Reviews with content warning for Abortion - Dark Matter

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Dark Matter by Blake Crouch

31 reviews

schnaucl's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

I really appreciated that POV Jason (Jason Prime?) was happy with his life and knew it. This wasn't one of those stories where the main character goes through a bunch of alternate realities only to realize they place they started in was their best version of reality all along. Looking at you,

The Midnight Library.

The way the machine works was interesting. It's hard to know how the options would be shaped with multiple people.

While I appreciated that Jason started out being happy with his reality, it seems from the few POV chapters we get from Daniela that she wasn't as content. It's hard to say from just a few short glimpses, but she seemed to wonder more about the road not taken and feel like her life has stagnated whereas Jason had some mild curiosity about it but was generally content.

Compounding the problem, Jason really did treat his original life as a sort of prize to be won. Daniela even calls him out on it once he comes up with the lottery idea. It's good that she gets to make a decision at the end, but it does feel like she doesn't have much agency. It's not like she gets to really meet the other Jasons (other than the one who took the place of her husband, that is). Neither did their son.

I'll admit, it didn't occur to me that there would be other non POV Jasons who made it back to his original reality, although it makes perfect sense that would be true.

Fleeing to somewhere new probably was the only solution, though it would have to be some kind of pristine world because otherwise they'd have to explain duplicates of people and figure out how to obtain legal ID. Of course, if some world without people they'd have to figure out how to provide for themselves.

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rosegoldteacher's review against another edition

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The beginning was a little violent for my taste, but not too egregious.

I was okay with the general premise of an alternate reality shift. Overall, I just don't want to read a story about how your life can be better if you have kids.

That's super depressing to me, especially right now.

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moonlightreads007's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Yet another book that stood out to me and had me thinking about the underlying themes long after I finished reading it! This book delves deep into the realm of regrets, and asks readers the question, "Is the grass really greener on the other side?" What does that question even mean anyway? Measuring success and happiness in life is indeed relative to each individual, after all. All of the action happens really fast, and as a reader you're left breathless and terrified of the imminent danger the characters constantly face.

I love how the author dared to explore the controversial theory of parallel/multiple universes and what the implications would be if they did in fact exist. I especially enjoyed how the author further elaborated this idea by exploring the ethical implications of tampering with the multiverse in such a way that people can explore it and roam freely, and how this fundamental breakthrough would affect all the universes involved. I wonder, would there even be a universe immune to such a discovery? Let's hope to not find out, because the way the characters travel seems really dangerous.

Thematically, the book empowers readers to escape the victim mentality essentially through making the point that everything in life is a choice on some level (be it conscious or unconscious), and this in turn encourages readers to consider how to make more conscious decisions in their everyday lives. Furthermore, the book reminds readers to count their blessings and appreciate the good things they have going for them, since everything can change at a moment's notice. All that to say, I learned a lot from this book and I'm sure many others did too. It's a 5/5 from me, I would highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading thrillers, enjoys thinking deeply about the universe and has a sense of adventure.

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keen's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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katiefurms's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Not only is this an incredible concept for a story, but it is so phenomenally well written that i could not put it down. Absolutely incredible book.

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kaitieg97's review against another edition

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The writing is so good in the beginning, but from page 178 to 246, I'm sooo tired of this book and just want it to be over!

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nadiaherondale's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

I don't even know what I read, and although the start was a bit slow and I was wary because even though I loved the Wayward Pines TV Show I had struggled trying to read the books I ended up loving whatever this thing that blew my mind and it's gonna give me nightmares and existential dread for weeks was. PS: Amanda you deserve the world. 4'75/5

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