Dark Matter Review

What would you do if you woke up in room filled with people who knew everything about you but you didn't recognize any of them?

Rating: 4/5

I picked up Dark Matter for my book club, No Shelf Control. It was our May book pick. I honestly don’t think I would have picked this if I wasn’t in this club. But that’s the beauty of book clubs! You get to read things you probably never normally would have picked. I enjoyed this way more than I thought I would have.

Shortly after I started, I easily had 4 different theories on what was happening. The main idea throughout this book is the idea of the road not taken is something I’m sure we’ve all considered. How would things have been different? I ended up being right about one of my theories. I’m not sure if the book was just that predictable or I was just a good guesser.

Saying that, I looking back I can see how that this book might be considered predictable. Up until near the end, where a big plot twist was thrown in. I literally had to stop and go well shit… I didn’t see that one coming. That one I feel was just me hoping for a simple easy happily ever after. Of course it never really is!

Overall, I thought this was a joy to read. I read this quicker than I thought I would and I honestly didn’t think I would enjoy it that much. I didn’t think it was the best book I’ve ever read but it’s definitely up there with the good ones. I especially enjoyed that underneath the story, it has a strong message. That we must live with the choices we make. Learn from our mistakes and move on.

I think anyone who enjoys suspense and sci-fi books would enjoy this!

Keep reading below for more about the plot and my thoughts of Dark Matter.

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WARNING! Spoilers :)

In Dark Matter, Jason Dessen is given an opportunity to live the life he didn’t take. After being kidnapped and drugged, Jason wakes up in an alternate universe where instead of getting married and having a family, he became a famous scientist. Even after seeing all, he would have accomplished, Jason decides he wants his own life back.

After what feels like a lifetime, Jason travels through several multiverses attempting to find his own world. With only two chances left, he lucks out and finds his home. However, he’s not the only version of himself. As we reach the final pages of the book, we see several versions of Jasons. Different versions of Jason that have also made it back to the same universe.

Jason must outsmart himself in order to get back to his true family. He must prove to his family that he’s the original Jason. How do you prove you’re really you? If you were in a battle against yourself, would you win? How do you beat yourself?

How do you prove you’re really you? If you were in a battle against yourself, would you win? How do you beat yourself?

Now I’m curious if the version of Jason, Jason2 that started this whole situation and stole Jason’s life thought he could really keep this life to himself. For being so smart, he’s very stupid. He should have destroyed the box. Destroying the box would have secured this life for him. Given Jason2’s choices, it’s obvious that obsessing over the path not taken isn’t healthy. Instead of taking Jason’s life, he should have tried to start a family with Daniella in his own universe even if it was later in life.

The concept of this book is definitely a strong one. It shows us that obsessing over this idea of missed opportunities is damaging. We learn this with Jason2. He spent his entire life trying to go back to that one missed opportunity.

I’ll never forget Daniella’s comment to Jason2, when he says he found a way to change his biggest regret, “Life doesn’t work that way. You live with your choices and learn. You don’t get to cheat the system.” Jason2 learned this the hard way as he dies watching Jason leave with Daniella and Charlie. Knowing that Daniella doesn’t want him, she wants her husband.