Dark Matter by Blake Crouch

[gilda_elise]

“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.

An imaginative and unique use of the multiverse theory. I assume the title is taken from dark matter’s integral role in that theory, but it doesn’t play much of a part when it comes to the book’s actual plot.

I did wonder why it took Dessen so long to figure things out; even if in his own universe he’s only a college professor, he’s still a genius. But that’s a very small quibble for a book that pulled me in early on and kept me hooked until the very end.

Hard science fiction has over the years become harder for me to find. This book is one of the best of that genre that I’ve recently read.

Comments

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

That sounds good - I shall look out for it! My friend from bookgroup also likes hard science fiction, and we're always looking for good stuff, so I'll mention it to her too. Thanks! *g*

[gilda-elise.livejournal.com]

Great! With fantasy being the big draw right now, hard scifi has gotten harder and harder to find. I'm glad I could help your friend out.