In my hunt for a book that will genuinely scare me, I kept seeing Dark Matter recommended as one of the best horror novels out there. So I finally read it and... I was disappointed. At most, I'd describe it as mildly spooky.
There was definitely an unsettling sense of dread running through the book, and the atmosphere was effectively bleak and foreboding. But I never found the story particularly compelling, and the reveal didn't have much impact either. The whole thing felt like it was building towards something bigger than what it ultimately delivered.
When I turned the final page, my overwhelming reaction was simply: "Is that it?"
I do know what you mean. It is wildly overstated as Terrifying. Still, the dread and vibes were enough for me. I do think it definitely has potential to be better though. What would you add, out of curiosity?
I think I wanted it to be more bracing. The suspense always stayed at roughly the same level for me, and the encounters themselves felt quite mild. It never really shifted gears or escalated in a way that made me feel genuinely unsettled.
By comparison, I'm currently reading the Blackwater series by Michael McDowell. Most of the tension is building away in the background while everyday small-town and family drama unfolds. Not a huge amount of overt horror or supernatural stuff happens for long stretches, which means when it does appear, it lands much harder.
I think that's what I was missing from Dark Matter. I wanted more peaks and valleys rather than the same level of dread all the way through.
I’d say it’s a mix of East of Eden and Twin Peaks. There’s a lot of small-town family drama, with horror and supernatural elements scattered throughout. I’ve not read anything quite like it. It’s a really compelling story and I’m enjoying it a lot.
There are six books in the series and I didn’t originally plan to read them all back-to-back, but after finishing the first two I’ve realised you kind of have to.
One thing worth mentioning though: it’s set in 1919 but was published in the 80s, so there are elements of racism in it that I do struggle with while reading.
It sounds very solid. I might well check it out!! By now I'm unfortunately used to struggling through the dated 80's attitudes in horror (though it never really gets easier
In my hunt for a book that will genuinely scare me, I kept seeing Dark Matter recommended as one of the best horror novels out there. So I finally read it and... I was disappointed. At most, I'd describe it as mildly spooky.
There was definitely an unsettling sense of dread running through the book, and the atmosphere was effectively bleak and foreboding. But I never found the story particularly compelling, and the reveal didn't have much impact either. The whole thing felt like it was building towards something bigger than what it ultimately delivered.
When I turned the final page, my overwhelming reaction was simply: "Is that it?"
I do know what you mean. It is wildly overstated as Terrifying. Still, the dread and vibes were enough for me. I do think it definitely has potential to be better though. What would you add, out of curiosity?
I think I wanted it to be more bracing. The suspense always stayed at roughly the same level for me, and the encounters themselves felt quite mild. It never really shifted gears or escalated in a way that made me feel genuinely unsettled.
By comparison, I'm currently reading the Blackwater series by Michael McDowell. Most of the tension is building away in the background while everyday small-town and family drama unfolds. Not a huge amount of overt horror or supernatural stuff happens for long stretches, which means when it does appear, it lands much harder.
I think that's what I was missing from Dark Matter. I wanted more peaks and valleys rather than the same level of dread all the way through.
I'm with you. The scares were pretty mild all the way through. It needed one or two Shocks to the System. Even classic ghost stories have em.
I've not heard much about Blackwater, so it's very interesting to hear the kind of stuff it gets into. Do you reccomend it?
I’d say it’s a mix of East of Eden and Twin Peaks. There’s a lot of small-town family drama, with horror and supernatural elements scattered throughout. I’ve not read anything quite like it. It’s a really compelling story and I’m enjoying it a lot.
There are six books in the series and I didn’t originally plan to read them all back-to-back, but after finishing the first two I’ve realised you kind of have to.
One thing worth mentioning though: it’s set in 1919 but was published in the 80s, so there are elements of racism in it that I do struggle with while reading.
It sounds very solid. I might well check it out!! By now I'm unfortunately used to struggling through the dated 80's attitudes in horror (though it never really gets easier