Dark Matter

Schrödinger's box gets opened. Meh steps out.

"I suppose we're both just trying to come to terms with how horrifying infinity really is."
-- Blake Crouch, Dark Matter

On the back of this book is a blurb by Lee Child where he says: "Brilliant. A book to remember. I think Blake Crouch just invented something new."

Then problem here is this book isn't new. I'm not saying it isn't good. It is a fine book. It is a screenwriter writing a book about science. We get line or two about the multiverse, some thoughts about game theory. The narrator talks with vague, and broad-strokes about Schrödinger's cat, the Copenhagen interpretation, the multiverse, and even a bit of quantum entanglement. But beyond the superficial use of quantum mechanics this novel seems all slickness with no soul.

Too me it is a degraded copy of a better book. The better, more literary version of this book was written by Stephen Peck and is called A Short Stay in Hell. Steven Peck is a scientist (Professor of biomathematics and entomology. Peck's novel is more literally, scary, and came out about four years. I should be clear here. I'm not saying Crouch ripped Peck off. There are many ways to use infinity and the desire to return home in a SF novel. I'm just saying that Dark Matter, for me, was the dead cat of the two in the box.

It seemed too Hollywood. Too made to be optioned. I am sure (as sure as Crouch's film and TV manager and entertainment attorney) that it will be made into a movie. Perhaps, Tom Hanks will star in it. It just isn't a great book. When it gets made into a movie, I'll shell out the $12 to see it, I just think Peck's novel was better, more philosophical, had a better grasp of the fundamental science of large numbers, and didn't sell out the end to a pitch-packaged, happy ending.

I'd love someone else to read both and tell me I was wrong, but I don't think so. I've opened both doors, experienced both worlds. The differences are as glaring as the difference between a house and a home. One was SF beauty, this was just a cold, slick, uncanny valley. I know I'm in the minority here. Most of my friends who have read this loved it. I don't know. It just seemed too predictable, too soft, too secure in its protagonist. History, and I guess in multiverse fiction too, gets written by the winner. I guess what I'm saying is I'd rather have read a book written by Jason2, 3, 4 or 70.

182 of 217 people found this review helpful

Another Book Where the Ratings Lie

Any additional comments?

Oh wow, do NOT get this book. Honestly, just get Where the Hell is Tesla? by Rob Dircks. It's the same book/story except good.

The most grievous sin of this book is the physicist protagonist is so dumb that he should be nowhere without a chaperone. To avoid spoilers, imagine Groundhog Day. Now imagine if Bill Murray couldn't figure out he was repeating the same day over and over again, even given the overwhelming amount of evidence. This goes on in Dark Matter until the 44% mark, I know because I noted it. Then the next 40% or so is that meme where a cartoon dog is drinking coffee in a burning room and saying, "This is fine."

You will not be able to relate to the idiot of a protagonist. You will root for him to lose, because he deserves it. The science isn't there, because the whole setup just spawns so many plot holes. That's why this book gets three stars, because it is like a bad movie. It is fun to sit there and point out all the flaws and wonder about our hero's intelligence.

Speaking of, this book insults the listener's intelligence by existing, but beyond that, the last few pages explain the whole theme! I guess Crouch really wanted to make sure we understood the point he was trying to make.

I do not recommend this book, I recommend Where the Hell is Tesla? Seriously, it's the exact same book but written tongue in cheek instead of trying and failing to be serious.

249 of 317 people found this review helpful

Genius Protaganist is an Idiot

Has Dark Matter turned you off from other books in this genre?

I love Science Fiction! Unfortunately, Blake Crouch assumes his readers have never read or watched anything else in the Sci-Fi genre before. There is literally nothing original in this story.

Any additional comments?

The main character is supposed to be this genius scientist, but he acts like a complete idiot. As a reader, I could see everything coming from a mile away, but the super smart scientist couldn't figure anything out until it hit him in the face.

58 of 75 people found this review helpful

Disappointing, then mildly disappointing. Yay?

What would have made Dark Matter better?

Better character development, more interesting characters, less cheese.

What was most disappointing about Blake Crouch’s story?

Anyone who knows anything about sci-fi knows what's going on very early, and it takes most of the book for the main character to get it... but wait, he already got it just didn't tell us. /eyeroll.

Have you listened to any of Jon Lindstrom’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Not that I can remember. The narration was good enough, it wasn't his fault the characters were boring.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Disappointment, until the end, then a little excitement, but still disappointing.

Any additional comments?

