Who Would Like This Book:
This is a fast-paced, mind-bending sci-fi thriller that’s perfect for readers who love page-turners with a dash of science and philosophy. If you enjoy stories about alternate realities, “what-if” scenarios, and the consequences of life choices, you’ll be hooked from the get-go. There’s just enough science to intrigue without overwhelming, and at its heart, it’s a surprisingly emotional story about love, identity, and finding your way home. Great for fans of Michael Crichton, Blake Crouch’s Wayward Pines, or anyone who wishes Black Mirror was a book series.
Who May Not Like This Book:
Some readers found the plot a bit predictable, especially if you're already familiar with multiverse or time-travel stories, and felt the science could be hand-wavy at times. The writing style - short, cinematic sentences - doesn’t work for everyone, and some wished for more fully developed side characters beyond the main protagonist. If you like your sci-fi to feel deeply literary or want hard science, you may be left wanting.
About:
Dark Matter by Blake Crouch is a mind-bending science fiction thriller that follows the protagonist, Jason Dessen, as he is kidnapped and thrown into a world of parallel universes. The book explores the consequences of choices, the concept of multiverses, and the intense journey of Jason trying to get back to his family through various alternate realities. The writing style is fast-paced, suspenseful, and thought-provoking, keeping readers on the edge of their seats with unexpected twists and turns.
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Notes:
Sensitive Topics/Content Warnings
Content warnings include themes of violence, existential crisis, and psychological suspense that may be unsettling to some readers.
Has Romance?
The novel has a medium-level romantic subplot regarding the protagonist's relationship with his wife and the emotional stakes in his journey.
From The Publisher:
A mindbending, relentlessly surprising thriller from the author of the bestselling Wayward Pines trilogy.
"Are you happy with your life?"
Those are the last words Jason Dessen hears before the masked abductor knocks him unconscious.
Before he awakens to find himself strapped to a gurney, surrounded by strangers in hazmat suits.
Before a man Jason's never met smiles down at him and says, "Welcome back, my friend."
In this world he's woken up to, Jason's life is not the one he knows. His wife is not his wife. His son was never born. And Jason is not an ordinary college physics professor, but a celebrated genius who has achieved something remarkable. Something impossible.
Is it this world or the other that's the dream? And even if the home he remembers is real, how can Jason possibly make it back to the family he loves? The answers lie in a journey more wondrous and horrifying than anything he could've imagined-one that will force him to confront the darkest parts of himself even as he battles a terrifying, seemingly unbeatable foe.
Dark Matter is a brilliantly plotted tale that is at once sweeping and intimate, mind-bendingly strange and profoundly human-a relentlessly surprising science-fiction thriller about choices, paths not taken, and how far we'll go to claim the lives we dream of.
Ratings (771)
Incredible (164) | |
Loved It (298) | |
Liked It (188) | |
It Was OK (83) | |
Did Not Like (33) | |
Hated It (5) |
Reader Stats (1619):
Read It (795) | |
Currently Reading (8) | |
Want To Read (636) | |
Did Not Finish (31) | |
Not Interested (149) |
31 comment(s)
A little disappointed in this book. It’s just not for me.
I am really satisfied with that ending! I hope Charlie brought them somewhere dope. Really good book even with all the insanity.
I am really satisfied with that ending! I hope Charlie brought them somewhere dope. Really good book even with all the insanity.
I am really satisfied with that ending! I hope Charlie brought them somewhere dope. Really good book even with all the insanity.
I thought I appreciated every moment, but sitting here on the cold, I know I took all for granted. And how could I not? Until everything topples, we have no idea what we actually have, how precariously and perfectly it all hangs together
It's a doozy of an ending!
i loved the premise of this book as someone who LOVES sci-fi, especially this concept of multiverses and such. it got me thinking a lot about my life choices and that one saying "you're only one decision away from a totally different life". this made me feel so little like im just an insignificant thing in this universe and every choice i make branches out into these worlds of possibilities. it was both terrifying and exhilarating to think about how many versions of me could exist out there, living out the lives I never chose?
the way the author explored the concept of multiverses was so thought-provoking, i constantly put myself in the main character's shoes to know how i'd feel in his position (and i figured i'd feel helpless). the story was continuously progressing and the writing style was to the point. i also didn't find it hard to understand the scientific aspects/technical terms used which helped with the pacing of the story.
the ending felt a little bittersweet for me because it must've been so hard for the other versions of himself to let him (who is technically also just another version) be the one to have his family and his life back, considering all of them had gone through so much just to get to that world
overall, it was a great book and left me with wonder and possibly an existential crisis (in the best way possible)
I dunno. Not as thrilling as I heard it would be. And I found it a little predictable.
Liked this book … story was entertaining… parallel universe theme with a dark twist… could be made into a movie
Wow this book broke my brain but loved every second of it, I can't believe how it ended though lol just wanted to know more.
What can you read after
Dark Matter?
About the Author:
Blake Crouch is a bestselling novelist and screenwriter. His novels include Recursion, Dark Matter, and the Wayward Pines trilogy, which was adapted into a television series for FOX.
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