Reviews tagging 'Medical content'

Dark Matter by Blake Crouch

46 reviews

dani794's review against another edition

3.5

spiderman meme: the book

i thought it was an interesting premise

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Kidnapping, and Murder

Moderate: Sexual content, Medical content, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Child death

tabea1409's review against another edition

adventurous challenging informative mysterious tense medium-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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Sexual content, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

tyras_bookshelf's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

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

4.0

I really liked the book, fast paced and entertaining even if the science felt like nonsense at times.

It’s mostly sci-fi but the overall theme of the book is like “choose love” but also “life is full of choices and we have to be okay with ours”.  

*spoilers ahead*

The ending was too open ended to be enjoyable to me. Knowing the elements of the box (and the rules that the book set up), I don’t trust that they are just safe at the end. Charlie came back around to be such a central part of the ending when he barely felt like a character throughout the book so that didn’t feel realistic either. I think it would have been more poetic for Daniela to have chosen the world. Ryan should have been a bigger part of the story too. 

The book was actually pretty violent and weirdly sexual at times- or like too focused on it. I thought it was interesting that Daniela could only tell Jason1 was the real one by having sex with him. 

Crouch kinda wrote himself into a hole with the Jason’s outthinking themselves because if they’re the same then why wouldn’t all the Jason’s have come to that same conclusion? but I’m choosing to believe that jason1 was so fundamentally attached to his world that he was the only one who could think that way to outsmart the others. 

Some of the plot points weren’t explained away well enough like letting all the other Jason’s get to v1 world was too easy and I didn’t track how that happened. And the ending was like “and they all lived happily ever after”. Yes, there was a bunch of murder at the end but we don’t get to see the new world they walk into? After all that build up, the payoff didn’t feel as sweet. 

I liked it, I recommend but much of the science and prose was quickly skipped over so I could stay with the plot. Overall, pretty good read and very creative.  

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Cursing, Death, Gun violence, Torture, Violence, Medical content, Kidnapping, Stalking, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Minor: Sexual content

amsswim's review against another edition

emotional hopeful mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This is science fiction I would recommend to everyone. Great read. Makes you reflect on everything you have done in your life as well.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Body horror, Child death, Drug use, Gun violence, Terminal illness, Medical content, Medical trauma, Stalking, and Death of parent

Minor: Cancer, Chronic illness, Mental illness, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, and Car accident

kirtreads's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

4.5

This is the kind of book that is really going to sit with me for a while. I had no idea what this book was really about going into it apart from everyone saying it was a great novel so I really did not anticipate the wild ride that I got. I was never quite sure where it was going and what was happening, so it was a great summer read. 

This book was a lot of fun, and I thought that all the actual science parts were well explained but I never felt too bogged down with information. I thought that Jason was compelling enough to really care about what happens. This book did have a little bit of a perfect white man saviour issue, but it never got obnoxious and I actually think that it thematically helped the novel. Sometimes this really drives me nuts but it didn't become a big issue for me. The two women in the novel are not over the top emotional and total idiots so it has some saving grace. 

I am still mulling over the ending and I am not 100% sold on loving the ending but I think that it was the only way that it all could have ended. This book leaves you with a lot of big questions not only about the story but also philosophically and I am not sure if I love the way that he wrapped up these large ideas. 

My only other complaint is that the pacing dragged a little in the middle. By the nature of the story it was very cyclical but I could have done with a few less cycles. Overall though, I think its a great read if you are looking for something pretty action packed and relatively fast paced outside of the normal thriller genre. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Drug use, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Murder, and Pandemic/Epidemic

lorenmarie7's review against another edition

dark reflective sad tense 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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Infidelity, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Stalking, Abortion, Murder, Alcohol, and Pandemic/Epidemic

shayshays055's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Grief

Moderate: Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Stalking, Murder, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Gun violence, Alcohol, and Pandemic/Epidemic

sandysmith's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

3.5

I'm gradually adding books I've read in 2021 to give a true reflection of the books I've read since keeping records.  This was the first book I read in 2021, and is what kick started my reading journey having put reading on the back burner whilst bringing up the children, previously being an avid reader. The story of Jason Dessen, who is abducted and sent to a new world.  Different worlds for different choices. Its a thriller si-fi suspense love story mash up. Read as a book club choice so wouldn't normally have picked it up. Great stuff

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Gun violence, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Medical content and Abortion

perpetualpity's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional inspiring sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Abandonment, and Pandemic/Epidemic

princess_marie's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Drug use, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Murder, and Pandemic/Epidemic