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A review by crowyhead
A Dark Matter by Peter Straub
4.0
I could NOT put this book down, and came really, really close to being completely antisocial while I was reading it. I found it more absorbing than some of Straub's more recent work, although it is also clear that Straub is still experimenting with the reliability of his narrative and the concept of authorship.
The basic premise is pretty straightforward, and one that's a popular trope for horror writers (Straub has even used it in the past). Decades ago, four of Lee Hayward's friends (including his girlfriend, Lee Truax, also known as the Eel) became fascinated with a New Age guru named Spencer Mallon. One night, Mallon, Lee's four friends, and three other young college students attempted some kind of ritual in a field that resulted in the death of one student and the disappearance of another. All of Lee's friends survived, but they were all irrevocably scarred by the event, and none of them have ever consented to discuss it -- until now.
Lee gradually pieces together what happened by talking to those who were involved, but everyone's version is a little different, and enigmas abound. This book is going to frustrate the heck out of some readers, but I really enjoyed it, and there are parts of it that are going to live on in my imagination for a long time to come.
The basic premise is pretty straightforward, and one that's a popular trope for horror writers (Straub has even used it in the past). Decades ago, four of Lee Hayward's friends (including his girlfriend, Lee Truax, also known as the Eel) became fascinated with a New Age guru named Spencer Mallon. One night, Mallon, Lee's four friends, and three other young college students attempted some kind of ritual in a field that resulted in the death of one student and the disappearance of another. All of Lee's friends survived, but they were all irrevocably scarred by the event, and none of them have ever consented to discuss it -- until now.
Lee gradually pieces together what happened by talking to those who were involved, but everyone's version is a little different, and enigmas abound. This book is going to frustrate the heck out of some readers, but I really enjoyed it, and there are parts of it that are going to live on in my imagination for a long time to come.