I am so happy I finally boarded the Dark Matter train, because it was pure thrilling fun. I can see why this 2016 release has gotten so much hype and why a movie is already in the works. If you don’t want to read my review, I’ll sum it up for you right now: go read the book.
Dark Matter by Blake Crouch
Published by Crown on July 26th 2016
Genres: Science Fiction, Thriller
Pages: 342
Narrator: Jon Lindstrom
Length: 10 hrs and 8 mins
Format: Audiobook
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Goodreads
“Are you happy with your life?”
Those are the last words Jason Dessen hears before the masked abductor knocks him unconscious.
Before he awakens to find himself strapped to a gurney, surrounded by strangers in hazmat suits.
Before a man Jason’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.
From the author of the bestselling Wayward Pines trilogy, Dark Matter is a brilliantly plotted tale that is at once sweeping and intimate, mind-bendingly strange and profoundly human—a relentlessly surprising science-fiction thriller about choices, paths not taken, and how far we’ll go to claim the lives we dream of.
A lost husband, a confusingly familiar villain, and a mess made by physics
Four things I loved about Dark Matter:
- It takes place in Chicago! I went to undergrad in Chicago, so it was super fun reading about a story set there. It was also fun to see Chicago re-imagined in so many different ways (which I won’t elaborate on too much because spoilers).
- The concept of the book is both horrifying and exciting. Again, I don’t want to elaborate much, but if you read the synopsis, you’ll know that our main character wakes up in a world that is not the world he knows. The remainder of the book follows him as he tries to find his way back to the world he loves that has his wife and child. The things he sees along the way are CRAYZAY and I just freaking loved it.
- This is 60% a sci-fi novel and 40% love story – SURPRISE! I wasn’t expecting it at all, but I loved that Crouch was able to incorporate that intense emotional aspect into the story, because it resulted in a lot more feels that your average sci-fi novel. In fact, it made everything that much more high stakes.
- The ending was perfect (and also a bit of a nail-biter)! View Spoiler »
I would recommend this to anyone! READ IT! It’s just so much (tense) fun!
Have you read this novel?! Did I convince you to read it?
A.S. Thornton has evolved from book blogger to author with a particular fondness for writing forbidden love in ancient deserts. When not writing, she’s caring for dogs and cats as a veterinarian. You’ll never find animals at the center of her writing, though, because those fictional worlds don’t have veterinarians and her literal brain can’t accept that the poor critters would be without parasite prevention. Thornton’s debut, DAUGHTER OF THE SALT KING is available wherever books are sold.
matxi_books
I need to read this one already!!! It has been so buzzed but I really do think is going to be an awesome read!!!
Ali
Yes, I wasn’t expecting much because of the hype – but it ended up being really fun! It’s just a great thriller/sci-fi story.
matxi_books
I know you usually don’t do tags, but it would be fun to know your answers so I tagged you for the Mystery Blogger Award!! 😉 😉
https://matxibooks.wordpress.com/2017/03/14/mystery-blogger-award/
Ali
Thanks friend!! 😀 I will go and check it out!
Brittany's Book Rambles
Fantastic review! I previously thought this was just a thriller, but so much romance?! That’s awesome! You’ve definitely caught my attention 🙂 So glad you loved this book!
Brittany @ Brittany’s Book Rambles
Ali
I wouldn’t necessarily say “romance” in the genre sense of the word (like, no crazy sex scenes or anything lol), but definitely a love story (:
Michelle @ Pink Polka Dot Books
I don’t read a lot of Adult OR SciFi, but this one has been making me curious since I first laid eyes on the cool cover. And then I’ve heard like 999 good things about it, so I might just have to make time for it sometime soon 🙂
Ali
Hahaha, yes there are TONS of good reviews out here. You should definitely check it out when you have the chance (LOL, like when do we ever have “free time” in regards to books?! Xd)
Leigha @ Shelfleigh
Sounds interesting! Was the narration good? Not sure if I want to listen to the audiobook or read it myself.
Ali
Yes- I really liked the audiobook! The narrator was good and fit the characters really well!
Annie
I LOVED that it was so romantic, it was so well done! One of my faves from last year for sure!
Maraia
I surprisingly loved the romance as well! I usually prefer my sci-fi to be light on the romance, but in this case it fit really well. I thought it was super sweet.
Ali (@thebandarblog)
Yes! It was really sweet and really made the story more high stakes for me – especially since I’m married and kept putting myself in his shoes XD
Maraia
Haha, I read it shortly after getting together with my boyfriend, so I felt the same and related to a lot of the feelings he expressed. xD
Emily @ Loony Literate
Ohhhh my god I was so close to clicking the spoiler button haha. But I do need to read this one! I recently read Stephen Hawking’s book (A Brief History of Time) and it’s given me a book craving for sci-fi.
Ali
Hahaha, I’m glad you didn’t do it! Though I will be the first to admit that when I know I’m not going to read the book, I ALWAYS read the spoilers XD
Greg Hill
The Chicago setting was definitely awesome! I liked the looks we got at different places (trying to be careful of spoilers here) and I loved the chapters where his wife had to figure out what was going on. I thought their relationship was realistic too.
And yes the ending was amazing. 🙂
http://gregsbookhaven.blogspot.com/
Ali
Yay! Glad we agree on so may things. The ending was open ended enough for me to like it, but not SO open ended that I was frustrated. I think it was a very fun book and will translate well to a movie!