Science fiction always pushes my brain to its limit, and sometimes, if a book is too much, I have to put it down. I didn’t used to do this. Not finishing a book felt wrong, like I was a quitter. Then, at some point around the 40-year-old mark, I realized that reading a book I wasn’t enjoying is a big waste of time, and if there’s one thing I don’t do anymore it’s waste time.
That being said, Dark Matter was a good ride, and it wasn’t too deep into the science fiction world that I couldn’t hang on.
Chicago physics professor Jason Dessen is happy with his life. He loves his wife, his kid, and his job. All good stuff. But one night, he comes home late at night only to be knocked out unconscious. Sometime is really wrong when he wakes up in a strange place surrounded by people who know him. It’s a new world, a new reality, but it’s only a little bit familiar. Jason immediately starts to solve the riddle of what the hell happened, where he is, and how he can get back home.
This isn’t a time traveling story or an alien story, but it does bend time and space in a way that prompts readers to consider alternative worlds. More than anything, it prompts readers to consider what brings true happiness in life.
Be prepared to spend the first part of the book scratching your head trying to figure out what the hell is going on. By the second half, you totally get it and cannot wait to see how it pans out.
Dark Matter gets bonus points for quick pacing and not diving TOO deep into physics that those of us in the Humanities can’t follow along. 🙂