Dark Matter by Blake Crouch

This book is genius. Everything about it is entertaining and captivating. What's so brilliant about it is the fact that it encompasses so many different genres and themes. The right genre might be speculative fiction but I would definitely categorize it as science-fiction. However, it's so much more than that. It's also a mystery thriller with a hint of corporate surveillance and psychological suspense. It tells the story of a man that lives and would do anything for his family. His love for his wife and son is what keeps him going and what makes him such a powerful protagonist.

Everything starts going wrong for Jason the night his friend is awarded a prestigious prize in science achievement. Jason is a little bit jealous of his friend, believing he could have won the prize if his life had turned out differently. If instead of starting a family, he had pursued his research in experimental physics. As he's leaving his favourite bar, where his friend is still celebrating, Jason is abducted and thrust into a whole new world where nothing makes sense and everything isn't as it should be. He's no longer married. He doesn't have a son. He owns the same house, yet everything is different.

Jason's experience with this alternate reality is confusing at first, and it's confusing as a reader too because you have no idea where the storyline is going. The way the book is written is brilliant because we experience Jason's confusion, disorientation, and frustration as the story unfolds. The scientific explanation behind alternate realities is intelligent yet not too complicated. The author makes the story very accessible and doesn't confuse the reader too much with complicated theories. He explains just enough to keep the story going. However, the more Jason investigates and asks questions, the more trouble he seem to be getting into. His quest to find his way back home is filled with violence, death and the unknown.

The author manages to tell an incredible story while raising many existential questions. He makes you question reality and makes you wonder if your life would have turned out differently based past decisions. He also makes you wonder if there's another you out there, living a different life, in a different world. This book takes the question "what if?" so much further than you could ever have imagined. I envy Jason, in a way, because he got the chance to see how his life might have turned out based on a decision he made 15 years ago. However, I don't envy his pain and the trouble he had to go through in order to survive his journey.

Dark Matter takes you on a wild ride but deep down, it's the story of a man, trying to find his way home. Human nature makes us do incredible things but for Jason, his emotional attachment to his wife and son is what keeps him going. Dark Matter may be a science-fiction novel, but I personally see it as a love story that spans multiple dimensions. I highly recommend this novel. It has been nominated for a Goodreads award for a reason!



 

Posted by Tynga at 01:36

 Blake Crouch, Penguin, Purchased, Random House, Review, Science Fiction  11 People left their mark

Tynga is a 32 years old mom of two, from Montreal, working as a lab technician in an hospital specialized in heart disease. In her free time, she enjoys reading all things Paranormal and photography.

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