Dark Matter
Ratings1,364
Average rating4
Very intense, could not put it down. Probably more accurate on how this type situation would turn out than I would like to admit...
This book is out of this world, seriously because it set in the multiverse. I finished this book in two sittings because it was never boring or slow.
Jason travels thorough the multiverse in this book, and not through time, something which I've seen way too much of. While picking up this book I was apprehensive if it would give me something new on the parallel universes or the same old different version of the butterfly effect. Glad to say it was something I hadn't read before.
Spoilers:
The protagonist travels to different multiverse trying to find his original world. Although there's a big twist there. Every choice you make branches into a different reality so when you're trying to find your way home, you may come across different versions of you, also trying to find their way home. That was when I knew this book was at it's best, but no it takes it a step further and gets even better.
One thing that really piqued my interest was the way the author refers to certain things. The protagonist is in a lot of situations where he's surrounded by darkness and hears ‘footfalls'. Not footsteps, but footfalls. It felt amazing reading this book. All the little things I had read during my student life, parallel universe, game theory, Prisoner's Dilemma was the high point when I was thinking that this book just made me read something mind bending and amazing.
Got to about 40% into this audiobook but I have to stop it because it's making me mad. It's based on the splitting multiverse theory but the actual physics is simplified for the everyday reader. Which should be fine. But then the protagonist - a theoretical physicist - has a partner in his company who ALSO doesn't understand how the science works our hero has brewed up. Plus our scientist hero keeps running from all the people who have all the answers he's seeking. It's all bent towards a very black-hat white-hat action-movie plotline, where the hero wants to escape the world in which he's the ambitious family-less workaholic to get back to the timeline where he's less ambitious but has a fulfilling family-life.
I enjoyed reading a challenging sci-fi story after a long time. It did a good job keeping me hooked to the story but I often felt that there were elements that stretched incredulity. At other times, I was questioning why didn't the author take the effects to an extreme.
Having only read Recursion before this, I'm more curious about other works by Blake Crouch. Overall, I enjoyed the book, or most of it.
Jason considers himself fortunate. He has a beautiful wife and teenage son and life generally is good to him. One night walking home from drinks with friends a man pushes a gun into the back of his head. He's abducted, stripped, injected with something and blacks out. He wakes up strapped to a gurney with people he's never met greeting him like an old friend. This is no longer his world.
He finds himself in a lab with strange things happening. He recovers some semblance of normal and goes home but his house is empty, and there is no sign that his wife or son ever lived there. The lab people bring him back and he finds that he's a celebrated nuclear physicist who has managed to understand and control quantum superposition. And that's when the real trouble starts.
Jason goes on a wild ride through alternative parallel worlds, trying to get back to his own home. It's here that the novel threatens to break down into a travelogue of landscapes, each with its own catastrophe. Crouch pulls it back from the brink and Jason figures our how to 'drive' the system some other version of himself has created.
The final part of the book is getting back to his wife and son and trying to escape a multitude of parallel Jasons, each one desperate to be the one 'real' husband and father.
The book is let down by the constant exposition of quantum theory, superposition, parallel worlds, parallel lives, and parallel people. There is a lot of 'Jason-splaining' going on. The characters are up to the task although some of the dialogue gets a bit cheesy. I suppose telling one version of your husband why another version of him is better or worse than the one in front of her is a bit tricky. The final resolution, their escape, opens up the possibility of a further novel but I hope Crouch does not take that bait. The would be too much what Netflix would do.
A love story wrapped in a shroud of sci-fi. Although I know most of what the book would be about midway through the first chapter, I'll admit the third act did catch me a bit by surprise. I thoroughly enjoyed the book, and felt the concept was pretty interesting. Only complaint was the ending wrapped up a little neatly, and seemed to avoid asking an obvious question to allow the ending to happen. 4/5 Ampoules.
“Here's the thing. The box isn't all that different from life. If you go in with fear, fear is what you'll find."
I’m going to be thinking about this damn book for weeks.
Easy breezy spec sci-fi update of It's A Wonderful life for the epic whiskey dad/i fucking love science crowd. MAJOR wifeguy alert. Get's pretty fun the further it loses itself down the infinite corridor.
Even better than the show! I mean of course books are always better.
What I most enjoyed was understanding Jason's mindset, emotions, thought process and feelings as he went through this wild experience.
