Dark Matter by Blake Crouch (2016)

Dark Matter is a science-fiction novel by American author Blake Crouch who is best known for his influential Wayward Pines Trilogy. This novel has been critically acclaimed and will be adapted into an upcoming television series starring renowned actor Joel Edgerton.

The novel revolves around college physics professor Jason Dessen who leads a happy life with his beautiful wife and teenage son in a calm neighbourhood of Chicago. One day, he is invited to a party of a friend of old date who has become an important scientist. On his way back home, Jason Dessen gets kidnapped and drugged by a hooded figure. He is dragged into an abandoned factory and pushed into a mysterious metal cube. When he wakes up, Jason Dessen finds himself in an alternate reality. He is a famous scientist respected by his community but he neither has a wife nor a son. Jason Dessen attempts to go back inside the metal cube he invented in this alternate reality to get back to his normal life. However, several scientists want to prevent him from running away. To make matters worse, Jason Dessen discovers multiple alternate realities that make him wonder whether he is ever going to find his way back home. Additionally, there are many alternate versions of himself who all aim to take his place and unite with his wife and son.

This mysterious science-fiction novel convinces on numerous levels. It has a gloomy vibe from start to finish that makes it difficult to stop reading the novel. The mixture of science-fiction elements with a personal drama and tense thriller passages is particularly dynamic, entertaining and varied. The story offers a few surprises and remains difficult to predict until the very end. The characters are rather intriguing. Desperate professor Jason Dessen is easy to empathize with as are his artistic wife and his intelligent teenage son. The villains are truly scary and vary from obsessed scientists to brutal doppelgänger who won't hesitate to commit murders to reach their goals. The way scientific elements are described in the novel is easy to understand, even for readers who might be less familiar with science-fiction literature.

On the negative side, some parts of the novel are relatively easy to predict, such as the identity of the mysterious abductor. The novel's middle section that follows Jason Dessen exploring numerous alternate realities drags on for a little bit too long before the novel finally goes back to its main plot. This novel also asks for a complete suspension of disbelief which makes it difficult to imagine yourself being in the protagonist's situation.

At the end of the day, Blake Crouch's Dark Matter is an entertaining science-fiction novel incorporating emotional drama and gripping thriller elements. The story is based upon a fascinating idea which makes this novel very rewarding to be read despite a few minor flaws. Even readers who don't particularly appreciate science-fiction literature should appreciate this novel for its intriguing characters and mostly surprising plot.

Final Rating: 80%