Reviewed 7/22/16

I’m joining in again with Throwback Thursday which was created by my good friend Renee at It’s Book Talk. She started this weekly feature as a way to highlight old favorites and read books that have already been published. I have so many older books on my TBR that get ignored in favor of review copies and I figure participating in Throwback Thursday will help me to read at a least one older title a week!

Dark Matter is a book way outside of my usual preference and one that I’ve had sitting on my Netgalley shelf for far too long. I originally requested it last year because everyone I knew was raving about it and I have a serious case of fear of missing out. I finally decided to grab it this week and I’m completely blown away. I am SO glad that I took a chance on a book that’s outside of my comfort zone, it paid off in a big way.

This book was like nothing I’ve ever read before and that may be because it’s not my go to genre but I don’t think so. I still firmly believe that DM is highly original and insanely creative even within it’s genre. It defied all of my expectations and then some and has such an insane premise that I’m not even going to attempt to speak to it because I know I wouldn’t be able to discuss it in the manner that it deserves. Just think mind bending matrix/inception type of stuff, it’s actually best not to think too hard about the details anyway.

The biggest surprise for me here was how deeply and intricately complex this book was. Yes, it’s highly intelligent and deals with topics that are beyond my normal level of comprehension but Crouch details scientific methods in a way that even a dummy like me could understand. This was a surprisingly emotional read for me, no one warned me that it would make me cry! It was so thought provoking and touched something right at my core, I’m just mind blown by how much I loved this book.

If you’re like me and have been on the fence about this one, give it a try. I don’t think anyone will be disappointed, it’s intense, profound, smart and extremely well written. I can’t say enough good things about how this book made me feel and that’s one of the main reasons I love to read in the first place, to feel something outside of my everyday life.

Speechless...woah-no words can describe how good this book truly is! It's almost like a genre of it's own.... sci-fi & psychological thriller. I could NOT put down this page turner for the life of me, it was mesmerizing from the beginning! I highly recommend this book to everyone!!!

Really fun and challenging to keep track of. Loved it.

First Line: I love Thursday nights.

Summary: Jason is a physics professor in Chicago. He lives with his wife and son. At one point he had a very promising career as a physicist but he made the choice to have a family instead. One night after visiting with an old friend he is kidnapped and taken to an abandoned warehouse by a man in a mask. After being injected with a drug his world is thrown into chaos.

Highlights: The whole book! You start in the action almost immediately. There are so many twists and turns that you can never guess what happens next. I had such tough time putting it down. I had to know how Jason was going to get home to his family.

Lowlights: Being categorized as sci-fi was a turn off when I first heard of this it after hearing people review it I knew I had to read it. There is lots of science but it doesn't distract or take away from the great story.

FYI: Be prepared to read in one sitting and staying up late to finish.

I want to thank Netgalley for giving me an ARC copy of this book.
First Line – I love Thursday nights.
Summary - 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.
Highlight – I loved Crouch’s writing style and this book had me from the very first pag! I tore through it without it feeling like any time had passed at all!
Lowlight- Although this wasn’t my personal experience someone told me this book was so suspenseful it was almost uncomfortable.

I was pleasantly surprised by this book. I heard people raving about the book last summer so wanted to give it a shot and see what I thought.

I have always wondered what it would be like to know how my life would have been if I had chosen a different path or made a different decision in life. In this book, Jason finds out and not by choice. He is a brilliant scientist but instead of pursuing a certain path, he gets married and has a child and lives life as a professor. Is this a bad thing? No, but what if Jason didn't get married or have a child? What if he went on to do great things scientifically?

It is so hard for me to do a good review without giving away too many details. This book kept me on the edge of my seat wondering what was going to happen to Jason next. Yes the book is scientific, but not so much so that you feel lost when it is explained. There is a fair amount of violence, but considering the circumstances I wouldn't expect less.

If you are a fan of sci-fi and are curious about parallel time dimensions, you will probably enjoy this book.

Mind blowing..... brilliant piece of work!
No spoilers here All I can say is jump in to the rabbit hole and enjoy the ride.

