It was a pleasant Thursday family night, seemingly like any other: Jason Dessen, physics professor at a small college; his wife Daniela, a part-time artist; and their 14 year-old son, Charlie. A friend of Daniela's just held a very successful art show, Jason's old college buddy Ryan is celebrating his winning a prestigious science award, that might have well been Jason's, had he pursued his research, if Daniela hadn't gotten pregnant, and his life hadn't taken an unexpected detour. Dinner will be ready in 45 minutes, and Daniela tells Jason to pop over and congratulate Ryan who is having a small party at a local bar; Jason would make it in time for dinner. Jason should have made it in time for dinner.

What if. Everybody has at some point in their life wondered "what if". Personally, I cannot resist a book on that subject, and Blake Crouch has done the impossible with DARK MATTER. Extremely fast-paced, and beautifully written, DARK MATTER is one of the most astounding scifi books ever written. I felt I was experiencing Jason's situation: his confusion, his anger, his fears, his helplessness, and his love for his family. Mr. Crouch's grasp of quantum mechanics, psychology, cosmology is staggering, as well as his understanding of self-identity and existentialism. DARK MATTER is superlatively imaginative, and the author made the concept of parallel universes entirely credible, gripping, and terrifying as well.

This was a difficult review for me to write, because DARK MATTER is a masterpiece of suspense, as well as a science fiction tour de force. As far as I'm concerned, DARK MATTER already belongs with such ground breaking authors such as Aldous Huxley and Philip K. Dick. But most of all, DARK MATTER is about what love consists of, establishing your priorities, and behaving ethically. I wonder if there will be sequels, because there is one character, which shall remain nameless, whose destiny I would like to know. At least, one other. DARK MATTER is a book that I will re-read over and over because, what if, indeed...