Dark Matter by Blake Crouch is a fun mind trip

I have never read anything by Blake Crouch before Dark Matter, but I had watched Wayward Pines on TV and thoroughly enjoyed it.

Then, the other day, I saw Black Matter in an airport bookshop, and it seemed intriguing. As is often the case, I checked my kindle library and found I already owned it.  Game on.

So what’s it about? (Don’t worry, this is spoiler free.)

The story revolves around a guy called Jason Dessen. Jason is a scientist who had a massively promising career in quantum physics. Unfortunately, he met a hot Spanish artist and knocks her up. Realising his career would dominate all of his time he had to choose between staying with Daniela and raising a kid or pursuing his career.

Both Jason and Daniela choose to raise a kid. They’re good people. However, he can’t help but wonder what his life would be like if he had decided to follow his career.

One evening, while walking back from the pub, he is abducted. And then his life goes batshit crazy. I won’t say anything further.

Is Dark Matter any good?

Yes. Yes, it is. Annoyingly, I started reading Dark Matter at 11 pm and at 1 am, I had to sleep. To make things worse, I had an 800-word article to write the next day, which took up more time than I would like. I managed to read some more between my deadline and going out. The following day I finished it.

If I had started Dark Matter on the morning of a day off, I would have finished it in one sitting. Describing something as a ‘page turner’ is a bit of a cliche – and sounds weird when reading on a Kindle – but this is a very exciting story. Just when I thought I knew how things might pan out, Crouch adds a twist. What’s more, the twists make sense and went in a direction I liked.

The characters were great, the story hung together really well, and the pacing was top-notch. My only criticism is minor and relates to one character who seems like they are going to have a bigger role but then – just doesn’t. I can’t explain more, and it is very minor indeed.

Dark Matter was my first Blake Crouch book, but I can confidently say it won’t be my last. I loved it and would have read it faster if I could. I went on Amazon with the intention of buying another book of his that had been recommended – Recursion – only to find that I had apparently bought that too. My past self seems forgetful but has great taste.

You can check out Dark Matter by Blake Crouch here.