Dark Matter Review

SPOILERS**     

    Blake Crouch’s Dark Matter is a sci-fi novel about a physics professor named Jason Dessen, one night Jason is kidnapped from his wife Daniela, and his child, Charlie. Jason is taken somewhere and when he awakes he finds himself in a mysterious laboratory with people who claim to know him. Jason soon discovers that the world he has found himself in is not the one he knows. After finding this world’s version of Daniela, and coming to this realization, Jason is forced to return to the lab, and he learns that this world’s Jason, Jason 2, has successfully created dimension-traveling technology, and used it to switch places with him. With this discovery, and help from Amanda, Jason 2’s therapist, Jason embarks on a multidimensional adventure to return to his world, and more importantly, his family.

This novel has excellent pacing. There’s an intense unfolding of events throughout the story, and it keeps readers engaged because so much can happen at any moment. The sheer amount of twists, turns, and tense moments kept me at the edge of my seat the entire time. The book is very dynamic and the pacing reflects the importance of Jason’s situation and his mental state throughout the story. Furthermore, between the tense and exciting parts of the story, there are often moments of reflection that offer clarity and something for readers to think about, before the book continues with the more action packed parts of the story. For instance, after one of the more intense part of the story, when Jason and Amanda find their way back to the box after being trapped in an impossibly snowy world. They almost died, but when they return to safety they think about what they've been through and how Jason is different from Jason 2. It’s calming, and Jason says, “My muscles relax. For a moment, the anger vanishes into a river of peace and calm I would give anything to make last...” (Crouch 180). It’s moments like these that ground the story by having the characters be real amidst everything going on. 

This novel has amazing character development for Jason. Crouch often mentions regret and the effects of choices throughout the story. Masterfully, Crouch makes Jason think about his life and the choices he made to get where he is now. Jason confronts this more than anyone else, as he finds himself in his original universe with hundreds of different versions of him. Jason eventually comes to realize that none of the other Jason’s matter, he says, “I don’t want their lives.  I want mine.”(Crouch 334). Prior to the events of the novel, Jason lived with regret and always wondered about how his life could’ve been better. He learned not to regret his choices, and that no matter how much better or worse his life could have been, he is himself and he has his own life. This lesson is very valuable; not only is it good life advice, but it also goes to show how far Jason has come as a person toward the end of the novel.

This book is great. I am a huge fan of multiverse stories,  and this one does it very well. It’s very engaging with scientific concepts and realistic reflections on the characters' lives. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys sci-fi stories especially, its twisty multiverse plot might be too much for some though, it is very trippy at times.