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adrienne_l's review against another edition
4.0
...that lump of rock and ice will be there when the human race has broken and receded like a wave. It will never know what dreams and fears it has inspired, or what fierce desire. It will never know what haunts it.
Thin Air by Michelle Paver is set in 1935 and follows five Englishman on an expedition, along with their local guides, to be the first people to reach the summit of the sacred mountain Kangchenjunga in the Himalayas. The Cotterell expedition is following the largely unused route up the mountain taken twenty years earlier by British climbing hero Sir Edmund Lyell. The Lyell expedition ended in disaster when all but two of the members of that team were killed in an avalanche, but still brought glory to Lyell when he published a book detailing his heroic efforts to save his fallen comrades. What our current team is unaware of, however, is that while they are chasing a path of glory on Kangchenjunga, they are also chasing a tragic secret that's been waiting, buried in the ice for the past two decades.
I recently read Paver's earlier novel Dark Matter, which is also set in the early 20th century and follows a team of young Englishmen on an expedition to a cold and remote area (in that case, Spitsbergen in the Arctic Circle). Thin Air follows a very similar formula to Dark Matter, right down to the relationships between some of the characters, the type of ghost story at the heart of the book, and even the inclusion of a canine companion. Honestly, the similarities go further, but it didn't detract much from my reading enjoyment. The writing here is just as excellent, and you can tell Paver really did her research. There are wonderful descriptions of the awesome and terrible beauty of Kangchenjunga and of the perils of mountaineering. This made for a nail biting read. Ultimately though, I did prefer the earlier novel and found the scares to be somewhat lacking here. I would say that this is definitely a slow burn and the haunting is really a small portion of the story, so readers should know that going in, but when the ghostliness is there, it's quite effective.
Thin Air by Michelle Paver is set in 1935 and follows five Englishman on an expedition, along with their local guides, to be the first people to reach the summit of the sacred mountain Kangchenjunga in the Himalayas. The Cotterell expedition is following the largely unused route up the mountain taken twenty years earlier by British climbing hero Sir Edmund Lyell. The Lyell expedition ended in disaster when all but two of the members of that team were killed in an avalanche, but still brought glory to Lyell when he published a book detailing his heroic efforts to save his fallen comrades. What our current team is unaware of, however, is that while they are chasing a path of glory on Kangchenjunga, they are also chasing a tragic secret that's been waiting, buried in the ice for the past two decades.
I recently read Paver's earlier novel Dark Matter, which is also set in the early 20th century and follows a team of young Englishmen on an expedition to a cold and remote area (in that case, Spitsbergen in the Arctic Circle). Thin Air follows a very similar formula to Dark Matter, right down to the relationships between some of the characters, the type of ghost story at the heart of the book, and even the inclusion of a canine companion. Honestly, the similarities go further, but it didn't detract much from my reading enjoyment. The writing here is just as excellent, and you can tell Paver really did her research. There are wonderful descriptions of the awesome and terrible beauty of Kangchenjunga and of the perils of mountaineering. This made for a nail biting read. Ultimately though, I did prefer the earlier novel and found the scares to be somewhat lacking here. I would say that this is definitely a slow burn and the haunting is really a small portion of the story, so readers should know that going in, but when the ghostliness is there, it's quite effective.
randomdawdler's review against another edition
4.0
This is an atmospheric and suspenseful read, particularly in the last quarter. Its a bit of a slow burn (slow plot) but its worth sticking with. I found myself feeling quite immersed with the described environment and the various characters towards the end of the book.
If your an impatient reader then this may well not suit but otherwise I'd say its a good read. There are also one or two plot twists present. It is quite a chilling read (literally) by the end, I'd say. I'd recommend it to fans of historical fiction perhaps moreso than ghost stories as such. Its relatively short, at 223 pages long and so it could be read in a day or two if your on holiday.
If your an impatient reader then this may well not suit but otherwise I'd say its a good read. There are also one or two plot twists present. It is quite a chilling read (literally) by the end, I'd say. I'd recommend it to fans of historical fiction perhaps moreso than ghost stories as such. Its relatively short, at 223 pages long and so it could be read in a day or two if your on holiday.
beddebak's review against another edition
3.0
Dit was dus een ‘blind-date with a book’ die ik voor kerst had gekregen!! Leest wel vlot (zelfs in het Engels) maar zo van die bergbeklimmerstermen zijn wel vaag als je daar niks van kent. Al bij al wel tof, ik was echt invested. Maar het einde vond ik meh.
pie_rogue's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
4.0
muslur's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
culturekath's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
gabriel98's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
skogsdottir's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0