I'm pretty good at letting my expectations stay neutral... but I have to say, listening this reminded me of why Da Vinci Code was so popular and so lame. I like the concept, I know it's hard to write about this subject and make it work... but honestly you can't just let your good concept float your story without stepping up your structure and narrative.
**Spoilers**
First off. The naive family love angle was struggling for real purchase. If your reader is going to take everything the author says at face value, fine... have at it... "Dan Brown generic handsome character has complex life with equally beautiful archivist because I say so, GO!" But I was barely convinced of his second hand love for his wife and kid. Too simple, I didn't live in his shoes long enough, I didn't feel his affection, I didn't sense the every day, I just heard about it whenever the main character whined that it was gone. Without the REASON for him to care, I questioned everything he did, and the story could not carry that amount of scrutiny.
Then there's the main concept, it's well worked out, with the multiple hims, himming. That's where I finally stopped rolling my eyes. The bad guy was just a generic bad guy, but the bad him was a desperate version of himself. Well done. His helper girl was forgettable, but I liked that she left him, well done, was not expected because I was expecting something more generic. He was always saving her anyways because the author made her fragile. Anyways, at this point you're like at the last 1/5 of the book. Yeah, you spent that whole time being told how sad this guy was and listening to this SCIENTIST be completely irrational and stalkery.
The book ended ok which is why I didn't give it lower scores. Not satisfying, but ok. Yes, lets leave it all up to the kid we've known for like 7 pages.

So yeah, if you like being spoon fed your drama, you'll like this. If you like multiverse stories no matter what they're about, you'll like this. But if you're wanting a meaty thriller with a cool concept, deep emotion and equally deep characters, go listen to something else. I truly hope Blake Crouch takes his time and gives his next story better legs to stand on.

43 of 56 people found this review helpful

If the multiverse were a thing...

...there is probably a universe out there were this book turned out great. Unfortunately it did not in ours.
The story starts out ok, but the protagonist must have sustained more head trauma the he realizes, because it gets more and more frustrating to witness his horrible logic and reasoning.
So frustrating that I in fact didn't care to finish the book.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

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.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

if Michio Kaku rewrote North by Northwest

I've always thought Cary Grant's everyman caught up in a case of mistaken identity, chased by bad guys and afraid he might never get his "normal" life back again, is one of the great stories of our time.

Here, the everyman is a physicist rather than a Madison Avenue adman and instead of being chased across the plains of the Middle West, our hero is being chased across the multiverse. Add in a very compelling love story and thrill-a-minute storytelling and you have a highly enjoyable book. I think it would make a great movie!

If you liked this book, you should definitely check out the similar but much funnier "Where the Hell is Tesla?" by Rob Dirks.

[I listened to this as an audiobook performed by Jon Lindstrom. Very good job, except that he made the Chicagoans in the story sound like they were from the Bronx.]

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Familiar Story told in a New Way

What other book might you compare Dark Matter to and why?

If you've ever read/listened to "The Fall" by R. J. Pineiro or "Where the Hell is Tesla?" by Rob Dircks, then this story will feel very familiar. The idea of an event that puts you in an alternate universe has been done many before.

What makes this one different is how the multiverse works and the heros...or hero...but I can't say more without spoiling it.

29 of 39 people found this review helpful

Absolutely loved it!

I actually struggled to start this book and tried listening multiple times. I didn't like the combination of the writing and the narration. Finally I made it though the first hour and I was hooked. I grew to enjoy both the writing and narration. This is excellent science fiction, with action, romance and some serious thought into the science of it all. I highly recommend!

24 of 33 people found this review helpful

Believable Multiverse

Where does Dark Matter rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I write reviews on maybe one in ten books I read or listen to. This one is exceptionally well researched and perhaps to all but a quantum physicist, quite frighteningly believable.Dark Matter goes beyond the physics and opens an exploration of what we are to each other, given the many times humans make small decisions that have large impacts. I count this among the top few dozens of all hard science fiction stories I have enjoyed, mainly because the story is memorable and the problems that it poses are considered long after the last great scene.

What other book might you compare Dark Matter to and why?

Well it's certainly not time travel, that much is made clear. And yet, many of the problems encountered are the same as in time travel books. So I'll go with Frittz Lieber's The Big Time, even though that classic was intended to be a comedy.

Have you listened to any of Jon Lindstrom’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I'm not aware I have. The delivery, timbre and cadence was just right.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

There were parts that were very sad. I need to read it again. The special love that the protagonist couple shares is very sweet, and not often portrayed so poignantly in science fiction. This was unexpected and quite lovely.

Any additional comments?

Buy it!

16 of 23 people found this review helpful