Blake Crouch

Jason Dessen is walking home through the chilly Chicago streets one night, looking forward to a quiet evening in front of the fireplace with his wife, Daniela, and their son, Charlie—when his reality shatters.

"Are you happy with your life?"

Those are the last words Jason Dessen hears before the masked abductor knocks him unconscious.

Before he awakens to find himself strapped to a gurney, surrounded by strangers in hazmat suits.

Before a man Jason's never met smiles down at him and says, "Welcome back, my friend."

In this world he's woken up to, Jason's life is not the one he knows. His wife is not his wife. His son was never born. And Jason is not an ordinary college physics professor, but a celebrated genius who has achieved something remarkable. Something impossible.

Is it this world or the other that's the dream?

And even if the home he remembers is real, how can Jason possibly make it back to the family he loves? The answers lie in a journey more wondrous and horrifying than anything he could've imagined—one that will force him to confront the darkest parts of himself even as he battles a terrifying, seemingly unbeatable foe.

Dark Matter

A science-fiction thriller in which an ordinary man is kidnapped, knocked unconscious, and awakens in a world inexplicably different from the reality he thought he knew.

A Novel

Baylea Fancher

It’s the simple fact that you walked into my life at the exact moment you did. You instead of someone else. In some ways, isn’t that even more incredible than the connection itself? That we found each other at all?

But it’s all, in the end, just life. We see it macro, like one big story, but when you’re in it, it’s all just day to day, right?

"It's terrifying when you consider that every thought we have, every choice we could possibly make, branches into a new world.”

As long as I'm with you, I know exactly who I am

Ashlyn Barrett

I am not just me. My understanding of identity has been shattered. I am one facet of an infinitely faceted being who has made every possible choice and lived every life imaginable. I can't help thinking that we're more than the sum total of our choices, that all the paths we might have taken factor somehow into the math of our identity.

Every moment, every breath, contains a choice. But life is imperfect. We make the wrong choices. So we end up living in a state of perpetual regret, and is there anything worse?

I know part of our story is the electricity of our connection, but the other part is equally miraculous. It's the simple fact that you walked into my life at the exact moment you did. You instead of someone else. In some ways, isn't that even more in- credible than the connection itself? That we found each other at all?

What a miracle it is to have people to come home to every day. To be loved. To be expected.

There's something horribly lonely about a place that's almost home.

If he did this to you, he would have rationalized it somehow. That's how decent people justify bad behavior.

So if the world really splits whenever something is observed, that means there's an unimaginably massive, infinite number of universesa multiversewhere everything that can happen will happen.

even though it cannot be seen, we know dark matter exists bc of its’ effects on objects we CAN observe 

Most astrophysicists believe that the force holding stars and galaxies together - the thing that makes our whole universe work - comes from a theoretical substance we can't measure or observe directly. Something they call dark matter. And this dark matter makes up most of the known universe.

It's terrifying when you consider that every thought we have, every choice we could possibly make, branches into a new world. 

even when choices are changed, do the people affected by remain the same cognitively? 

Here and now, wherever this is, it's the same arrangement of matter. 

We all live day to day completely oblivious to the fact that were a part of a much larger and stranger reality than we can possibly imagine.

nothing exists. all is a dream. you are but a thought. (mark twain)

A realization and the terror that follows it - terror of the limitless indifference surrounding us. We’re all just wandering through the tundra of our existence, assigning value to worthlessness, when all that we love and hate, all we believe in, fight for, kill for, and die for is meaningless. 

I am not allowed to think I'm crazy. I am only allowed to solve this problem.

Will I keep fighting to be the man I think I am? Or will I disown him and everything he loves, and step into the skin of the person this world would like for me to be?

At this point, I'm not even sure what to be afraid of this reality that might actually be true, or the possibility that everything is going to pieces inside my head.

I touch the indentation, acknowledging both the horror and the comfort of what it represents - the last vestige of my reality.

It's the beautiful thing about youth. There's a weightlessness that permeates everything because no damning choices have been made, no paths committed to, and the road forking out ahead is pure, unlimited potential.

Now, if the people around me are sharp enough to absorb knowledge by sheer proximity to me... great. But the passing on of knowledge, as it were, doesn't interest me. All that matters is the science. The research. 

importance of always saying “i love you”

I don't look back. I don't say goodbye. And this moment slips past unnoticed. The end of everything I know, everything I love.

& audiobook ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Mar Or

Very interesting book. I found the last quarter a bit implausible as far as how many versions of himself were there with him - it seems like it would be almost infinite. I also got the ick when he described Jason and Daniela’s sex life - not needed for the story. Same as recursion I wanted more just straight exciting science action and got a lot more romance (this was more warranted in this book tho to maintain his humanity)

Paige Paul

A well-paced, contemplative science fiction thriller!

Kevin Cole

A wonderful dramatic history about “how can i solve this?”

Guilherme Pereira

What an insane concept to read about. It really makes you question if the life you have led is the right path for you & if you had a choice to choose a new life… would you? Would it be worth it ? Is the road / path not taken the right one all along or is that just something we have to accept knowing we did ? 

I loved this book I definitely wish I could have seen the world Charlie chooses at the end but so fucking good! And I wish we had a side quest about Amanda’s life honestly… I hope she chose a good path for herself ! 

Brianna Hickey 

What an insane concept to read about. It really makes you question if the life you have led is the right path for you & if you had a choice to choose a new life… would you? Would it be worth it ? Is the road / path not taken the right one all along or is that just something we have to accept knowing we did ? 

I loved this book I definitely wish I could have seen the world Charlie chooses at the end but so fucking good! And I wish we had a side quest about Amanda’s life honestly… I hope she chose a good path for herself ! 

