Customer Reviews

Dark Matter

5 star:		(43)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(12)
1 star:		(23)

 

 

I really enjoyed reading this book!
There are interesting characters, the plot makes sense, and there's lots of action. I'm a college-educated guy, so poorly researched writing, fiction or otherwise, doesn't fly well with me. The author did a good job of fact-finding, and raises some interesting ideas about the universe and who/what's in it. It has some pretty far-out stuff in it, but there's enough science and reality in it to allow the reader to suspend disbelief long enough to thoroughly enjoy the book!

Dark Matter is partly the story of a young man named Marc as he goes from a graduate student at MIT, working on time travel, to the savior of an alien species. It is also partly the story of Dumyan, an Alien called an Altaran that goes on a journey to save his father's honor and restore him to a position of leadership among his people.

It is an interesting science fiction story that leaves virtually no cliché-rock unturned. The author often blatantly decries the clichés surrounding aliens in the science fiction genre when he says, "He had considered it a waste of time to read science fiction stories or watch movies about creatures from outer space with drooling, insect-like faces and slimy tentacles," But then he embraces them himself by having female aliens with human female characteristics and vice versa for males.

The book is a novella that struggles to find a niche at times as if it is meant to be for educated and curious adults, with long-winded descriptions of the science involved in black holes, time travel, and dark matter, but at other times, the writing style and simplistic imagery seems more suited for young adults.

The book is, by all accounts, self-published, but is listed as being published by Bane Science Fiction. The publisher has no web page, only an e-mail. The book has become widely popular on the websites that sell it, such as Amazon, where I purchased it. However, its humble roots are all too apparent at times. The author does a great deal of telling us what is unfolding, and almost never shows us. On the second page alone, the narrator gives us a long description of Marc, several parts make me laugh out loud. One line reads, "His head was filled with short, spiky dark brown hair." So where his brains should be, there was spiky brown hair?

The book takes pride in a unique and detailed story that actually skirts the border of fantasy as it barrels through space. Magic is suddenly thrown into the mix abruptly. Dark Matter seems to be an attempt to overshoot the clichés that litter the science fiction genre, but ultimately finds itself comfortably fitting between the others. Not that the storyline isn't unique, it is engaging and fresh, but the devices used in this story can be seen in many others. It's a recommended read for anybody that enjoys alien science fiction and the science behind our universe.

I just finished reading "Dark Matter" last night and I loved every minute of it. I went into the book expecting a "small" story trying to tackle the mystery of dark matter and was blown away by a mind boggling epic. This is one of those rare books that comes along from an author who is somehow able to think completely out of the box and delivers great story on every page. I highly suggest this to anyone who is even remotely interested in science fiction or anyone out there interested in science who has yet to try out a science fiction story. I guarantee you won't be disappointed!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! A young scientist, miserable in his personal life, somehow finds a way to make worm hole traffic possible and eventually encounters a race of alien beings who are in a war with another race of beings. As preposterous as this sounds the author not only makes it work, but makes it very believable and keeps your attention.The way he handles his main characters interactions with numerous alien species is brilliant and kept my attention throughout. The only thing i find i am disappointed with is that the author doesn't seem to have any other books, I would love to read something else by him!

It appears that a few people are motivated by prejudice or jealousy, and are writing ridiculous reviews that have no factual or literary basis. I enjoyed this science fiction immensely. I have recommended it to a number of friends. Everyone who read it thought it was well-written.

By the way, anyone can report inappropriate and hostile reviews to Amazon by clicking the link "Report this" at the end of each review. When Amazon receives a number of complaints, the offending review will be removed.

I have never before written a review of a book before I finish reading it. I recieved the sample on kindle and the ordered the full book. I do not understand the violent reaction of some of the critics. The book is well written and contains a good deal of humor. The main character is complex and the people he associates with are real. His reactions are real. I have no idea how the various aliens turn out, but I will stick to with the book to find out.

I do not understand the intensity of the critics who pan this book. They have an attitude more typical of people who see a religious or political disagreement.
Something esle seems to be going on, maybe something as petty as a reaction to the author's name, maybe some deep flaw in the critics' psyches.

Perspective readers should not be put off. Ignore these idiots. The novel is well and imaginatively written and (so for) has been a good read.

I just finished reading "Dark Matter" and found it to be very engrossing.
I found it hard to put down, and after putting it down couldn't wait to start reading it again.
I think if I could have stayed awake to read it through at one sitting, I would have.
I can see myself re-reading this book many times.

There are some very original ideas in this book that I haven't seen in other Science Fiction novels.
One in particular, the silupsal filter, really intrigues me.
I won't ruin the surprise of what it is, but it brought back the same feeling of, my God what if that really exists, that I got when I saw the "pods" in the first Matrix movie.
I found myself thinking many times, what if we are all just laying in a tank, our lives nothing but an illusion?

I had the similar reaction of, wow, what if the silupsal filter actually existed?

Character development is also very well done. I found myself really concerned with what was happening, and what was going to happen, to all the main characters. And that doesn't happen in a lot of books I've read.

In short I would recommend this book to any Science Fiction fan.

Very entertaining debut; a combination of classic space opera with spiritual literature, as well as of traditional sf tropes with Arabian Nights derived ones, the novel reads very fast and is a page turner end to end; the plot is relatively straightforward though there are several twists and turns and the style is very reminiscent of Golden Age sf.

I enjoyed a lot of the inventive touches from Scripture words literally having power by the use of magical/advanced tech "coins" which contain them, huge winged creatures with a diet of volcanic rocks and capable of space travel, and with a deft touch you can even get a ride on them, in the Roc bird tradition of Sindbad, awesome starships, very different aliens with various "ideological" outlooks and physical appearance/requirements

Marc Zemin is a genius young grad student in astrophysics at Cornell who believes he can build a time-machine. Actually unbeknownst to him he will be a focus of great Prophecies as well as (re) discovering inter-dimensional travel - by the means of a "consar" - that the leading advanced races of the Galaxy forbade research into on physical and religious grounds.

But now someone is using "consars" to wreak havoc on the rational communitarian Mendoken in whose sphere of influence Earth is located, isolated by a special membrane from the real Galaxy - installed 500 Millions ago when there was evidence life may start evolving towards sentience by the Mendoken who had been around for 3 Billion years - per the non-interference treaties with the other 3 major Galactic races.

The Mendoken believe it's their rival and on and off archenemy the secretive Volona who spend their lives in virtual environments and guard their borders with harshness, so a Mendoken fleet with a planet destroyer in tow just in case, visits Marc and when they realize he is telling the truth of discovering the "consar" on his own and believing falsely it was a time-travel machine, they recruit him to help them develop the consar technology.

And the adventure begins

My 10 year old daughter and I both enjoyed reading this book.

The book was a great read! It was interesting and well written. I was particularly impressed with how S.W Ahmed was able to integrate four significant characteristics of the human race into this wonderfully differnt story.

Here is what what my 10year old had to say-

" I am not uaually a fan of science fiction, but someone must have put super glue inside this book, because I could not pull my nose out of it."

We will be waiting eagerly to read your next novel!

Really enjoyed the story, was even kind of romantic. Characters are really fleshed out and would enjoy more from this author and his universe.