“All your life you’re told you’re unique. An individual. That no one on the planet is just like you. It’s humanity’s anthem.”
Dark Matter by Blake Crouch
Rating: 4/5
Warning: This review is full of spoilers.
You know how you read a book which messes with your mind, and you think you have understood it completely, but then it surprises you again? Yeah, that’s what reading Dark Matter is like.
We are introduced to the simple, yet balanced life of Jason. Within the first few chapters, everything is taken away from him, and he is sent to another reality by his abductor. This world belongs to the other Jason, and it feels cold and unfamiliar even to the reader.
After a series of unfortunate events, Jason runs from this world along with a new companion, and ends up visiting a lot of other realities. From the Supervolcano/Nuclear War world to a reality where they never made it out of captivity, or from a frozen world to a plague-ridden city — they visit so many versions of Chicago that you feel as helpless as Jason does.
He finally hits the lowest part of his life when he ends up begging for money. But then he comes home to the real Chicago. His Chicago. Now, this is where things get even more interesting because of a shocking twist.
There are many versions of Jason hiding around, waiting to kill each other just to get back to their original life. Imagine being scared of yourself. Imagine what you would do in times of extreme desperation. Imagine thinking of ways to be one step ahead of yourself. It seems impossible but Jason manages to find a way out.
Once he is able to rescue his family, we finally get a sort of happy ending for him. The topic was so complicated and demanding, that there was no way we could get a clean and ‘proper’ ending. But that’s one of the best parts of Science Fiction — the possibilities are endless.
The only problem I had with the book was how.
Words.
Were.
Broken.
Down.
Like.
This.
Other than that, I enjoyed reading every bit of it. Dark Matter is one of those books that will leave you thinking about the way you live your life and how much you take it for granted. Kudos to Blake Crouch for using various quantum theories to create such a compelling story.
What did you think of the book? Share your thoughts in the comments section below!
Habiba Tahir 