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A Dark Matter Audiobook
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(2.01) - 1,540 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
The incomparable master of horror and suspense returns with a powerful, brilliantly terrifying novel that redefines the genre in original and unexpected ways. The charismatic and cunning Spenser Mallon is a campus guru in the 1960s, attracting the devotion and demanding sexual favors of his young acolytes. After he invites his most fervent followers to attend a secret ritual in a local meadow, the only thing that remains is a gruesomely dismembered body—and the shattered souls of all who were present. Years later, one man attempts to understand what happened to his wife and to his friends by writing a book about this horrible night, and it’s through this process that they begin to examine the unspeakable events that have bound them in ways they cannot fathom, but that have haunted every one of them through their lives. As each of the old friends tries to come to grips with the darkness of the past, they find themselves face-to-face with the evil triggered so many years earlier. Unfolding through the individual stories of the fated group’s members, A Dark Matter is an electric, chilling, and unpredictable novel that will satisfy Peter Straub's many ardent fans, and win him legions more.
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"Interesting read from the POV of a writer. Might have liked it less if I'd read it when I first encountered Straub in the 80s, solely as a reader. What I mean is, the ending isn't really in doubt, per se, in the sense that you're not worried about any of the characters. You know they'll be okay. It's a little like The Decameron, in a way, maybe like Canterbury Tales as well: basically a small bunch of specifically designed people (they're not stock characters; that's important) who all tell their angle or POV of the same instance. Speaking of which, An Instance of the Fingerpost springs to mind, as well. Anyway, you never see one of the major characters--except maybe briefly in an airport, and in a hotel lobby and elevator--and the whole thing may just be an excuse for Straub to go phantasmagoric on us (which he does well), but as a stream-of-consciousness step into evil, and a bit into the unknown, it holds up well. The existential scene with the boy and the cards and colors representing the realities he thinks he's experiencing was a nice touch. He still goes on a little too long about the mundane--where they're eating; what they're eating--which is a constant slight, and sometimes not-so-slight, critique of Straub as a writer for me, but he gets away with it. (One gets the feeling at this time that Straub himself cares a great deal about where he's eating and what he's eating, and that he likes the good stuff.) In short, if you like various views of the same scenes in a book, and how they're all different, yet the same, you'll like this book, and if you don't, you won't.And I don't know what the page number thing is all about, but the cover and ISBN match, which is why I chose this, but my copy ran to 586 pages, not the barely over 500 listed for this mass-market book."
— Steven (4 out of 5 stars)
A Dark Matter Listener Reviews
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" Continuation of Straub studies. Based in Madison during the 60s fire riot, as well as modern-day Chicago and 1960s Milwaukee. Showcases Straub's ongoing fascination with birds (this time a song lark), the genesis of evil, fantasy (round orbs of the zodiac in a field: you have to read it to see it), frozen memory/moments (trauma?), and constellations of childhood friends who are brought together to re-combat evils of the past. A bit of a let-down after Floating Dragon, which I read afterward; however, Straub seems to grapple more explicitly with questions of the origins of evil and fight for goodness here than in other works. The perspective is also more hopeful. Usually his perspective seems to be, as with Cormac McCarthy, that the battle with evil is worth the fight although man will lose (Blood Meridian), but here (spoiler alert!) his quartet of heroes wins at least a partial victory. Themes of the writerly supernatural sleuth/narrator and uber-intelligent woman continue. His Eel, this time however, is on the side of good. Not as interesting. "
— Isadora, 1/23/2014 -
" I'm not sure what to say about this book. It wasn't a bad book, it was well enough written, though the typo's were bothersome. It was a strange book. It wasn't horror, i'm not sure what I would classify it as. It was just strange. "
— Sierra, 1/19/2014 -
" This is fast-paced book that was hard to put down. Near the end I did skip some pages because there were ... activities that I'd rather not read about. On the whole a good book although is seemed to be primarily back story. "
— Michelle, 1/16/2014 -
" Good story, not as scarry as I expected, but readable, entertaining and fun. "
— Melanie, 1/13/2014 -
