Dark Matter

A Novel

By: Blake Crouch

Narrated by: Jon Lindstrom

Length: 10 hrs and 8 mins

Publisher's summary

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • COMING SOON TO APPLE TV+ •

A “mind-blowing” (Entertainment Weekly) speculative thriller about an ordinary man who awakens in a world inexplicably different from the reality he thought he knew—from the author of Upgrade, Recursion, and the Wayward Pines trilogy

“Are you happy with your life?”

Those are the last words Jason Dessen hears before the kidnapper knocks him unconscious.

Before he awakens to find himself strapped to a gurney, surrounded by strangers in hazmat suits.

Before a man he’s never met smiles down at him and says, “Welcome back, my friend.”

In this world he’s woken up to, Jason’s life is not the one he knows. His wife is not his wife. His son was never born. And Jason is not an ordinary college professor but a celebrated genius who has achieved something remarkable. Something impossible.

Is it this life or the other that’s the dream? And even if the home he remembers is real, how will Jason make it back to the family he loves?

From the bestselling author Blake Crouch, Dark Matter is a mind-bending thriller about choices, paths not taken, and how far we’ll go to claim the lives we dream of.

©2016 Blake Crouch (P)2016 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

"Brilliant. A book to remember. I think Blake Crouch just invented something new." (Lee Child, New York Times best-selling author of the Jack Reacher series)

"Exceptional. An exciting, ingeniously plotted adventure about love, regret, and quantum superposition. It's been a long time since a novel sucked me in and kept me turning pages the way this one did." (Andy Weir, New York Times best-selling author of The Martian)

"Wow. I gulped down Dark Matter in one sitting and put it down awed and amazed by the ride. It's fast, smart, addictive - and the most creative, head-spinning novel I've read in ages. A truly remarkable thriller." (Tess Gerritsen, New York Times best-selling author of the Rizzoli & Isles series)

Eh, it was okay

This is pretty quick and shallow summer read. I really like a good multiverse story and this definitely had pieces of a good story in the book's concept, it just didn't flesh any of them out in an overly interesting way.

We have Jason, a physicist currently teaching college undergrads at a second rate University near Chicago, but formerly a reportedly brilliant researcher in his younger days, who gave up the fast track to physics fame to have a low key family life. We have some narrative ponderings about the path not taken, and some narrative descriptions of quantum theory and the multiverse. Into that set-up we have a blustery night, a Jason returning from a congratulatory pub party for a far more successful science friend, and a mysterious stranger who kidnaps our humble Jason and thrusts him into the multiverse where he spends the rest of the book contemplating the infinities of paths not taken and just trying to get back home.

I don't think there are any spoilers in that, as this is the set up you're expecting from the start. I think this story could have been told in a lot of thought provoking ways, but in this case it wasn't. It was literally just that scaffold with some action superimposed on top of it. It wasn't terrible, it was just kind of unmemorable.

what a terrible title

yes, I get why it's called what it's called. but I found this book far more complex and beautiful. it's the most elegant love story.. I usually avoid romance novels because they don't feel authentic to me, but simplicity and intelligence of the characters makes it perfect.

Good Book

The story was very good but the performance was what made it riveting. There was one section about 2.5 hrs from the end that became VERY SLOW and I almost quit the book. Can't say more than that because I'd give too much of the plot away in explaining. I think you'll recognize the section, it's pretty obvious. Don't quit though because you'll be sorry, instead fast forward until you're through it. You won't miss anything important. Enjoy the book.

Unique plot is a winner

Great audio book all around. The plot gets a tiny bit long-winded at times and some of the underlying science is off, but the story line is so unique and wonderful I still rate it a five

Astounding storytelling, engrossing wonder.

I listened to this book in just a few days. Whenever I had even a few minutes to spare, I switched it on. This story is unlike any I have ever experienced, it is told with intoxicating enticement and feverish tenacity. Immediate top 5.

Enjoyable

I liked this audiobook but the ending needed more explanation. This might make a good movie.

Fantastic!

If you've enjoyed anything by Blake Crouch, I highly recommend this read! Absolutely fantastic writing and narration.

A must read!

This has become one of my favorites. Such an original and mind blowing take on romance.

Great story. Very complicated plot. Well played ou

I do not want to write a long review. Six more words. One two three

incredible book, incredible narrator

This book is an epic choice. My wife and I couldn't stop listening. Every night we battled to listen to more. It is intense but also romantic. Incredibly written.