Blake Crouch is known for his mind-melting narratives, demonstrated through his Wayward Pines trilogy and the television series it inspired. However, around the same time he was experiencing professional success, he was also grappling with personal doubts. This led him to begin working on his novel Dark Matter, which served as his midlife crisis novel.
Intrigued by the theories of biologist Robert Lanza, who suggests that consciousness influences reality by selecting from infinite possibilities, Crouch was inspired to weave similar concepts into the narrative of Dark Matter. The mind acts as the key to opening doors to new realities in the story, reflecting the idea that one’s perception shapes their experience of the world.
To ensure scientific accuracy in his work, Crouch enlisted the help of Clifford V. Johnson, a professor of theoretical high-energy physics at the University of Southern California. Johnson served as a science adviser for both the book and its subsequent adaptation and helped Crouch accurately depict scientific concepts explored in Dark Matter while grounding character discussions in reality. The collaboration with Johnson was crucial in keeping the narrative true to scientific principles while exploring boundaries of reality and human consciousness.