" Just didn't do it for me. I was expecting a twist or some sort of defining explanation and all I got was fantastical jibber jabber. It just never came together for me. "
— Justin, 12/21/2013 -
" A pretty entertaining book. Some themes similar to Stephen King and the author actually lifts some text from The Talisman. This author LOVES convoluted sentences even when the subject matter doesn't warrant it. Hope you enjoy the book. "
— Mary, 12/21/2013 -
" This started off with a lot of potential and then went so off the rails by the last 50 pages that I had to force myself to finish it. Sigh. "
— Jaime, 12/4/2013 -
" Elusive writing style that stands out at times as word sorcery. Time is a really strange idea Straub seeks to grasp in this one. A good page turner though! "
— Ryan, 11/30/2013 -
" This got such great reviews and I couldn't wait to read it. It was well written and very fast paced, but I couldn't really tell you what happened. "
— Dale, 11/30/2013 -
" Disappointing, I thought it was suppose to be scary, it wasn't. It was messy. I wasn't bored reading it, but I wasn't thrilled either, things that happened 50 years ago aren't scary, for things to be scary there needs to be present danger. "
— Michaela, 10/15/2013 -
" I didn't like the style that much, but it's certainly an ambitious, character-driven novel, so I'll give Straub credit for that. Certain aspects were quite good. "
— Patrick, 8/9/2013 -
" what a waste of time "
— Jeri, 6/23/2013 -
" To much rambling on in my opinion. Got bored with the book and had to make myself finish it. "
— Crickett, 5/16/2013 -
" Couldn't ever get into the book. Ready the first 80 pages and no spark "
— Paul, 4/10/2013 -
" The premise sounded really interesting as did the idea of multiple viewpoints of the story (sort of Rashomon and all), but the book itself just didn't grab me -- and the two main characters having the same name was confusing and didn't really do anything for me. "
— Jenna, 3/13/2013 -
" This was creepy. I loved how Peter Straub showed us these characters as teens and then adults. The story unfolded both time frames basically at the same time. It was a roller coaster. I also loved seeing the event in the field from each of their perspectives. Great story and great characters. "
— Jennifer, 12/31/2012 -
" Like almost every other Straub book, this has a great premise which goes nowhere. "
— faisal, 9/15/2012 -
" Good writing wasted on a silly story "
— Elaine, 5/31/2012 -
" I liked it til 2/3s in. It just failed after that.... got mushy, muddy and weird... :( "
— Lisa, 11/20/2011 -
" A great "old school" horror novel by a master of the form. "
— Pete, 9/13/2011 -
" The story started out good, but after awhile I only kept reading because I wanted to know what happened in the meadow. And then, once it was revealed I found i'd wished i hadn't wasted my time. In the end, I found this book absolutely forgettable. "
— PJ, 6/9/2011 -
" This book had some very exciting and creative parts to it that most people will not get, it requires a lot of imagination. <br/>Peter Straub is not an easy read at times but this is the book of his i most enjoyed(i have read another 6). "
— Paul, 4/23/2011 -
" You could characterize this as a treatise on the nature of love and evil, I suppose. It isn't scary, not a bit, despite the cover blurb by Stephen King ("Terrifying . . ."). Still, Straub has some good characters here, interesting situations, and a premise worth considering. "
— L, 4/17/2011 -
" Not particularly scary or memorable. Just another "let's see how many odd supernatural beings I can come up with to make the other-worldly realm seem somehow fascinating." I've grown tired of this. "
— John, 4/12/2011 -
" It was a nice read but not scary at all. "
— Tamara, 4/9/2011 -
" Could not stop reading this but not sure I really understood what it was all about. It resonates long after it is put down and I'm sure I will be pondering on the meaning of this novel for a while yet.<br/> "
— Teresa, 4/6/2011 -
" Love this - Peter is back where I first found him - writing great horror fiction... "
— Dave, 4/4/2011 -
" This got such great reviews and I couldn't wait to read it. It was well written and very fast paced, but I couldn't really tell you what happened. "
— Dale, 3/31/2011
About Peter Straub
Peter Straub (1943-2022) was the New York Times bestselling author of more than a dozen novels. He has won the Bram Stoker Award for his two of his novels and a short story collection, 5 Stories; he has also won a World Fantasy Award and an International Horror Guild Award. He received a BA degree in English at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and an MA from Columbia University.
About Robertson Dean
Robertson Dean has played leading roles on and off Broadway and at dozens of regional theaters throughout the country. He has a BA from Tufts University and an MFA from Yale. His audiobook narration has garnered ten AudioFile Earphones Awards. He now lives in Los Angeles, where he works in film and television in addition to narrating.