A Special Place: The Heart of a Dark Matter [Audiobook, CD, Unabridged] [Audio CD]

Peter Straub (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 20, 2010

A Special Place, Peter Straub’s first published novella, will come to stand as one of the author’s most deeply unsettling works of fiction. A rumination on the nature of evil, the story centers on a boy, Keith Hayward, who is drawn by his nature to an irresistible fascination with death and the taking of life. His father’s brother, the good-looking suave Uncle Till – the infamous ladykiller, who has led a shadowy career as a local celebrity – recognizes his nephew’s innermost nature and gleefully tutors him in the art of doing ill without getting caught.

Even a cold-blooded sociopath must learn some lessons in survival, it seems and Uncle Till is only too happy to provide a tutorial, in the latest imaginative and disturbing work from one of America’s most celebrated horror writers.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Creepy to the core, this novella shines a terrible light on the backstory of Straub's acclaimed A Dark Matter (2010). Young Keith Hayward idolizes his charming, charismatic Uncle Till. When Keith's mother asks Till to talk to Keith after the boy is found dismembering a dead cat, Till recognizes a kindred spirit and begins to instruct Keith on smart, secret ways to pursue his evil endeavors. As the years pass, Keith grows older and bolder in his sadistic pleasures, and when Till comes back into town, Keith finds the perfect way to impress him. Vivid but never overly graphic or grotesque, Straub's words paint horrific pictures of two depraved men. The violence is minimal, but understood in the most subtle of ways. This beautifully horrifying, delightfully disturbing tale of a family tree of evil will stay with the reader long after the last page is done.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

From Booklist

Straub’s fandom will soon feel a frisson of déjà vu reading this, his first singly published novella. It’s an extract from Skylark (2009), the limited-edition long version of A Dark Matter (2010), which relates the backstory of the college student, Keith Hayward, sensationally killed at the novel’s climax. By then, Keith is a sociopath on the verge of following his uncle’s lead into serial murder. The novella lays out the course of his education for the trade by Uncle Till, right up to his—Keith’s—first murder. To Keith, beginning at least at age 12, Till is utterly fascinating, but when the handsome, apparently footloose man returns the interest in the wake of a neighbor’s suspicion that Keith has killed her cat and suggests that the boy find and use a special place for his possibly compromising pleasures, fascination becomes enthrallment. A lowering aura like that of the high-school scenes involving the hero’s son in David Cronenberg’s film A History of Violence broods over this immaculately written portrait of a maculate-to-the-max character in formation. --Ray Olson --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Audio CD
• Publisher: Phoenix Audio; Unabridged edition (July 20, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 160747431X
• ISBN-13: 978-1607474319
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 5.1 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #11,066,849 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A novella by Peter Straub, December 6, 2011

By 

Raphaël Rousseau fictionman - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Special Place: The Heart of a Dark Matter (Paperback)

This novella, a rumination on the nature of evil, as often with Peter Straub, is in fact a chapter from The Skylark removed while editing a Dark Matter. What I wanted to say is that there is no need to read A Dark Matter to enjoy this novella. It gives more details about the childhood of a serial killer. As usual with Peter Straub, it's very well written. Well, it depends what you're looking for. But as a dark tale, it's a gem! Thanks Peter Straub for writing so well. Enjoy!

7 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dark Hearts, Twisted Souls, August 19, 2010

By 

Randy F. Chandler "Randy Chandler" (Mableton, GA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Special Place: The Heart of a Dark Matter (Paperback)

Surgically removed from Peter Straub's novel A DARK MATTER and given life on its own as a novella, A SPECIAL PLACE is a disturbing glance down a lonely corridor to the darkest chamber of the human heart. This isn't a place you want to spend much time, lest the matter-of-fact evil rub off on you and taint your spirit. The gripping narrative is fascinating and that fascination may disturb you and raise uncomfortable questions about yourself. In other words, Straub deftly draws you into the story with little fanfare and leaves you to find your own way out.

Uncle Till is "a satyr, a faun, a devil" and a serial killer with a passion for torture. Nephew Keith Hayward is already well on his twisted way to becoming the fullblown sociopath we see in the novel A DARK MATTER. Uncle Till provides the knife and the inspiration, and Keith simply follows his heart. The centerpiece of horror is the "gift" the boy gives his uncle, and if you've already read A DARK MATTER, then you know what that gift will be, but that won't lessen the coldblooded horror of the act. (The novella deepens Keith Hayward's seemingly selfless act near the end of A DARK MATTER.)

In short, A SPECIAL PLACE is a good place to go if you want to be creeped out by Straub, streamlined and cutting to the bone with a few short strokes.

4.0 out of 5 stars Had me hooked from the beginning, September 27, 2011

By 

Bivman, Horror fan - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Special Place: The Heart of a Dark Matter (Paperback)

I have never read anything else by Peter Straub and I bought this at the very recent Borders closing and got it for more then half off. I know it was a short read but I loved every minute of it. Straub's writing style is smooth and easy to handle and I was lost in the story of Keith Haywards upringing and I breezed through the 100+ page story in a matter of hours. I was left want wanting more after it was done and I'm going to pick up "A Dark Matter" the first chance I get. This is a highly reccommened story of a murderer's decent into depravity guided by his uncle who also a depraved killer.