Are You Happy with your Life? My review of Dark Matter by Blake Crouch

“Are you happy with your life?” What a sinister question that can be…depending on whose asking. But what if you are asking yourself this question. But what If that you is not really you as you know yourself but a person from an alternative universe. This is what happens to Jason. In his normal life he is a community college Physics professor. He is married to the woman of his dreams, has a beautiful son. And a easy going, beautiful life. He is happy. He believes his wife is happy. But as his alternative self asks: Is he really happy with this life? Well his alternative self gives him a chance to find out when he decides that he wants to swap lives. In the alternatives life, Jason is a well known, well accomplished scientist. He never married, never had children and he is cold to everyone in his life. What happens is a wild ride through alternative lives in order to get back to his family. Jason must see his wife, and son again and most of all he needs to find a way to get his alternative self out of their lives.
Dark Matter by Blake Crouch was one hell of a read and it was a very thought provoking book. As I read it I begin to think what would like to be in Jason’s shoes? Could I be happy in that life? What would that life be like? Do I really want to know? Well, let me tell you this….If I had to deal with he same obstacles Jason did in his book then let’s just say I am better off not knowing.
What I loved about this book was that it was believable; what if science was advanced enough to allow us to see alternate universes. And what If when we stepped into those universes they were tailored directly to who we are as a person? The prospect is down right frightening; especially when you find out in the book that Jason can change each universe he enters simply by thought. If he thought he was going to witness his worse nightmare when he opened a door into the next universe than he did. Another thing that I loved about this book was the prose. It was easy and free and flowed quickly. Crouch did not bog you down with to much scientific jargon- which could have been easy to do. Dark Matter is a book that I would definitely recommend to those in love of sci fi that is in need of something different. And a book that will keep them guessing. I have Dark Matter 4/5 stars on Goodreads.

Little kids are creepy; even more so when they bite: The Bookbabe Reviews The Girl with all the Gifts by M.R. Carey

    

                                      

                                                                                                                                                                                            

                               

I will continue to maintain the opinion that little kids are creepy and when they bite they are even creepier. In the Girl with all the Gifts, author M.R. Carey places us on a small military base that seems almost normal. Except about a dozen or so kids are being kept in locked in cells. Supposedly these children are "infected" and their placement on the base is a way for the government to study (and sometimes) experiment on them. The kids are simply thought of and called "hungries". It does not take a rocket scientist to figure out that the author is writing about Zombies;  though these Zombies are bit more intelligent and highly functioning. They are definitely not of The Walking Dead variety. Instead of being infected by a bite these zombies have been infected with a fungus called Ophiocordyceps unilateralis. The "hungries" can pass the disease on via a bite but that is now how most of humanity got infected. I think that this alone is what made this book so interesting. It was a new way of explaining the way a zombie outbreak could occur.  

The main character in the book is a little girl named Melanie. Nothing of Melanie's past is ever really revealed in the book; we never get a straight answer on where she comes from, where she got sick or how she ended up on the base. All we know is every morning soldiers come into her cell, strap her down to a chair and wheel her into a classroom. The classroom is ran by a young woman named Helen Justineau. Justineau seems to like the job she has interacting with the "students", she tries to teach them, tries to show them as much affection as she can. Even though she is very much aware of how dangerous they really are. A point that is driven hoemto her by Sgt. Parks, who upon catching her stroking on of the children's hair decides to demonstrate to her how lax behavior can get you killed. He proceeds to wipe off his e-blocker; which masks his scent from the children. As soon as he does, the animalistic nature of the child he is closest to comes out. The child tries to bite him. Of course, Justineau gets the message, she tries harder to stay professional with the children. While all this seems innocent enough Justineau and Melaine notices one or two children have gone missing from the classroom and from their cells. These kids are taken to the office of bases head scientist, Caroline Caldwell. Caldwell is not just running labs and conducting tests but is killing the children and dissecting them. She is trying to find a way to not only cure the "hungries" but is also trying to find a way to save the rest of humanity. She thinks the answer could lie with Melanie; so she attempts to take her. This is actually the moment all hell breaks lose. The base is attacked by un-infected humans and "hungries"; Caldwell, Sgt. Parks, Melanie, Justineau and Private Gallagher barely make it off the base alive. They decide to take their chances and ride back to the main city, the beacon. They believe the city will be a safe haven and Caldwell believes that she will finally be able to get a hold of Melanie and study her without Justineau there to stop her. 

However, the city is not what it was when they left. No one seems to be alive, no one is one the streets, and in fact the fungus that started the whole damn mess seems to have planted itself firmly in Beacon.

What I loved about this book was its simplicity, non complicated story line and the authors fluid writing style. M.R. Carey weaved a tale that was down right believable and he gave you characters that while flawed are relatable and seem real. The thing I loved best about the book was seeing these events through the eyes of Melanie. Watching her come to terms with what she is but also see her decide to embrace what it means to be human. The one thing I would really like to know is that happens later with Melanie and Justineau. Carey left the story very open and I would love to see what the world looks like 20 years after The Girl with all the Gifts has ended. Maybe, I should tweet him that question. I gave this book 5/5 stars in goodreads. 

Quotes I loved:

"If you keep me here, you have to put up with the minor inconveniences like me having a conscience"

"You carved up two children, Caroline. And you did it without anesthetic"

"The truth is the truth, the only prize worth having. If you deny it, you're only showing that you're unworthy of it"

"In an age of rust, she comes up stainless steel"

"She's as big as four-fifths of five-eighths of fuck all, but she takes no bullshit from anyone"

"No amount of expertly choreographed PR could prevail, in the end, against Armageddon. It strolled over the barricades and took its pleasure"