My thanks to NetGalley, the author and publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is one of the most intriguing premises I’ve ever read. I was immediately drawn to the mysteriousness of this book, and I was really in the mood for a science fiction thriller when I picked it up. It was extremely enjoyable and I raced through it.

Dark Matter is the kind of book that keeps you reading because it has something new to think about on every page. It deals with these big picture questions about fate, family, love, and it makes you question every decision you’ve ever made. It’s already so compelling and such a page turner that you walk into Jason’s world and can’t leave until you know exactly what’s going on.

These characters were so vividly written that I understood them so well. By the end, I thought I’d known them forever. Everything about this novel is plotted and comes together in such a rewarding manner. My only gripe with this novel is that since it’s so action packed and plot heavy, the writing isn’t anything special. Yes, there are some complex questions and I really enjoyed the science bits, but overall, the writing read like a movie and there were some very unfortunate dialogue problems.

However, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I can’t wait to pick up Blake Crouch’s Pines trilogy.

It took me awhile to finally get to this title but I am so glad that I did. Sometimes a book grabs you because of its inherent qualities, sometimes it grabs you because of the time in your life in which you read it. This book grabbed me in a time in my life where I have done a lot of consideration of the paths we take in life which means that the plot line of this book hit me in the heart. The science nerd in me loved the sci-fi aspects of this book while still striking an emotional chord with me as well. This is a solid book that I encourage everyone to try out with an open mind.

I just read Dark Matter. It's a brilliantly plotted tale that is at once sweeping and intimate, mind-bendingly strange and profoundly human—a relentlessly surprising science-fiction thriller about choices, paths not taken, and how far we’ll go to claim the lives we dream of. The kind of story that everyone can imagine happening, but KNOWS it can't happen. You wake up one morning and you aren't who you thought you were. That's horror-full enough, but then it keeps happening over and over. Talk about Deja Vu all over again! And it's a life or death situation. Kept me up finishing it!!

Be warned you might have to dig into your sci-fi chest of knowledge for this one or a wee bit of Dr Who may do the trick. In essence we are talking a causal loop paradox with an endless stream of different parallel worlds or realities.

It’s interesting to note however that these realities are determined and influenced by the conscious, and perhaps even the subconscious thoughts and choices of the subjects.

The state of choice is arrived at via drug that creates a loophole or perhaps even a type of black-hole, both from a psychological and physical point of view.

I have to hand it to Crouch he makes quantum physics seem semi-understandable. He explains it in a way that anyone can understand. I especially enjoyed his explanation of Schrödinger’s cat. Quantum superposition 101.

The main character finds himself in the middle of a complex conundrum. Everything he loves has been taken from him, The world he knows has literally disappeared.

Crouch makes a valid point about crossroads in life and the paths we choose to take. Many people are guilty of living off of what ifs or if only I hads, especially when life becomes a little mediocre and repetitive. The grass is always greener on the other side, eh? Well the truth is it isn’t, because the grass is just grass and it’s the same shade of green on either side.

Jason has that kind of important crossroad in his life. One road leads to fame and a brilliant career, and the other to a family life with a white picket fence.

What would you do if you could go back to your own personal crossroads and change your entire future with just one small choice? Keeping in mind that it would completely erase anything you loved or valued up to that point.

Dark Matter is the kind of innovative read that makes you wonder whether or not you are the only one of you and if our world is the only one that exists.
*Thank you to Crown Publishing and NetGalley for my copy of Dark Matter.*

Five star reviews at Goodreads and Amazon.

Such a well-written exploration of time, perspective, and prime reality. I was so heavily invested in this book and though the different realities definitely made my head spin at times, it was only spinning at a level where the book still made sense and was engrossing. Highly recommended, both on a philosophical level and for entertainment.

Physics professor Jason Dessen loves his life of domestic bliss. Even after more than fifteen years of marriage he is very much in love with his wife, Daniela, and is so proud of their teenage son. The Thursday night his world changed was a bit different. While dinner was cooking he ran to a neighborhood bar for the celebration of an old college friend of his. His friend just won a prestigious physics award, one that if life had been different could have been his award. On his way home he is kidnapped and when he wakes up his life is not his own. He never married Daniela, they never had a son, and he was the world-renowned physicist who won an award. He doesn't want any of that, though - he wants his wife. He wants his son. He wants his life back and will do anything to get it back. Including jumping across parallel universes to find the right world he left, but what he doesn't realize is that there are multiple Jasons in multiple universes who all want the same thing - to be with Daniela and their son.

