Hi Guys,
From sorcerers to the Spanish Civil War, Vlad the Impaler to the Scottish countryside and now this. I think I may be suffering from genre whiplash. I haven’t had to think so hard about a book since Cloud Atlas.
Dark Matter by Blake Crouch is a book of what ifs. What if we took a different path? What if we never entered that coffee shop or went on that blind date? Would we still be the people we are today? These are the questions Jason Dessen must deal with when he is kidnapped by a masked man and wakes up in a world that is not his own.
Jason’s wife barely knows him, his son was never born and his research is literally changing the world. Jason knows this life isn’t the one he remembers but what else could it be… an extremely elaborate hoax, a mental illness, a tumor? Or is there another explanation? A crazy, insane chance that he’s found himself in an alternate reality?
One thing is certain, somewhere out there his family is waiting for him and Jason will stop at nothing to get them back.
Dark Matter is one of those books that makes you crave understanding. You just have to know what is going on. I went into this book not really knowing what I getting myself into, so I made the mistake of picking up the audio book–it was available and sounded intriguing. Do yourselves a favor and get the book; it’s a lot easier to re-read pages then having to rewind while you’re in the car. And yes, you will want to rewind. This is one of those books that make you go… waaaait a minute. Not in a bad way though. It just makes you think.
This book was deep and exciting. Crouch inserts philosophy and theory into the text seamlessly, while keeping a fairly high level of action and excitement. I liked Jason, a lot–surprisingly so. He was your stereotypical, middle class family man and yet he was also this deep thinking, could-of-been a genius, kind of guy. There were layers to him that paralleled well with what he was going through in the story.
Dark Matter was full of surprise. Just when you thought you knew how it was going to go… bam! Crouch adds another layer to the plot. Honestly, I think the only part of the story I was unsatisfied with was a loose end with one of the supporting characters.
A word of advice, don’t go into this one thinking its just about a kidnapped man trying to make his way home. It is and yet it is so, so much more. Get ready to wrap your head around some science, philosophy and mind shattering what ifs.
This book is definitely worth a read. It was interesting and makes you think. Four stars from me.
That’s all for now!
-M-
Comments