A bit disappointed in this book! I think a lot of it is to do with me, like, I stan so hard for K2, it kinda annoyed me that Kangchenjunga got all the glory in this one. I realize that's dumb, but that's how it is.

I also had a hard time concentrating on the first part of the book, which be because of my music choice. The last part I read with the soundtrack to Everest playing and that was easy to keep up with.

Lastly, I think the choice to write is in the voice of someone from 1935 put me off because people from that time is the worst. It's well-done, but it made me really dislike the main character at the start of the book.

Good things though? Very well-researched and clearly written by someone who loves reading about mountains. I can very much relate to that. ( )

Ghosts - or fictional ones, at least - tend to haunt inhabited places, whether houses, churches, castles or hospital wards. So used are we to the traditions of the genre that a description of a decrepit mansion full of dark corners and unexplained creaks is enough to raise in us readers expectations of phantoms and ghouls. In this regard, Michelle Paver's "Thin Air" - much like its predecessor [b:Dark Matter|8350864|Dark Matter|Michelle Paver|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1504563569s/8350864.jpg|13203928] - is not your typical ghostly tale since it is the very remoteness of the haunted spaces which makes the setting particularly eerie. The context of "Thin Air" is a 1935 expedition to the summit of the Kangchenjunga in the Himalayas, the third highest peak in the world. A team of five Englishmen, including narrator Stephen Pearce and his brother "Kits", set off in the footsteps of a disastrous 1907 expedition, made famous through the memoirs of its leader Edmund Lyell. It turns out, however, that Lyell's memoirs might have left out some of the more unsavoury details of that doomed attempt, as our intrepid protagonists will discover to their dismay. Indeed, memories and relics of the Lyell expedition seem to cast a pall over the new climb.

Both the 1907 and the 1935 expeditions described in Paver's book are fictional - but the context is well researched, and the novel contains several references to real life attempts... and tragedies: the Kangchenjunga remains, to date, one of the deadliest peaks for mountaineers. Accordingly, the dangers portrayed in the initial chapters are physical rather than otherwordly. Indeed, the first part of the book has the feel of a vintage "Boys' Own" issue, or a long-lost Conan Doyle novel. There's a sense of male bonhomie and rivalry, typical of that sort of Edwardian and inter-war fiction. The "sahibs" express the same gung-ho "let's beat the Hun" values and there's the same dated, dismissive attitude towards the "coolies" and their "backward superstitions". In a rather apologetic afterword, Paver explains that this is not meant to condone an imperialist worldview but, rather, to authentically reflect the literature of the period. No such justification is needed - there are enough clues along the way to show intelligent readers that Paver does not share the views of her characters. And the male group dynamics, particularly the love-hate relationship between the Pearce siblings, not only give an authentic 'historical' touch, but also provide a nicely developed theme which runs through the novel.

But what about the ghosts, I hear you ask? Initially, the manifestations are few and far between - the storms, the cold, the frostbite, the crevasses are scarier - and frankly more interesting - than the Sherpas' vague mentions of demons and curses. Roughly half-way through the novel, however, Paver starts to ratchet up the tension. Strange calls, half-seen shadows, dogs behaving strangely - we're back in traditional ghost story territory. All this leads to an extended scene in which the narrator spends a night alone and in the dark. I won't give away any details except to state that not since The Blair Witch Project has a backpack exuded such menace.

Thin Air is, all in all, a highly satisfying supernatural read which also works as a piece of well-researched historical fiction. It is original in conception yet retains enough "traditional" elements to appeal to lovers of the "classic ghost story" - not least that lingering doubt that, all along, the hauntings might have been tricks of a mind starved of oxygen... ( )

This is the third book I have read by Michelle Paver and like the previous two; Without Charity and Dark Matter is Thin Air an OK book, but like the previous book does this also lack something to make the book great. Now is this book way different from Without Charity since that book is a historical romance. However, Dark Matter is a horror book just as this one. Or rather both are ghost stories without any horror. At least that's how I feel. And, that's the big problem I have with this book. It's an interesting story, but it lacks intensity.