Zachary Roberts

I’m not a huge sci-fi lover but this book was good. I listened to it with my husband and multiple times our jaws dropped or we had to pause just to process what had happened. I personally think there were some plot holes, but maybe I’m just slow to understand all the complexities. Idk 

Jillian Roberts

I found this book to be both entertaining and thought provoking. I was fascinated by the way it explores the idea that every decision we make creates a different version of our life—and ourselves. The concept of infinite multiverses is both intriguing and terrifying, especially when you consider that there could be countless other “you’s” out there living completely different lives.

Good book! Was interesting and I liked how it ended. Definitely not the biggest fan of sci-fi all the time but this was really good.

Mehul Sharma

absolutely incredible. one of those books that will stick with you for a long time 

Sophia Rico

Great book, a page turner, could not stop thinking about it. Although the new cover, promoting Apple TV+, kinda spoiled the first 2 chapters for me, I immediately knew what has happened just by looking at that cover. Still it was a great read.

Hooman Askari

I went through so many emotions with this one. It genuinely shocked me at certain points, made me anxious at others, and pushed me anger as well. Honestly, I love anything involving a multiverse, so it did what it had to do. This book had a great plot but also gifted me with an existential crisis so… yay. The only reason this isn’t 5 stars is because the pacing was slightly off during the first half of the book. However, overall, I was not familiar with your game Mr. Crouch, and will be read in more from you in the future.

Nik ✨

Holy crap what an amazing book! I feel like this book had it all, it was incredibly fast paced and had me guessing. Such a unique and really REALLY cool concept. Also very touching at some parts. I would recommend this book to everyone!! Can’t wait to watch the tv show

Kass

A little slow at times but had some twists i didnt expect! More relationship focused than scifi or thriller but definitely a lot of suspense. It was a page turner but didn't shake my world as much as I had expected it to considering it focusing on relationships and the multiverse.

Gloria

This was a fun read! It was entertaining to see all the alternate lives Jason, the main character, might have lived.

Mima

i haven't been this invested in a story in a long fucking time

'Brilliant. . . I think Blake Crouch just invented something new.' - Lee Child, author of the Jack Reacher series. From Blake Crouch, the author of the bestselling Wayward Pines trilogy, Dark Matter is a brilliantly plotted tale that is at once sweeping and intimate, mind-bendingly strange and profoundly human – a relentlessly surprising thriller about choices, paths not taken, and how far we'll go to claim the lives we dream of, perfect for fans of Stranger Things and Ready Player One. 'Are you happy in your life?' Those are the last words Jason Dessen hears before the masked abductor knocks him unconscious. Before he awakes to find himself strapped to a gurney, surrounded by strangers in hazmat suits. Before the man he's never met smiles down at him and says, 'Welcome back.' In this world he's woken up to, Jason's life is not the one he knows. His wife is not his wife. His son was never born. And Jason is not an ordinary college physics professor, but a celebrated genius who has achieved something remarkable. Something impossible. Is it this world or the other that's the dream? And even if the home he remembers is real, how can Jason possibly make it back to the family he loves? The answers lie in a journey more wondrous and horrifying than anything he could've imagined – one that will force him to confront the darkest parts of himself even as he battles a terrifying, seemingly unbeatable foe.

A Mind-Blowing Twisted Thriller

Gelaine Trinidad

A fun sci-fi thriller that uses the concept of quantum mechanics as an imperfect solution to big life questions: "Did I choose the right path for me? What would my life be like if I made different choices?" This existential question lingers in everyone's mind once in awhile. The author brings soul and life to this novel amidst all the scientific parts. It's a great balance of both. I can now see how this book was a precursor to his much more complex novel, Recursion. One can tell how much he's progressed and grown with his research on quantum mechanics by reading Recursion. Highly recommend both novels by Blake Crouch.

Ryan Mateyk

Wow I haven’t been this captivated by a book in a hot minute. The concept is terrifying: you wake up in a reality that is not your own and you need to try to find your way back to what you know, through infinite possible realities. Obviously it’s very speculative but the way Crouch explains the quantum mechanics behind his story makes everything make sense. It was thrilling, intense, the definition of a page turner. I loved this a lot.

Sohini Roy

** spoiler alert **
           really enjoyed the fast pacing of the story and the sequence of events and plot twists. my only things were:

1.) in the final world that charlie picks, are they still in chicago? do they change identities? versions of them must still be walking around so i wish i had some clarity on how that worked, even if it’s meant to be ambiguous

2.) this isn’t as important but somehow i felt like jason telling daniela and charlie about him literally being abducted into the multiverse went over too smoothly LOL like i get that they love each other but i expected there to be more conflict

still a really good read though, and leaves a lot of space for you to do your own thinking about the multiverse

Really interesting story, not like anything I’ve read in awhile. The ending is a bit abrupt and the multi-dimensional stuff confuses me but otherwise, excellent read! 

Alicia Evans

Terrible prose, bland characters, excruciatingly bad, and highly overrated. Could have been good.

As a teenager I would’ve enjoyed it, but sadly I basically saw it coming from the very beginning. Few really good points though. 

Ryan Lane

lala

This book was recommended by a mutual. I actually like the premise of the book, and I think Crouch navigate the sci-fi genre very well. It's not too hard sci-fi but it doesn't discount the science behind the story. He doesn't dwell to too much technical terms, but graze it gracefully and successfully hooked the reader to the premise. (Or it may be because I have a physics background lol). He plays with our emotions, and the progression of the story captures the characters very well and not just about science. Although my protest would be, why is the title Dark Matter when involving dark matter to the premise of the story makes it scientifically inconsistent????

this was insane omg.so fun and definitely a must-read.

Dark Matter

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