Review of Dark Matter Empire (Book 1)
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- Latest Review: Dark Matter Empire (Book 1) by Alex Zadeh
Review of Dark Matter Empire (Book 1)
[Following is a volunteer review of "Dark Matter Empire (Book 1)" by Alex Zadeh.]
Dark Matter Empire, by Alex Zadeh, follows the adventure of a human engineer after getting abducted by an artificially intelligent spacecraft. After getting transported to a different galaxy, the main character, Ryan, spends the remainder of the book trying to find his way back home. Unfortunately, getting back to Earth isn’t as simple as it might sound. In order to find his way back, Ryan has to take a stand against the Empire, who rule over the galaxy he now finds himself in.
While not my favorite text, Dark Matter Empire was by no means a boring read – every chapter was fast-paced and full of action. Having so much commotion between characters helped maintain my interest and stopped me from putting the book down. Additionally, I appreciated the “found family” narrative wherein a broad mix of characters, from sentient monkeys to robots, come to rely on each other. Although they don’t all love one another from the start, they eventually become close friends.
That being said, the fast pace of the novel led to a lack of character development. The reader’s emotional connection with the characters was sacrificed in order to preserve the novel’s action. The only real moment where we get insight into the narrator’s thoughts is when he longs for his family back on Earth, which takes up only a few lines of the text. For the most part, however, the readers only get the chance to perceive characters through their actions and not their emotions. Zadeh attempts to make the writing more personal by interjecting the narrator’s thoughts, but many times this fails given that Ryan’s thoughts are often single phrases such as “woah” or “hmmm” instead of meaningful insight. Ultimately, the addition of Ryan’s thoughts only breaks up the flow of the writing, making for a somewhat awkward read. My final qualm with the novel was Ryan’s character. Although Ryan’s competency saves him many times in the book, it almost feels as if Ryan is a flawless character as opposed to being a human one. Despite being an engineer on Earth, Ryan is able to fly alien ships, engage in hand-to-hand combat, and get himself out of impossible situations. Ryan’s constant luck ultimately dehumanizes him and makes him less relatable to the reader.
Overall, I would rate Dark Matter Empire 3/5 stars. It was a decent text, especially for readers who don’t like sitting still in their reading and prefer quick action. However, I was not a fan of the lack of character development as I like to be able to connect with a book’s characters. Furthermore, at times the writing seemed very robotic and almost non-human, which made for an impersonal read.
******
Dark Matter Empire (Book 1)
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Dark Matter Empire, by Alex Zadeh, follows the adventure of a human engineer after getting abducted by an artificially intelligent spacecraft. After getting transported to a different galaxy, the main character, Ryan, spends the remainder of the book trying to find his way back home. Unfortunately, getting back to Earth isn’t as simple as it might sound. In order to find his way back, Ryan has to take a stand against the Empire, who rule over the galaxy he now finds himself in.
While not my favorite text, Dark Matter Empire was by no means a boring read – every chapter was fast-paced and full of action. Having so much commotion between characters helped maintain my interest and stopped me from putting the book down. Additionally, I appreciated the “found family” narrative wherein a broad mix of characters, from sentient monkeys to robots, come to rely on each other. Although they don’t all love one another from the start, they eventually become close friends.
That being said, the fast pace of the novel led to a lack of character development. The reader’s emotional connection with the characters was sacrificed in order to preserve the novel’s action. The only real moment where we get insight into the narrator’s thoughts is when he longs for his family back on Earth, which takes up only a few lines of the text. For the most part, however, the readers only get the chance to perceive characters through their actions and not their emotions. Zadeh attempts to make the writing more personal by interjecting the narrator’s thoughts, but many times this fails given that Ryan’s thoughts are often single phrases such as “woah” or “hmmm” instead of meaningful insight. Ultimately, the addition of Ryan’s thoughts only breaks up the flow of the writing, making for a somewhat awkward read. My final qualm with the novel was Ryan’s character. Although Ryan’s competency saves him many times in the book, it almost feels as if Ryan is a flawless character as opposed to being a human one. Despite being an engineer on Earth, Ryan is able to fly alien ships, engage in hand-to-hand combat, and get himself out of impossible situations. Ryan’s constant luck ultimately dehumanizes him and makes him less relatable to the reader.
Overall, I would rate Dark Matter Empire 3/5 stars. It was a decent text, especially for readers who don’t like sitting still in their reading and prefer quick action. However, I was not a fan of the lack of character development as I like to be able to connect with a book’s characters. Furthermore, at times the writing seemed very robotic and almost non-human, which made for an impersonal read.
******
Dark Matter Empire (Book 1)
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Latest Review: Dark Matter Empire (Book 1) by Alex Zadeh
