Reviews tagging 'Pregnancy'

Dark Matter by Blake Crouch

13 reviews

_david_'s review against another edition

dark hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• 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

2.0

Oof to me, every part of this book missed its mark. In general I found everything in the book a bit over the top. 

First of all, Jason is supposed to be a genius. Yet it takes him ages to even think of the theory which can be figured out as a reader very quickly. If you've figured it out before Jason, there's not much joy in reading the story until he has figured it out too. You're just waiting and turning the pages until he does and you can finally continue. The way he acts is so hard to relate to. It's very hard to imagine the situations he encounters so it's hard to emphasize with his choices. However, at least after it all goes wrong once you'd think he change his behaviour right? 

Secondly, I'd like to discuss the science behind it. To me, it's very noticable that what we're reading has been written by an author who wanted to tell a story and then looked up the physic theories which would fit it best. The logic is not consistent and some of it almost works like magic. Yet the characters in the book use big words and existing theories to clarify the science behind it all. This is a very personal ick, I've barely ever encountered a piece of media that manages to do this well. The only ways I have seen this be pulled off, is to make up your own very clear very consitent rules or just pretend it's magic and do not explain it beyond what is necessary. 

My favourite part of the book beyond the very first chapter, in which Jason only talks about his family night and life choices, are the final few chapters. Yet I wish they pushed a little further. Let Jason be a little more selfish or a little more existential. I've read another review which points out a major flaw related to the inconsistent physics which did ruin these last chapters for me as well. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Blood, Physical abuse, Gore, Violence, Murder, Body horror, Confinement, Death, Forced institutionalization, Stalking, Grief, Kidnapping, Gun violence, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Mental illness, Abortion, Car accident, Police brutality, Fire/Fire injury, Child death, Alcohol, Animal death, Drug use, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Minor: Self harm, Drug abuse, Pregnancy, and Suicidal thoughts

chloeve's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious sad tense medium-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? It's complicated

3.75

The concept of this book was really interesting and it kept my attention. However, sometimes it did get a little repetitive (understandably), and I got lost with the science talk. I didn't see how it was going to end though, and I did like it. Also, the chapters were wayyyyy too long for me, so it felt like I was taking forever to read the book. Overall, I did enjoy it and would recommend it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Blood, Drug use, Gun violence, Murder, and Death

Moderate: Stalking, Kidnapping, Alcohol, and Grief

Minor: Sexual content, Pandemic/Epidemic, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Terminal illness

ababytapir's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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

Like Recursion, Dark Matter is fantastically mind-bending and all too easy to read in a day. It's incredibly violent and thought provoking. If you like your sci fi thrillers tinged with horror, existential dread and romance, this is the book for you. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Abandonment, Blood, Body horror, Kidnapping, Gore, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Stalking, Drug use, Gun violence, Murder, Death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Torture, Child death, Abortion, Self harm, War, Violence, Death of parent, Suicide, Car accident, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Cancer, Pregnancy, Rape, and Terminal illness

If you struggle with derealisation, dissociation or depersonalisation, or any sort of identify disorder, this book could potentially be incredibly triggering. Proceed with extreme caution. Violence warning: There is an incredibly detailed description of a gory epidemic/pandemic. There are multiple gory descriptions of dead bodies, murder, and horrific natural disasters. There is a long kidnapping scene. There's multiple instances of stalking.

iono's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Murder, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Pandemic/Epidemic, Stalking, Confinement, Drug use, Child death, Sexual content, Blood, Abortion, Gun violence, Rape, Medical content, Violence, and Infidelity

Minor: Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, Death of parent, and Forced institutionalization

meat_muffin's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Pandemic/Epidemic, Stalking, Confinement, Cursing, Medical content, Medical trauma, Death, and Grief

Minor: Child death, Forced institutionalization, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Pregnancy

laurenbaggy's review

adventurous dark emotional tense medium-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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Blood, Drug use, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Murder, and Violence

Moderate: Child death, Gaslighting, Infidelity, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Minor: Pregnancy

wickedgrumpy's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

1.75

The good:  I enjoyed the UberChat.  I felt that right when that was introduced a different ending could have spawned that turned into a lighthearted rom-com and I like to imagine that.

The bad:  I knew pretty early on that this was not going to be a favorite.  I don't read a lot of thrillers in general but I enjoy sci-fi so I figured I would give it a shot.  I couldn't stand the main character.  And thus, the book was doomed in my eyes.  The pacing was jumpy, and the plot was predictable (as in, I guessed what really happened in the first chapter and the main character didn't figure it out until the ~50% mark).  There was some promise for some thoughtful introspection but the approach was heavy-handed at best.  Some of the descriptions were vivid and others were flat out whacky.

I don't know if I will try another book by the author, but I don't think I was the intended audience for this work so who knows what the future holds.

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Content Warnings

Minor: Abandonment, Body horror, Classism, Confinement, Torture, Pandemic/Epidemic, Rape, Self harm, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Toxic friendship, Drug use, Gaslighting, Gore, Kidnapping, Medical content, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Alcohol, Blood, Body shaming, Bullying, Death, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Sexism, Violence, Alcoholism, Cancer, Car accident, Child death, Infidelity, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, and Toxic relationship

katiefurms's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Blood, Cursing, Death, Forced institutionalization, Torture, Drug use, Gun violence, Grief, Gore, Kidnapping, Mental illness, and Murder

Minor: Gun violence, Infidelity, Pandemic/Epidemic, Police brutality, Suicidal thoughts, Abortion, Addiction, Body horror, Car accident, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Mental illness, Medical content, Pregnancy, Vomit, Dysphoria, Gore, Suicide, and Violence

nadiaherondale's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Gun violence, Stalking, Death, and Murder

Moderate: Blood, Vomit, Torture, Medical content, Kidnapping, and Alcohol

Minor: Drug use, Pregnancy, Abortion, and Forced institutionalization

raneyak's review against another edition

adventurous emotional reflective tense fast-paced

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

3.0

Overall I found the story compelling and enjoyable. However, there were some moments that missed the mark throughout the book. My overall critique of the book is that much of it seemed to be trying too hard to be a good book. Certain dialogue and character choices used to convey a philosophical message or advance the plot seemed unnatural in context. In addition, the ending wrapped up a little bit too perfectly and I feel like I missed out on the emotional complexity I had anticipated going into the final scenes. 

It’s a relatively short book and contains a lot of interesting science and philosophy, and while it isn’t perfect I still enjoyed it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Alcohol, Murder, Blood, Cursing, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Drug use, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Vomit, Forced institutionalization, Gore, and Grief

Minor: Pregnancy, Child death, and Sexual content