Blake Crouch | pub July 2016|349p
I loved Dark Matter! This was my first book by this author and he gave everything I needed him to give. Mystery, mystical, a chase against time and maybe, ones self and science thrown in for good measure!
The story is about college physics professor Jason Dessen. We meet him while living a pretty mundane, suburban life, with wife Daniella and son Charlie. We learn that Jason and Daniela love each other a great deal but, got pregnant too soon and both sacrificed their dreams to create a safe, secure home for their son. If different choices were made, what would life be like?
Enters Jason’s friend from college, who he meets one night for a drink. The friend is a world class scientist now but, Jason remembers him as mediocre, at best. On his way home after drinks, Jason is kidnapped and drugged. He wakes, walking out of a cube, seemingly in a future where HE is the award winning scientist that has built a device meant to travel between worlds. But, how does he find his way back to his wife and child? Does he want to?
Pros: Loved it. Often, science fiction writers go too deep into the science like we’re micro biologist and quantum physicists. I don’t want to walk away with a degree, I want to read a good damn story! Crouch strikes a great balance. It’s believable and relatable. Can you trace the course of your life back to one decision? What if you said yes instead of no? What if you tried that one thing? And on top of that, what if, somewhere in the universe, another version of you actually said yes and is living that alternate version of your life? Would you change places? Thats what happened to Jason, except he didn’t want to change places. He wanted to get his family back.
Cons: Only because I enjoyed the book so much, I wish we could have explored some of the worlds and characters a bit more. Critics of the book do complain about the breakneck pace and admittedly, a slower pace in some spaces could have allowed for more character development and reflection. I’d have liked to explore the themes of competing against ones self and fighting yourself in order to succeed at something. There is definitely room for another book about the Jasons and I hope Crouch pursues one.
Y’all already know, Im not even close to an avid tv watcher. But, I try to keep up with the book to tv/movie pipeline. Dark Matter was purchased as a movie a couple of years ago but never made it to the big screen. In December 2020, Apple announced they had picked up the right for a tv series. I wish them luck. This would make a neat sci-fi series with a cool love jones understory. Not my last Crouch novel, be on the look out for Recursion, the follow up to this book, coming soon! Any way, Good book 27/2021.
I dip my toe into the sci-fi world occasionally. If you want to, check out:
She’s Reading Now 
If you liked this, and you like Recursion, you might want to check out his Wayward Pines trilogy. THAT did make it to the small screen, so you have options 🙂
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