Book Review: Dark Matter – Blake Crouch
Dark Matter is a thriller novel I devoured and happily rated 5 stars. In today’s review post, I share just what I loved about it!
Dark Matter – Blake Crouch
Genre: Thriller
Pages: 342
Audience: Adult
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Publication Date: 26 July 2016
Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
‘Are you happy in your life?’Those are the last words Jason Dessen hears before the masked abductor knocks him unconscious.
Before he awakes to find himself strapped to a gurney, surrounded by strangers in hazmat suits.
Before the man he’s never met smiles down at him and says, ‘Welcome back.’
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.
In this other life, Jason has created a box. Transport into infinite alternate universes – every possible outcome of his life, one behind each door. In this other life, Jason chose a door. And he stole the life he wanted.
If Jason Dessen wants his life back, he will have to find it among infinite possibilities. And he will have to battle a terrifying, seemingly unbeatable foe: himself.
My Thoughts
Plot
I really enjoyed Dark Matter for its interesting and twisty plot. If you read the synopsis after the book, you can see just how it fits so well to what happens. It’s clever in that it doesn’t really give it away either, so I’m impressed.
If I told you that the overarching plot involved some degree of quantum physics and parallel universes, your brain may instinctively want to back away and hide in the nearest hole. However, please do not let that intimidate you.
This is included in the storyline in the absolute best ways. There isn’t too much detail or advanced knowledge needed to understand the premise. In my opinion, it is balanced perfectly so that the subject is approachable by readers of all levels and not limited to science nerds of the century.
And if you enjoy the kind of rabbit hole of thinking what would happen if each of these parallel universes interact with each other, then you are going to have a field day!
Characters
I liked Jason’s character and he was interesting throughout the book. Throughout the book, we see multiple versions of Jason and what would’ve happened if he had taken different paths in life.
Developing one character to such an extent that they can uphold a main character role is enough of the challenge without then having to develop them further and think about how different they could be in different circumstances. Crouch did this very well as I found all versions of Jason intriguing to read about.
But of course, he is not the only character in this book. Although a lot of time and effort must’ve gone into developing Jason as a character, that’s not happened at the expense for the characters. There is naturally a full cast to get to know over the course of the book and how they each play their part in the overall storyline.
Setting
Even though the narrative deals in quantum physics and alternate realities, I was able to keep track of where we were throughout the book.
Dark Matter is clever in that it touches on this topic for a good deal of the narrative, but not in such a technical way to intimidate readers. If you can read books like Stephen Baxter’s The Long Earth, I’d say it’s on par with that.
Narrative Style
Dark Matter is nice and easy to read. With enough going on in the plot, the really easy to understand and follow narrative style compliments perfectly.
I read the book over the course of just over a week. I admit that it’s difficult to remember exact details given I read this book about two years ago now. At the same time, the overarching impression of my experience of the book is a great one. I loved picking this up at every opportunity I could.
Summary
If you love the idea of this kind of plotline but have reservations on the subject matter, please let me reassure you that it is well suited to readers of all levels. However, if you really can’t get yourself past the idea of trying the book, I believe there is a TV series that may be more approachable for you instead. I haven’t watched it myself, but would be inclined based on my love of the book!