Dark Matter in Around the Year in 52 Books

Mar 18, 2022 Erin rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: borrowed-it, pbt-book-club, hpootp-2022

I was teetering between a 4 or 5 star rating. This books was SO GOOD! The science parts of it was so easy to follow (especially if you are a marvel fan) and the thriller part just kept you on your toes!! I will definitely read more Blake Crouch books, he as a gift. He was sensitive in how he wrote Daniella, in that she was so strong! And whatever disability that Charlie had, we never see it impact him and I loved that. Highly recommend!!

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Dec 17, 2019 Katie rated it really liked it

Shelves: fiction, sci-fi, 2019, read-owned

You know when you finish a book and you just have to stare at a wall for awhile while your brain catches up? Yeah, that's Dark Matter in a nutshell.

This made my brain hurt in the best way possible. At first I thought I knew where the story was going but after *that moment* I was just along for the ride. I'm still processing what happened but it was SO. GOOD. And so different from anything I've read before. 10/10 would recommend. ...more

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Jun 29, 2020 Sharon Dwyer rated it really liked it

Shelves: audible-purchases, 4-star, thriller, science-fiction

I really loved this book. I think it would have been 5 star had I read it rather than listen to it. There are so many great thought-provoking quotes in this book. "We're more than the sum total of our choices, that all the paths we might have taken factor somehow into the math of our identity." You have to be willing to be open-minded to the possible, not the actual science. The language of the book was beautiful to help the reader get closer and closer to the possible outcomes.

“Imagine you’re ...more

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Aug 30, 2024 Cate rated it did not like it

This book was just bad. After reading Recursion and thinking I just had a one-off experience I decided to try another Blake Crouch book. His books get rave reviews and I truly went into this book hoping to love it like other people seem to. This experience left me feeling so baffled towards his popularity and I have concluded that his books are just not for me.

Putting aside the science for one minute, the actual writing was so stilted and vague which contributed to a distinct lack of atmosphere This book was just bad. After reading Recursion and thinking I just had a one-off experience I decided to try another Blake Crouch book. His books get rave reviews and I truly went into this book hoping to love it like other people seem to. This experience left me feeling so baffled towards his popularity and I have concluded that his books are just not for me.

Putting aside the science for one minute, the actual writing was so stilted and vague which contributed to a distinct lack of atmosphere, never mind any character development. Characters do not seem to be this author’s strong suit as this is the second Blake Crouch book I have read and every single one of his characters are one-note caricatures. The main character in this novel is Jason Kessen who we are supposed to believe is the smartest man ever. Meanwhile, never once in this book does the author give us proof of this man’s intelligence, it’s mostly just a smattering of sci-fi concepts and incorrect physics. My brother, who has a degree in physics, read this book with me as a buddy read and texted me to let me know the physics is straight up wrong. There is a point in the book where the author says that dark matter makes up most of the universe, which is incorrect. Dark energy makes up most of the known universe which I confirmed with a quick google search.

The concept of multiverses was interesting to me but the plot itself didn’t quite make sense. This “smartest man alive” who spent his life working on and studying quantum physics took half the book to realize he might be in a different reality? I did not study anything close to physics and I also went into this book blind, and I figured out what was happening immediately. Eventually, I got to the point where I just wanted to be done with the book.

My brother also brought up an interesting point. When Jason gets transported to his alternate reality, he finds his wife in his previous life, Daniela, in this new life working as a very popular artist. This Daniela is happy and seemingly content with her life. Instead of feeling happy or proud of her, Jason decides Daniela would be happier with him and their previous life and tries to get her back. As my brother stated, “this man would rather break physics instead of go to therapy”. I think it was supposed to be romantic, but it came off more than a little creepy and downright selfish. Leave that woman alone! She doesn’t need you! And if he supposedly loved this woman so much and supposedly is the smartest man ever, why would he go straight to her when he was on the run from very powerful people??

Basically, this book is like if Chat GPT was told to write a Jason Bourne novel but made it more “sciencey”. If you like thrillers with very little to no character development and a sprinkling of sci-fi this might be the book for you.
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Jun 29, 2025 Susan rated it it was amazing

Shelves: pick-me-a-winner-book-shelf

I LOVED this book. I picked it up and wasn't sure about it and then a week or two later I decided to finish it since the library would really like their book back. OMGosh I'm so glad I pushed beyond page 62 because this was a thrilling nonstop page turner. I don't understand all the science-y lingo and journals but I understand why it was needed and it thankfully is a small part in the book. It's more like a small blip and gone.

I loved that each door brought Jason to a different Chicago and whi ...more

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Oct 24, 2017 Debbie rated it liked it

Shelves: do-you-dare, via-audio, first-visit-with-an-author, 2017

Things I liked/found intriguing:
- the premise
- the continually added twists
- the reflection of "what does success mean" for me me personally, and the burning commitment to it.

Things I wish were different/better:
- written more a script than a novel
- deeper scoops in those twists and the characters
- a physicist that knows human nature and tendencies as well as his science? Hmmmm.... not very convincing.

A very solid 3

Hovering ...more

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