.. The ending answered all of my questions, which I always love in a thriller and a ghost story.