Reviews with content warning for Death - Mroczna materia

Dark Matter is not my typical read. The book is sci-fi, a thriller with a mystery component. Blake Crouch may have introduced me to a new genre because I absolutely loved Dark Matter. The characters are well written plus the story is cohesive and thought provoking. Dark Matter will have you thinking about life in a whole new way. I’ve got to get an Apple TV subscription so that I can watch the television series. I highly recommend Dark Matter for anyone looking for an engaging thriller, mystery or sci-fi book. The audiobook is also really good!

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angorarabbit's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious 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? No

3.0

Clarketech: A working Schrodinger’s Cat Box.

Bloophole: Where was the money coming from, and why was it always barely enough?

TLDR: A good thriller for those who are not thriller readers, but not much substance.

The plot was interesting and the story well written. Jason was an fully rounded character. Other characters not so much. Female characters in particular seem to only follow the male character’s wishes. I was mostly satisfied with the ending, though Amanda seemed to get short shrift.

The rest of this review is skirting spoiler territory and nerd ranting.

The many worlds interpretation (MWI) is essential for the plot. However the book seems to theorise that the point that a world becomes real is when a human makes a choice This interpretation makes for exciting reading, but no logical sense.

MWI states that ALL possible outcomes of quantum measurements are physically realised in some world. So there would be endless worlds where Janson, Daniela, Charlie, their apartment, Chicago, etc. are all exactly the same. Assuming that a Schrodinger’s Cat Box could be made, and that human desires could direct it Jason should have popped out in endless realities where everything he knew and loved was exactly the same. How would he know which Daniela and Charlie were his?

This kept niggling at my brain the whole time, so rather disrupted my enjoyment of a story of a man desperately regaining what he loved and of another man’s attempt to change the consequences of his choices.

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sandysmith's review against another edition

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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

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relliepi's review against another edition

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dark tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

I loved this book. From start to finish it was a page turner. The writing style was easy to read. Sometimes I don't care for books written in the first person, but it didn't bother me at all for this book. I really felt for the main character, and I was deeply invested in his him reaching his goal of getting his life back.

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blandrew's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

5.0

I started reading this book before the show was announced, it was recommended by my friend's father who is a author, tho the beginning is kinda meh it really picks up in the third act.

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nikrib's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

1.0

How this managed to have such positive reviews and a tv adaptation is beyond me. Hopefully this narrative translates better on screen than it did for however many pages of misogynist and overplayed chaotic multiverse drama readers trudge through to get to the (happy?) ending. The characters are all flat, insufferable and static. The female characters essentially have no role other than debuting every time this author needs to sprinkle misogyny into the narrative and painfully attempt to intertwine family values (or lack thereof). The protagonist is said to be incredibly smart but hates his life. Then multiverse jump to now he wants his old life back. Then multiverse jump again to he’s banging his wife (but also not his wife)? What is the true overall moral here? No, I didn’t “miss it” or fail to “recognize it”, there just isn’t a decent moral written here. The descriptive language is atrocious and I sincerely hope the author’s other books aren’t also written in this fashion. From the very first chapter readers can already tell this book is written by a “man’s man”. ..Yeehaw.. There seems to be a consensus amongst the positive reviews that readers who enjoyed this book just like multiverse concepts, sci-fi, and so on. Well, sure, but does that really hold on its own? There’s plenty of books and media that deliver on multiverse concepts. This wasn’t it. I almost DNF a few times when the narrative was excruciatingly slow and counterintuitive, but I pressed on due to my wife and I wanting to watch the tv show adaptation (it had a decent commercial!).

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goldsbuc's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced

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

3.5

Very interesting plot. With peace and love, this book was very obviously written by a man ifkyk.

I loved the explorations of the other worlds and wish we could have seen more unusual environments. The way the author wrote about women and sex was annoying, from a female perspective. The women in this story are not very well developed and are disappointing. The ending felt rushed and was predictable. Beginning and middle were strongest plot points imo.

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