Reviews tagging 'Death'

Dark Matter by Blake Crouch

76 reviews

lizziaha's review against another edition

• 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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pandemic/Epidemic, Death, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Stalking, Gore, Gun violence, and Violence

Moderate: Blood, Grief, Child death, and Drug use

Minor: Death of parent, Infidelity, and Forced institutionalization

eatingbrains's review

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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Content Warnings

Minor: Abandonment, Body horror, Classism, Confinement, Torture, Pandemic/Epidemic, Rape, Self harm, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Toxic friendship, Drug use, Gaslighting, Gore, Kidnapping, Medical content, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Alcohol, Blood, Body shaming, Bullying, Death, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Sexism, Violence, Alcoholism, Cancer, Car accident, Child death, Infidelity, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, and Toxic relationship

amandalorianxo's review

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

4.0

Ok so I am normally not a sci fi / futuristic reader but this book made my head spin. The science parts were easy to understand (or if you skipped it- it didn’t impact the storytelling) I was worried for Jason and his family pretty much the entire time. I do lowkey wish that

Spoiler

the MC that shares my name (Amanda) had a more tied up ending (I feel like we never really got closure with her.)

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Violence

Minor: Death and Abandonment

sweetsimplenothing's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping

Minor: Blood, Child death, Stalking, Violence, Death, Gun violence, Medical content, Murder, and Sexual content

moonlightreads007's review

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

Yet another book that stood out to me and had me thinking about the underlying themes long after I finished reading it! This book delves deep into the realm of regrets, and asks readers the question, "Is the grass really greener on the other side?" What does that question even mean anyway? Measuring success and happiness in life is indeed relative to each individual, after all. All of the action happens really fast, and as a reader you're left breathless and terrified of the imminent danger the characters constantly face.

Spoiler

I love how the author dared to explore the controversial theory of parallel/multiple universes and what the implications would be if they did in fact exist. I especially enjoyed how the author further elaborated this idea by exploring the ethical implications of tampering with the multiverse in such a way that people can explore it and roam freely, and how this fundamental breakthrough would affect all the universes involved. I wonder, would there even be a universe immune to such a discovery? Let's hope to not find out, because the way the characters travel seems really dangerous.

Thematically, the book empowers readers to escape the victim mentality essentially through making the point that everything in life is a choice on some level (be it conscious or unconscious), and this in turn encourages readers to consider how to make more conscious decisions in their everyday lives. Furthermore, the book reminds readers to count their blessings and appreciate the good things they have going for them, since everything can change at a moment's notice. All that to say, I learned a lot from this book and I'm sure many others did too. It's a 5/5 from me, I would highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading thrillers, enjoys thinking deeply about the universe and has a sense of adventure.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Gun violence, and Death

Moderate: Murder, Blood, and Sexual content

Minor: Abortion

beekins's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Violence, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Child death

keen's review against another edition

adventurous emotional reflective 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug use, Gun violence, and Violence

Moderate: Murder, Sexual content, Stalking, Terminal illness, and Kidnapping

Minor: Abortion

jamesfitz3's review

adventurous emotional fast-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? It's complicated

2.0

The women in this book only exist to protect, serve, and motivate the men. Even at the end the 15 year old boy had more agency then any adult women in the book. Daniela exists to have sex and

Spoiler

die

I hated this book for that specific and very frustrating reason.
The plot was interesting enough. The writing itself was fine and there were even lines I really enjoyed. But the female characters in this novel have absolutely no dimension.

Daniela exists simply to love Jason. Even in the

Spoiler

alternate universe where they had broken up 15 years prior, she still dedicated an entire art installation to him.

It's not even a flaw of the narrator character, because Daniela has pov chapters where she is entirely focused on Jason. Same goes for the other female character who's name I fully forgot. She shows up, cares for Jason, and then leaves.
Awful.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death

Minor: Gun violence

megan_wy's review

emotional mysterious reflective tense fast-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? It's complicated

4.0

Spoiler

Wow wow wow!!!! Just finished this book and I flew through it. That’s saying a lot too because I’m a very slow reader. I was really wanting to try a different genre of book after reading a few too many cheesy romance novels. This book easily hooked me and has me wanting to read more thriller / sci-fi novels. The story of Jason and the endless underlying meanings and interpretations of this book will keep you up at night questioning life. I had to stop and think a few times throughout the book to try and make logical sense out of some of the things that were happening. That’s part of the beauty of this novel I think, you really don’t know if the end is real Jason? Considering there’s a new version of Jason for every single choice he makes even AFTER the initial switch in the beginning, who’s to prove that the Jason in the end is the “real” Jason 🤯🤯🤯 

This story is just so different. It’s so intensely unique that it opened up so many new frames of mind for me in an amazing and analytical way. Although some parts are deeply confusing if you try to think to understand all the science and logistics behind it, the overall meaning and plot can still be easily followed. Each version of Jason wanted one thing, a happy life with someone he loved. That someone, even in the version where he left her for his career, was Daniela. He essentially had the “perfect” life in Jason2’s world, but we know that isn’t true. Jason2 was unhappy dreaming about a perfect life with Daniela and a family. I am so speechless over this book. I would highly recommend it!! Just be prepared to do lots of deep thinking and questioning of our reality that is “life.”

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror, Mental illness, Blood, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Murder, Violence, and Death

katiefurms's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Not only is this an incredible concept for a story, but it is so phenomenally well written that i could not put it down. Absolutely incredible book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Blood, Cursing, Death, Forced institutionalization, Torture, Drug use, Gun violence, Grief, Gore, Kidnapping, Mental illness, and Murder

Minor: Gun violence, Infidelity, Pandemic/Epidemic, Police brutality, Suicidal thoughts, Abortion, Addiction, Body horror, Car accident, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Mental illness, Medical content, Pregnancy, Vomit, Dysphoria, Gore, Suicide, and Violence