I am so surprised at how much I enjoyed Dark Matter. It is like a cross between The Time Traveler's Wife and Inception. A mind-bending science fiction novel with some physics mumbo-jumbo (the box), but not so much that the mere mortal can't follow along. At the heart of the book is the love story between Jason and Daniela. Jason. the real Jason, not his clones, seems like a really good dude. His devotion to his family is not to be denied. The different worlds that Jason has to encounter before finding the right world was downright terrifying. The way that he got Daniela's attention in the "right" world was downright brilliant. And that is when I realized that I was loving this book. The action really picks up towards the end of the book and it is a fast-paced, heart-pounding conclusion.



Bottom line - Dark Matter is a brilliant novel. I did not expect to enjoy it as much as I did, but the characters and the story are so gripping it would be impossible not to love it. I will be the first person in line to buy a ticket when this movie gets made - and I am sure it will get made. It is just too good not to be made into a movie.

LOVED this book. It's well written and captivating. I loved the premise and was surprised several times with the twists and turns. It makes you think....what if?

Blake Crouch is one of my favorite authors. He ranks up there with Stephen King. His books are always a fast paced, fun and gripping read. Dark Matter is no exception. Crouch tackles the comlpexity of multiverse theory expertly creating a unique and exciting read.

Dark Matter by Blake Crouch, who recently garnered popularity from his novel Wayward Pines and the cult following the television show enjoyed, has delivered another novel that will bend reality and warp the senses. It will also refuse to be categorized. Is it science fiction? Is it a mystery? Is it a love story? Is it none of these or all of these? Welcome to Dark Matter.

“...Are you happy with your life...”

Jason Dessen is a normal guy. A physics professor at the local college, with a beautiful wife and a teenage son. Life is good but at times he cannot help but think of what might have been. This night he is reminded as he has drinks with an old college roommate who has just received a prestigious award and the ability to do the kind of research Jason was going to do before the pregnancy and marriage stepped in. As he leaves the bar a man accosts him and knocks him unconscious. The next thing Jason realizes is that he awakes, strapped to a gurney surrounded by people in hazmat suits and a man he has never seen before smiles at him and says, "Welcome back, my friend."

In the world that Jason wakes up in, he is not married and his son was never born. Jason is not a physics professors but a genius scientist whose research may have just changed the world. Only he doesn't remember any of it and he is not this Jason Dessen. Or is he? Which world is real and which one is a dream?

This is one of those books that if I go forward and tell you what makes it so great...if I hint at all the twists and turns in the tale...is I spoil it for you...well I guess you get it from that. So I am left to write the kind of review that is somewhat vague, somewhat uninformative, somewhat like....

"Hey you have to read this book!"
"Really? Is it any good?"
"Hell yeah, you'll love it!"
"Oh, what's it about?"
"Well....you see...its kind of..."

Yeah it's kind of like that. If I explain why I like this story so much, I will end of spoiling it for you. There are that many twists, that many turns and that far out there. Crouch's early books explored the visceral dark side of men. Violent and unforgiving. I have nothing against that kind of tale but seriously, how many versions of Halloween of Nightmare on Elm Street can you watch before you become numb to the blood and violence. With his later books Crouch has become far more cerebral. He isn't just going to stick a machete through your guts, he's going to mindfuck you for awhile when he does it.

Dark Matter is cerebral. It is science fiction. It is Alice falling through the rabbit hole. Crouch skates through these genres of science fiction and fantasy and suspense and tells the tale of a man who finds his stolen and in doing so, is offered a chance to realize his dreams. But what is central to this tale, what separates Jason in all of this is that he chooses the life he had. He chooses to find his way back to the wife and child he loves. Crouch has taken this sci-fi thriller and has infused it with a humanity that is too often lacking in this genre.

Dark Matter should be introduced by Rod Serling, it is that good and yes, that is high praise indeed.