So, here's the thing. This is a very pulse-pounding, thrilling, don't-start-this-before-bed-or-you'll-have-nightmares-all-night-like-I-did kind of book. BUT you literally don't even know what the main plot is until page 120 of a 340 page book. If that doesn't bug you, stop reading here. If you want to know what this book is really about, my review is under the tag.

Spoiler

STRAP IN, FOLKS.

So our protagonist is Jason. He is a brilliant guy who used to be a scientist but when his artist girlfriend got pregnant fifteen years ago, they both gave up their potentially illustrious careers to make a family together. Now he's an undergrad physics professor.

But that's when things get exciting. The world of Dark Matter has a multiverse, which means there is a universe for every possible permutation and choice you could make. So there is another Jason and Daniela out there who have an abortion, and become famous. And THAT Jason builds a device that lets you travel to other universes.

So he decides that the one thing his life is missing is a wife and kiddo, so he kidnaps our Jason and takes his place. This is all great.

The part that made this so lackluster for me is that our Jason is lame for the vast majority of the book. When the other Jason attacks him, he never fights back, and when he gets the chance to understand what it is that's happened to him, he runs around like a crazy person and adds dozens of pages of annoying chase scenes before you finally get the big reveal.

I really liked seeing the other worlds he encountered, but it wasn't until the very end that our Jason really becomes interesting.

It's a book with a lot of very cool ideas, and mediocre execution.