Book to series adaptation: ‘Dark Matter’ by Blake Crouch

The television adaptation of ‘Dark Matter’ will premiere on Apple TV + on May 8, 2024. Photo: Amazon

Speculative fiction is such an imaginative genre, which is why it’s one of my favorites. Blake Crouch’s “Dark Matter” resolves around the concept of the Many-Worlds Interpretation (MWI) of quantum mechanics – that every quantum event spawns a branching universe, creating an infinite number of parallel realities. I’ve always found the concept intriguing, and luckily this book has been adapted into a television series.

Blake Crouch is a bestselling novelist and screenwriter. His novels include the New York Times bestseller “Dark Matter,” and the internationally bestselling Wayward Pines trilogy, which was adapted into a television series for FOX. Crouch also created the TNT show Good Behavior, based on his Letty Dobesh novellas. “Dark Matter” is a speculative thriller about an ordinary man who awakens in a world inexplicably different from the reality he thought he knew. It has been adapted into a television series for Apple TV + and will premiere the first two episodes on May 8 for a total of nine episodes. (Amazon, 2024)

Book synopsis:
From bestselling author Blake Crouch, “Dark Matter” is a mind-bending thriller about choices, paths not taken, and how far we’ll go to claim the lives we dream of.

“Are you happy with your life?” Those are the last words Jason Dessen hears before the kidnapper knocks him unconscious. Before he awakens to find himself strapped to a gurney, surrounded by strangers in hazmat suits. Before a man he’s never met smiles down at him and says, “Welcome back, my friend.”

In this world he’s woken up to, Jason’s life is not the one he knows. His wife is not his wife. His son was never born. And Jason is not an ordinary college professor but a celebrated genius who has achieved something remarkable. Something impossible. Is it this life or the other that’s the dream? And even if the home he remembers is real, how will Jason make it back to the family he loves?

Series synopsis:
Jason Dessen is abducted into an alternate version of his life. To get back to his true family, he embarks on a harrowing journey to save them from the most terrifying foe imaginable: the alternate version of himself. It stars Joel Edgerton as Jason Dessen, Jennifer Connelly as Daniela Dessen, and Alice Braga as Amanda.

Photo: Apple TV

New book release: ‘Winds of Adventure On the Barbary Coast’ by Jomini Struthers

‘Winds of Adventure On the Barbary Coast’ is the new historical fiction novel by Jomini Struthers. Photo: Amazon

For fans of historical fiction and action/adventure fiction: Jomini Struthers has a new book out this month. In “Winds of Adventure On the Barbary Coast,” The MacGregor, the captain of the privateers breaks his gunner, Ruben, out of an English prison and presses him into service. They have sailed together before, and Ruben does not want to sail with the MacGregor again. However, he has little choice. It is available through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other major booksellers. (Jomini Struthers, 2023)

“Winds of Adventure On the Barbary Coast” – Ruben and the second mate William do not like each other almost at once. Ruben is taken to the privateering ship where he meets two old friends, Mr. Alistair, the first mate, and a teacher nicknamed Archimedes by the crew. They set sail, but because The MacGregor has a convict aboard, they cannot cruise where they had intended. Ruben suggests they attack the corsairs of the Barbary Coast. After much underhanded wrangling, he convinces The MacGregor. 

Their plan is to first attack the chieftain of the corsairs, Ahmed. They intend to steal or sink as many of his ships as possible so as to cripple him. They then plan to attack the Shah of the coast, who is the ally and fence of Ahmed. The Shah, however, lives in dread of the ferocious Ahmed. A storm drives them past the Straits of Gibraltar, and then, soon after they have beaten back north and passed the straits, they are captured by the galleys of Ahmed. Ruben manages their escape, and they succeed in taking two of Ahmed’s ships. They then set sail for the city of the Shah.

Once there, Ruben contacts his cousin Benjamin and an old friend named Abraham. The MacGregor begins to realize Ruben has been here before and has ulterior motives for everything he has been doing, especially when Ruben demands half of any loot they capture. Their plan is to sail boldly into the bay and open fire on the palace of the Shah. They hope that he will see the ships of Ahmed which they have captured and believe Ahmed is attacking him, and so will agree to their demands. They demand he empty his treasury for them. The plan goes remarkably well – until they have the gold.

Then everything begins happening at once. Ruben, with the aid of Abraham, steals a very large share of the loot from The MacGregor. Ahmed arrives and attacks one of the ships. William tries to kill Mr. Alistair, and then steals the rest of the treasure that Ruben had not taken. Abraham double crosses Ruben, and tries to steal Ruben’s treasure. Archimedes is almost killed by the Shah’s men. The end finds Ruben, The MacGregor, Archimedes, and a severely wounded Mr. Alistair with one small ship, and no treasure. They set out in pursuit of the treacherous William and further adventures.  

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