Reviews with content warning for Pandemic/Epidemic - Dark Matter

This was a ride. Cool concept. Blazing fast pace. I liked it.

I had a few problems mostly around how the women were kinda plot props. But really all secondary characters only served the plot so /shrug

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msappear's review

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mysterious reflective fast-paced

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

4.5

This story is all about the choices you make in life and the wonder about the other path taken.

The specific trope has been played out a lot in recent years, but this version was written first and was done with such elegance that I was thoroughly entertained the entire time. This is the gold standard that all similar media should strive to be.

While I clocked the "twist" very early on, the writing and message were compelling enough to make this a 4.5/5 for me. If I had experienced the revelation the same time Jason did it would've been a 5.

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schnaucl's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark tense medium-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

4.5

I really appreciated that POV Jason (Jason Prime?) was happy with his life and knew it. This wasn't one of those stories where the main character goes through a bunch of alternate realities only to realize they place they started in was their best version of reality all along. Looking at you,

Spoiler

The Midnight Library.

The way the machine works was interesting. It's hard to know how the options would be shaped with multiple people.

While I appreciated that Jason started out being happy with his reality, it seems from the few POV chapters we get from Daniela that she wasn't as content. It's hard to say from just a few short glimpses, but she seemed to wonder more about the road not taken and feel like her life has stagnated whereas Jason had some mild curiosity about it but was generally content.

Compounding the problem, Jason really did treat his original life as a sort of prize to be won. Daniela even calls him out on it once he comes up with the lottery idea. It's good that she gets to make a decision at the end, but it does feel like she doesn't have much agency. It's not like she gets to really meet the other Jasons (other than the one who took the place of her husband, that is). Neither did their son.

I'll admit, it didn't occur to me that there would be other non POV Jasons who made it back to his original reality, although it makes perfect sense that would be true.

Fleeing to somewhere new probably was the only solution, though it would have to be some kind of pristine world because otherwise they'd have to explain duplicates of people and figure out how to obtain legal ID. Of course, if some world without people they'd have to figure out how to provide for themselves.

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lizziaha's review against another edition

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Plot- or character-driven? Plot

2.25

I don’t think thrillers are really for me. Or multiverse/alternate universe stories. On top of that, the characters in this book were not compelling, and their bonds to each other seemed tenuous at best.

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eatingbrains's review

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

1.75

The good: I enjoyed the UberChat. I felt that right when that was introduced a different ending could have spawned that turned into a lighthearted rom-com and I like to imagine that.

The bad: I knew pretty early on that this was not going to be a favorite. I don't read a lot of thrillers in general but I enjoy sci-fi so I figured I would give it a shot. I couldn't stand the main character. And thus, the book was doomed in my eyes. The pacing was jumpy, and the plot was predictable (as in, I guessed what really happened in the first chapter and the main character didn't figure it out until the ~50% mark). There was some promise for some thoughtful introspection but the approach was heavy-handed at best. Some of the descriptions were vivid and others were flat out whacky.

I don't know if I will try another book by the author, but I don't think I was the intended audience for this work so who knows what the future holds.

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