Dark Matter - Blake Crouch

[goodreads]

Title: Dark Matter
Author: Blake Crouch
Genre: Sci-fi
Rating: 4/5
# pages: 342
Date read: November 2016

"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.


I needed an accessible book for a long train ride, and this fit the bill perfectly. I could dive right into it, and not return to 'real life' until the train pulled into the destination station. That requires a special kind of book (which means this would have been perfect for the readathon as well). Unlike many others, I didn't mind Blake Crouch's writing style - in fact, I thought it worked really well to emphasize Jason's confusion and frustration. I got to love Jason, and became quite fond of Daniela, Charlie and Angelica as well.

"Dark Matter" has definite shades of the old Nicolas Cage movie, "Family Man" - a man gets the chance (albeit unwillingly) to see what his life would have been like, if certain choices had been made differently. It was rather heavy on the science in places (sort of like Scarlett Thomas' books), but I don't think it matters too much, if the reader doesn't get all the details.

The book was a lot darker than I had anticipated - especially as we came closer to the end, and it seemed like there was no one right decision. I did ultimately feel satisfied with the conclusion though - despite the fact that it was rather open.