Thin Air is an interesting book about a group that decides to climb Kangchenjunga in India. I was quite fascinated with the books premise. Horror stories that take place in isolated places are great and I was quite looking forward to being swept off my feet. Unfortunately, it didn't happen. I liked the story, but I didn't love it. There were interesting moments, but I just felt that I never really connected with either Stephen Pearce or his fellow travelers. I liked the idea that one of the men from the previous expedition was left behind and that Stephen Pearce felt haunted. But, it just never got really interesting.

This book did not rock my boat. This is a book that sounded very good on the paper, but ultimately it failed to deliver, mainly because it was just not even a teensy bit chilling to read. ( )

Another subtle, effective ghost story from Paver. Like Dark Matter this is gripping and nicely written, conjuring up a past populated with convincing characters and spooky shadows. I really enjoyed it, but it is VERY similar to the other book. ( )

Ghosts - or fictional ones, at least - tend to haunt inhabited places, whether houses, churches, castles or hospital wards. So used are we to the traditions of the genre that a description of a decrepit mansion full of dark corners and unexplained creaks is enough to raise in us readers expectations of phantoms and ghouls. In this regard, Michelle Paver's "Thin Air" - much like its predecessor [b:Dark Matter|8350864|Dark Matter|Michelle Paver|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1504563569s/8350864.jpg|13203928] - is not your typical ghostly tale since it is the very remoteness of the haunted spaces which makes the setting particularly eerie. The context of "Thin Air" is a 1935 expedition to the summit of the Kangchenjunga in the Himalayas, the third highest peak in the world. A team of five Englishmen, including narrator Stephen Pearce and his brother "Kits", set off in the footsteps of a disastrous 1907 expedition, made famous through the memoirs of its leader Edmund Lyell. It turns out, however, that Lyell's memoirs might have left out some of the more unsavoury details of that doomed attempt, as our intrepid protagonists will discover to their dismay. Indeed, memories and relics of the Lyell expedition seem to cast a pall over the new climb.

Both the 1907 and the 1935 expeditions described in Paver's book are fictional - but the context is well researched, and the novel contains several references to real life attempts... and tragedies: the Kangchenjunga remains, to date, one of the deadliest peaks for mountaineers. Accordingly, the dangers portrayed in the initial chapters are physical rather than otherwordly. Indeed, the first part of the book has the feel of a vintage "Boys' Own" issue, or a long-lost Conan Doyle novel. There's a sense of male bonhomie and rivalry, typical of that sort of Edwardian and inter-war fiction. The "sahibs" express the same gung-ho "let's beat the Hun" values and there's the same dated, dismissive attitude towards the "coolies" and their "backward superstitions". In a rather apologetic afterword, Paver explains that this is not meant to condone an imperialist worldview but, rather, to authentically reflect the literature of the period. No such justification is needed - there are enough clues along the way to show intelligent readers that Paver does not share the views of her characters. And the male group dynamics, particularly the love-hate relationship between the Pearce siblings, not only give an authentic 'historical' touch, but also provide a nicely developed theme which runs through the novel.

But what about the ghosts, I hear you ask? Initially, the manifestations are few and far between - the storms, the cold, the frostbite, the crevasses are scarier - and frankly more interesting - than the Sherpas' vague mentions of demons and curses. Roughly half-way through the novel, however, Paver starts to ratchet up the tension. Strange calls, half-seen shadows, dogs behaving strangely - we're back in traditional ghost story territory. All this leads to an extended scene in which the narrator spends a night alone and in the dark. I won't give away any details except to state that not since The Blair Witch Project has a backpack exuded such menace.

Thin Air is, all in all, a highly satisfying supernatural read which also works as a piece of well-researched historical fiction. It is original in conception yet retains enough "traditional" elements to appeal to lovers of the "classic ghost story" - not least that lingering doubt that, all along, the hauntings might have been tricks of a mind starved of oxygen... ( )