A Maxim Jakubowski selected title.
A gripping thriller with a touch of the impossible, if not outright leap into science fiction, the new novel by the creator of WAYWARD PINES is already fast-tracked for the big screen and this is no surprise. Jason Desen's life is perfect if ordinary until the day he is suddenly abducted and finds himself kidnapped to a parallel world by another Jason, whose life took another path at some decision-making point. His alter ego is both a millionaire, a brilliant scientist and full of regrets at his own earlier decision not to pursue a normal, family life, and has forcibly switched worlds with him. How will our meeker Jason return to his world, rescue his wife and son when all is heavily weighed against him? The pace is frantic and never lets go, while the plot twists are clever and devious and lurking on the corner of every scene. A true page-turner. ~ Maxim Jakubowski
| Primary Genre | Thriller and Suspense |
| Recommendations: |
Win an Escape Challenge and a copy of The Spy and the Snake by M J Robotham
Closing date: 02/08/2026
Explores the universal “what ifs” that haunt us all: would our lives be better if we’d made a different choice?
Jason Dessen is kidnapped and wakes up in a world he doesn’t recognise. In this version of his life, he never married the love of his life or had a son; instead, he walked away from them to pursue his dream of becoming a renowned physicist. Something is clearly wrong. As Jason begins to question his sanity, he’s forced to confront whether the life he remembers was ever real—and, if it was, how he can possibly get back to it.
With a new revelation at every turn, Dark Matter explores the universal “what ifs” that haunt us all: would our lives be better if we’d made a different choice?... Read Full Review
'Brilliant' - Lee Child, author of the Jack Reacher series.
'Masterful' - Harlan Coben, author of I Will Find You.
Jason Dessen has been abducted. His life has been stolen. To get it back, he will go on a journey more wondrous and horrifying than anything he could have possibly imagined. Dark Matter is a relentlessly surprising alternate-universe sci-fi thriller from Blake Crouch.
Now a major Apple TV+ series starring Joel Edgerton and Jennifer Connelly.
'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.
In this other life, Jason has created a box. Transport into infinite alternate universes - every possible outcome of his life, one behind each door. In this other life, Jason chose a door. And he stole the life he wanted.
If Jason Dessen wants his life back, he will have to find it among infinite possibilities. And he will have to battle a terrifying, seemingly unbeatable foe: himself.
'Exceptional' - Andy Weir, author of The Martian.
From the author of the bestselling Wayward Pines trilogy, Dark Matter is sweeping and intimate, mind-bendingly strange and profoundly human. Perfect for fans of Stranger Things and Ready Player One.
Readers love Dark Matter:
'My word, what a ride'
'Crouch surprised me again and again'
'OMG. I loved. Inception + Severance + Interstellar = this book'
'One of the most unique and original stories I have read in a long time'
'MIND-BLOWING'
'I couldn't put it down'
Dark Matter features in the following genres: Thriller and Suspense, eBooks of the Month, Fiction, Recommendations
Dark Matter is available in Paperback, Hardback, Ebook
Dark Matter was written by Blake Crouch and published by Pan Books an imprint of Pan Macmillan
Dark Matter has 401 pages
£8.99
