Review of Dark Matter Empire (Book 1)

[Vanessa Whiteley]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Dark Matter Empire (Book 1)" by Alex Zadeh.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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A man with the skills to fly almost any ship and develop lines of code to navigate an alien world, Ryan Stathis has accepted his unexpected mission to deliver a seemingly innocent device far across the universe. With the assistance of a cryptic AI spaceship, a chaotic robot, and a monkey he comes across in nefarious circumstances, he finds his way into the hands of friends and foe alike. Can he save the earth and those he left behind? What will it cost him?

Is there life on other planets? Alex Zadeh says yes. Dark Matter Empire is a wonderfully creative story that captures your attention from the beginning. The quote by Carl Sagan at the beginning of this novel is perfect. It invites you to think of a world where anything is possible. I liked many parts of this novel, including the technical explanations, the characters Flare and Bubo with their chaotic energy, all the unexpected turns, and enemies around every corner.

There was a surprising lack of emotional descriptors for the main character. Where there were many aspects of the story which would elicit a heightened state of emotion, there was no description of this or explanation of feelings. I believe this could do with an expansion of those feelings, especially in areas where the main character was far from home, missing his wife, and relying on aliens he barely knows. Give me some angst and yearning!

I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars. The storyline, characters, plot twists and instigators were imaginative and entertaining. There is some work to do on character expression and formatting errors such as the text that should be justified and areas where the text was larger than the rest of the novel but is ultimately a wonderful read and I look forward to the sequel.

I recommend this book to those who like sci-fi, action and adventure stories. If you are looking for similar stories to Dune, Star Wars and Planet of the Apes, and you like your stories to be violent, chaotic, and ruthless, this book is for you.

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Dark Matter Empire (Book 1)
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