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A review by keaganbailey
Dark Matter by Blake Crouch

adventurous dark emotional sad 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

3.0

The book starts off well, but by the end of chapter 1 you know exactly what's going on until near the last third. The plot until over 60% of the way through is straight forward, the main character doesn't even realize what happened to them until about 40%. This is frustrating as the reader as you're sitting around waiting for the book to catch up to where you know it's going. 

The main character is one dimensional and does not change at all throughout the book, interestingly this ties into the plot and is excusable. What isn't excusable is that all other characters in the book are also one dimensional, the son could be replaced with a cardboard cutout the wife carries around and the story would not change dramatically. There are also several characters at the end of the story that the author explicitly tells the reader that they have "changed" but goes into no detail about this and does not explore the concept beyond the surface observation that their motivation has changed because the plot demands it. 

As much as it pains me to say it, the show Rick & Morty has explored many of the concepts in this book and dulled the wonder of interacting yourself in a multiverse. But if you have not watched the show this book may be a 4 or 5 star for you. 

If you enjoy the dilemma at the end of the book you will also really enjoy the game SOMA which came out in 2015, it goes on sale for $5 often. 

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