Book Review: Dark Matter by Blake Crouch

If you have this book sitting on your shelf right now, do yourself a favour and start reading it right now – it’s amazing, 5 stars of amazingness!

From the inside cover:

‘Are you happy in your life?’

Those are the last words Jason Dessen hears before the masked abductor knocks him unconscious.

Before he wakes 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, 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.

My Thoughts:

As I began reading Dark Matter, I was immediately filled with a sense of wonder – I devoured this book in five hours!

The idea of the plot itself is so intelligent, you don’t have to be a science whizz to understand it – it plays with the idea that for every action/choice you make in life, the alternatives you could have chosen are played out in an alternate universe. Dark Matter is what happens when Jason wakes up one day and find himself in an alternate universe. What’s really great about this book is, all the events that occur make sense, the science behind the plot is feasible, so while this is a sci-fi thriller, it carries the element of realism.

Not only is this story so cleverly told, Crouch has weaved in an emotional element too. Jason is a likeable character and you root for him the entire time – quantum physics be damned, you want him to get back to his old life!

Crouch chose to write this book in such a clever way, it’s not laden down with scientific facts but instead details the events as they’re happening. Through the use of short sentences and simple language, Crouch immerses you deep in this novel and you can visualise these events playing out around you.

I suggest you just read this book immediately. It’s action-packed and Jason’s adventure will have you flying through the pages of this one. The novel is filled with mysterious wonder; it does have a romance element to it but if there was ever going to be romance featured in a book, it should be done this way – with a healthy post-apocalyptic feel to it!

Dark Matter is amazing, thrilling, fast-paced – it’s mind-bendingly good and I can’t recommend it enough!

This book is available to buy from: Amazon UK / Book Depository