Reviews

Dark Matter by Blake Crouch

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anna1isa's review against another edition

4.75

Had me on the edge of my seat until the last page. Not once did I know where this book was going or what was going to happen next. Blake Crouch was shaking me vigorously by the shoulders, playing with my heart, throwing me against the wall, punching me in the face, and I loved every minute of it. The actual basis of 'reality' in this book was also exciting to ponder and discuss. I finished this book imbued with gratitude for the mundane and contentment with my station in life.

vsgayatri's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny informative mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

An intriguing idea and framing of the same, would make a perfect read for a long airplane ride. However I wish the pacing had been different so the last quarter had more of the spotlight - the more interesting prospect of this concept finally appeared around 73% in.

knallen's review against another edition

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5.0

I loved this book. The premise is so damn interesting; the characters are great and the love story (this story really is a love story) sells the whole thing and makes you root for the characters. It's also a really interesting look at how our experiences and environment shapes us. It's a lot of fun to read. One of the best books I've read this year.

annaka's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

3.75

Not the best multiverse book I’ve read(that honor goes to Micaiah Johnson and an honorable mention to Claudia Gray), but engaging and difficult to put down. It was interesting to explore the hypotheticals and the various parallel worlds (and ways into them). I felt like the scientific explanations were a bit lackluster but I can see the argument that too much explanation might take away from the pace and main story. It felt like the only character we got to know much was Jason, which I felt was a real loss especially with Amanda and Daniela’s potential characters. I did like the hint of what was to come with one scene with Amanda.

Having him imagine a universe where another him kissed Amanda and stayed with her happily foreshadowed the idea of the other Jasons being created and having to be dealt with at the end. The ending felt uncomfortable to leave all the other equally him Jasons behind, but you can see why he did. Daniela not being given more decision making power seemed like a waste. It seems like having her (or their son) make random decisions would have been even harder to predict than having him make decisions that other hims might figure out. Ultimately I do like that they got to decide what to do and which Jason to choose.

This telling of the multiverse is uncomfortable at times but overall I enjoyed the read. I’m not sure it’s as deeply philosophical and wonderful as Crouch seems to think it is.

Would I read something else by the author? Probably.

Would I re-read this? Probably not. A good one time read.

Would I recommend? Yes, to those who like speculative fiction/multiverse literature but I’d probably recommend Johnson or Gray’s works first.

Content Warnings