I loved the themes about identity and how the choices we make concerning our lives and the environment we are in play a large roll in our decision making process and defining our identity.
An amazing fast paced read.
5/5 - Why was I boohooing at the ending of this book?? This sci-fi psychological thriller had me on the edge of my seat from chapter one. And the main theme of the story was “What if I chose a different path in life?”. I think the biggest part of the book was that the MMC (Jason) went at nothing to get his wife and child back. The love story element of the book is what brought me to tears.
compulsively readable but didn't love it. i never give quarter stars but 3.25, full rtc.
It's essentially the story of a science professor whose life gets turned upside down when the multiverse of alternate realities intrudes on his idyllic family life. Think Everything Everywhere All At Once (only worse).
I didn't love the writing, which I thought tried to make everything intense by using overwrought, superlative-laden, movie poster language (Come on, protagonist, was that really the longest shower of your life?)
Also, the science in the sci-fi was pretty weak (which is only exacerbated by the fact that the protagonist was supposed to be this super-genius level scientist who is constantly trying to explain the multiverse to us, and the other characters). It would be less bad if they didn't keep reminding us that every possible thing that can happen causes branching realities to an infinite degree, and then make it so that they (and other characters) can relatively easily navigate between realities (or are really fixated on specific versions of reality).
Bottom line is that I could barely finish the book. It was pretty frustrating. Comparing Dark Matter to Project Hail Mary (which is also popcorn sci-fi), the latter was a million times better! (see, I can use superlatives too!)
4.75 ummmm what the fuck did i just read holy fuck. can't tell you why it's not 5 stars cause wow
‘Dark Matter' is a mind-bending masterpiece that left me breathless! Jason Dessen's journey through parallel universes is a wild ride, full of twists and turns that will keep you on the edge of your seat.
As Blake Crouch so eloquently puts it, “The universe is a pretty big place. If it's just us, it seems like an awful waste of space.” This quote resonated with me throughout the book, as Jason navigates the vastness of the multiverse.
I was thoroughly invested in Jason's story, but I did feel that Amanda's character deserved more resolution. As she says, “I'm not sure what's more frightening, the possibility that we're alone in the universe or that we're not.” Her story arc was left somewhat open-ended, and I wanted to see her journey come full circle.
I also craved a glimpse into Jason's life after the events of the book. As he says, “I've been given a second chance, and I'm not going to waste it.” An epilogue or a follow-up novel would be amazing to explore how he rebuilds his life and relationships.
Overall, ‘Dark Matter' is a must-read for anyone who loves sci-fi, thrillers, or just plain amazing storytelling. Trust me, you won't regret it!
This book was a wild ride from start to finish and generated so much discussion amongst our group. It’s probably best to just go in as blind as possible and experience the story for yourself.
There are moments where I would get frustrated with Jason, but who knows how one would act in his situation. Near the end, I thought I knew what the “solution” was and I was actually right, but I enjoyed the ride getting there.
This is a fun book. It's entertaining, interesting, and not too long. I was quite gripped by the narrative and found the protagonist likeable, albeit a little too perfect. Nevertheless, it is very readable/listenable as it has an interesting premise and exciting plot. If it were longer, I probably would have rated it lower as I felt it lacked a kind of depth that I would normally expect with a good novel; however, its interesting premise carried it.
I am out of words for this book, definitely my top 3! The way it explored the sci-fi concepts kept me hoooked!!
this was so much fun!!! im very excited to watch the show bc i NEED to see the visuals
A very solid thriller with blazing fast pacing. I don't love some aspects to how the story played out and the attempts at character development lacking made the emotional parts not hit as hard. But it's easy to look past these minor criticisms because this story was so much fun and has no idea what I was getting into
This novel is a fun ride that is reads like a script for a film. It doesn't take too much of your time. The science is easy to digest. Character development is sacrificed in order to keep the story brisking at a steady pace. Except for the apocalyptic disease-ridden Chigago, that section felt unnecessary to me. And out of character, as well. It's hard to believe that a man of science wouldn't go back the minute he realized he was walking into this world. But I guess the author need to drive the point home how much he loves his wife.
Some interesting questions asked about identity, the choices we make in life and the consequences we have to live with. But not much exploration. Because that plot needs to continue chugging along in order to arrive to it's Hollywoody happy ending.