Dark Matter

A Tale to Tell

What’s the Story?
Have you ever read Michael Crichton? I know, it’s kind of weird to talk about a book not written by Crichton and start off talking about Crichton, but since Crichton’s death, who has taken the mantle in science fiction? Who has followed in the steps of Jurassic Park, The Andromeda Strain, Sphere, Congo, The Great Train Robbery, Eaters of the Dead, Timeline, and many other techno-thrillers? Well, if you have read Crichton and wondered, Who should I read next? Then look no farther than Blake Crouch, the author of Dark Matter.

This book is hard to talk about without spoiling things for you, but if you like time travel, alternate universes, mind-bending sciency stuff, whodunnit, thrills, and dark mysteries all wrapped a round a protagonist who is a good man, then you will certainly like this book. Jason, our hero, gets hit in the head, and wakes up on a gurney with people who know him, but he doesn’t really know them. Is that woman really his wife? Where is his son? Was it brain trauma or is something else going on? How far would you go to find the truth and get your life back?

Why I Liked It
I am a fan of the thriller and mystery genre. This book, although it is science fiction, is written in such a way that you think, “huh, I wonder if that’s actually possible.” The good guys are good guys, and the bad guys are well, maybe bad? This book explores motive and how motive can make a good guy a bad guy and the one who looks like a bad guy could actually be the good guy. This novel is fast-paced, like all of Crouch’s books, but the story stuck with me. I still think about it. When a story sticks with you, it is probably a good one.