Reviews with content warning for Medical content - Dark Matter

Reviews tagging 'Medical content'

Dark Matter by Blake Crouch

46 reviews

jefferz's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

It's done purposely to avoid giving away spoilers and the core plot of this novel, but honestly the synopsis of this novel really doesn't do a good job at selling how ambitious and high-concept this sci-fi thriller novel is. Minor spoiler alert but the synopsis fails to mention the multiverse-hopping quantum mechanic physics that makes the plot far more interesting than what it says on paper.
However in retrospect I see that it was probably done this way for fear of alienating certain readers who may be off-put by a synopsis sounding big brain (it's quite easy to follow and not big brain at all). Dark Matter is for sure a definite page turner especially once things get going once Jason Dessen is kidnapped by a mysterious man and I can see this making an excellent movie/tv-drama; the plot is excellent. As a novel though, I had some minor nitpicks holding this back from a 5-star read.

What I loved about Dark Matter is its explanation and mechanics to the alternate reality/multiverse plot. Instead of just throwing in a random portal to another world or futuristic device (cue most time travel stories), Dark Matter uses an interesting interpretation of Schrodinger's Cat and quantum mechanics as a plausible catalyst for reality jumping or rather, walking. However it's explained in a very watered down manner that's easy to follow and gives just enough to serve its purpose (just enough but not much more where there's ample opportunity is a common trend). The plot is also full of surprises and the thriller sequences I found to be genuinely thrilling. The book's final sequence and conclusion goes in a direction I completely did not expect which I found to be both decisive and clever at closing up most major plot holes. Spoiler(apart from one detail I might have missed. I don't understand how Jason can enter worlds/realities where Chicago and human kind are either dead, on the verge of being dead, or Jason is not alive in. If he's not alive to discover and construct the box used to enter different worlds, how does it even exist in the first place for him to exit out of?)

Unfortunately Dark Matter is less successful with its character development and romance. A good deal of Jason's motivations hinge on returning to his wife and family and while the Crouch does a great job conveying how much they long for and love each other, it doesn't actually convey why Jason loves her so much. They met by chance many years ago and had an instant spark aha moment then fast-forwards to content yet uninspired married life. The same can be said about his love and desire to see his son Charlie. I guess I'm left to assume he loves Charlie on the merit of being his son and family and nothing else as there's almost no context.

The inclusion of Jason's psychiatrist Amanda introduces a lot of intriguing plot elements like comradery in the face of loneliness and serves as an interesting foil to Jason's ideologies. Lacking a family and a compelling reason to stay in her original world/reality, the differences in her outlook when put in a similar situation as Jason provides many differences and points of discussion but she ultimately feels underutilized or worse, a being relegated to a 3rd wheel romantic distraction. Her final appearance feels like it should've been a major turning point in the narrative but is barely given an "oh, guess she's gone" moment which feels so lackluster for such a crucial companion character. The same can also be said about Daniela's perspective and chapters that sparingly spaced out throughout Jason's adventure in the first 1/3 of the book only to be abruptly dropped soon after. They're interesting yet so brief to the point where I feel they either should've been expanded considerably or excluded instead.

Across the board it's often in the quieter moments where the writings' weaknesses are most apparent. There's a great deal of internal monologues and thoughts giving the reader glimpses into Jason's psyche, but most of it is repetitive both in content and in actual written phrases. Outside of action sequences, I found the prose to be quite average and uninspired. With character writing, for being an analytical mind and gifted scientist, Jason spends an awful lot of time freaking out and reacting in uncharacteristically volatile ways (tying to be emotional and relatable?). I also felt like the novel kept downplaying its science fiction roots for the sake mass appeal. The Schrodinger's Cat mechanic is introduced, paraphrased, then dumbed down even further in subsequent explanations. Quantum mechanic theories are covered followed by an explanation that's quite literally tossed out the window by the characters as being "overly complex and irrelevant". Much like how the fantasy romance genre caters primarily to fans of romance novels, I have a nagging suspicion that there were many conscious choices made to make this a romance story with science fiction themes instead of the other way around which is fine I guess (the author notes even confirms this). It's just a bit disappointing when the book has such a good plot that probably would've been better suited to a straight-laced science fiction thriller.

There are a lot of things Dark Matter does well in and there's certainly something in it that will appeal to almost every reader. This feel like a science fiction adventure written for readers who aren't familiar or don't like science fiction. There's drama, romance, suspense, dystopia at times even, but by trying to be some many different things it results in only scratching the surface of each included element. While I enjoyed reading Dark Matter and was impressed by its plot, I can't help but feel it was a missed opportunity and had the potential to be something akin to The Matrix or the Butterfly Effect but with a multiverse focus. And that is saying a lot considering this novel was published in 2016 and predated many more well-known and recent multiverse themed works.

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melaschnie's review against another edition

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4.0

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anni_swanilda's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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daniellekat's review against another edition

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adventurous fast-paced

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

2.0

Interesting concept with lots of fast paced action but the writing was awful. I hated how the author constantly used very short, list-like, repetitive sentence structures. I thought the characters lacked depth and found the main character’s inner monologue ridiculous. I especially hated the ending, it was both

unfulfilling and anticlimactic.

I liked that this was relatively short for a thriller, but I can’t say I’ll be turning to this author again.

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maddie_can_read's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional 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? It's complicated

3.5

I really liked the premise of the book, some in interesting ideas, but didn't love the execution.

I didn't think the characterization was great

Wished Jason felt more developed/ more science-y. He felt very dude-bro to me. Didn't like that he didn't feel guilty about Jason 2's Daniella dying. Wished Daniella was more developed, I didn't feel like I knew her at all. Really didn't appreciate that the only other female character, Amanda, was seemingly just chucked in with Jason so that he'd have someone to freak out with/ talk to during his adventure and was not fleshed out as a real character. Like she just gave up her entire world for a colleague?

.
The main character felt like he was making really stupid decisions a lot of the time which took me out of the book a bit because it made me think about why tf he wasn't doing something else

like him continuing to go into a quarantined world, him and Amanda not trying to find more ampoules - like they can go into any world, so they could've definitely found some more go bags with more ampoules ? Why didn't they ever try to find the friend that made the secret ingredient?

The writing felt a bit clunky sometimes, felt like it was written more to be a screenplay for tv show or movie

like when Jason goes into his other self's house and it just goes on and on repeatedly "like this is different in my house"

. But this did make the novel easy to visualize.

Pacing was a bit inconsistent, felt like it wrapped up too quickly given how much build up there was.
A bit too predictable.

I was hoping the romance plotline was going to be more engaging/ interesting and felt disappointed.

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