Dark Matter: Dark Matter Series Book 1

by S.W. Ahmed

What if only a small fraction of the stars in our galaxy are visible to us, because the vast majority of star systems are teeming with aliens who wish to remain unseen? Marc Zemin, a brilliant student of astrophysics, is the first human to ever stumble upon this startling secret, when his experiments with wormhole travel cause aliens to land on Earth and whisk him away into space. The aliens want his help in fighting a colossal interstellar war that is rapidly spiraling out of control. But as he struggles to survive from battle to battle across the farthest reaches of the galaxy, he begins to uncover a horrifying conspiracy at play, striving to keep the different sides in continuous conflict with each other. A desperate race against time ensues, as he and a handful of newfound alien friends try to stop the war and confront this mysterious, powerful force bent on destroying all life in the galaxy. ""A sci-fi debut that shows great potential."" - Kirkus Discoveries

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Dark, Astronomy, American

401 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

I'm an American science fiction writer of Bangladeshi origin. I grew up in Austria and moved to the United States at the age of 18, where I studied electrical engineering and pursued a career in computer software. A keen follower of science and an avid reader of science fiction since childhood, I now write my own sci-fi stories as a hobby. I currently reside in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Reviews

[Liviu · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book, it's the kind of tale that's hard to come by nowadays. Feels a lot like the old or classic tales from the golden age of scifi, but mixed with a lot of newer science like dark matter, dark energy, etc. There's all the makings of a great scifi adventure - an exciting plot, good character development, lots of action, and *lots* of different kinds of aliens. It also offers some pretty intriguing ideas about our universe and especially why we've never discovered any aliens so far. The one flaw I found was the writing style, which often appears to cater more towards young adults or teenagers even though some of the themes are for a more mature audience. But with the fast-paced plot and interesting ideas, that candidly just made it easier to read and didn't hamper my enjoyment of the book.

[Joey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This isn't pure or hard sci-fi. There's a decent amount of fantasy woven into the storyline. If that's not your cup of tea, I don't recommend this book.

That said, the story is remarkably unique and quite refreshing. It's a real page turner, quickly pulling you in and leaving you constantly guessing as to what might happen next. The scale is truly epic, involving multiple alien civilizations of very different backgrounds battling it out across the galaxy and beyond for ultimate supremacy.

In many ways, it reminded me of Star Wars in its style and grandeur. I encourage the author to continue writing and to expand this story into a trilogy or a series.

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hard to rate this one. He had interesting concepts, but the writing was often awkward grammatically and the story was a bit contrived (maybe even too nice, if that makes any sense). But should he publish a second book, I'd read it. So three stars it is.

[Leo · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ahmed writes like an eighth grader, and the story is weak, weak, weak. Since I read it on my Kindle, I don't know many pages the printed book has, but if it is 300 pages, the story could be told in 100. The rest of it is useless detail, and poorly related at that. It is the first book in I don't know when that I paid for and could not force myself to read.
I made it to the end of chapter 9, by which time I was already starting to skim. At the end of Ch 9, Ahmed gave up on even the pretense of dialog or narration and simply started a numbered list of facts about alien species, wars between them, galaxies, stars, etc.
I have to go read the previous reviews, because I honestly want to know what anyone saw in this book.

[Faye Moser · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really wanted this to be good... I only made it to Chapter7ish before I wanted to punch myself in the face. The writing was so juvenile I felt like I was reading a middle school homework assignment. No bueno.

[Olga · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kept my interest from the beginning to the end. Would recommend to everybody.

[David]

At the beginning, the author says the book will suggest answers to the Fermi Paradox and the nature of dark matter. Fairly early in the story we're presented with the plot premise that alien civilizations fill the galaxy, but because humans are a young species our solar system is surrounded by an envelope which hides evidence of aliens and hides 90% of all star systems (and those systems are the 'missing mass.") The envelope around star systems of "child" species isn't new. The idea there are 10 times as many star systems as we see moving among each other in the galaxy doesn't sound like a recipe for disasters.

The story itself is a space fantasy. There's majic, prophetic visions and such. There's bad science and an evil serpentine species which hovers with wings yet somehow disguises itself as members of smaller species of different shapes which walk on the ground... It is an adventure story which I tried reading longer than I might had otherwise, but eventually decided I had other books higher on my priorities.

[Sachi Ahmed · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dark Matter by SW Ahmed is a captivating science fiction novel that takes readers on a thrilling adventure through the farthest reaches of the galaxy. The story follows Marc Zemin, a brilliant astrophysics student who discovers a startling secret about the nature of dark matter. His experiments with wormhole travel attract the attention of an alien race, who whisk him away into space to help them fight a colossal galactic war. As he struggles to survive in the midst of intergalactic battles, he uncovers a horrifying conspiracy that threatens to destroy all life in the galaxy. The plot is fast-paced and filled with twists and turns that keep the reader guessing until the very end. The character development is excellent, and the writing is engaging and vivid. Ahmed's exploration of scientific concepts is fascinating and accessible to readers without a background in physics. Overall, Dark Matter is a thrilling and thought-provoking novel that blends science fiction with action and intrigue. I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good sci-fi adventure.

[Tom McDonald · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some imaginative items

The story began pretty good, but fell down towards the end. Turned into a typical "understand Muslims" trope. There was some good attempts in the beginning of the story to explain some science but it felt as though the author lost his focus towards the end of the story, then the story was used to promote understanding between Muslims and the western world.

[kathy pittenger · Rating 5 out of 5]

dark matter book 1

I have read the entire series. They were good enough to keep you wanting to read the next in series.

[Julie Ramsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Title:Dark matter

Author: s.w. Ahmed

Marks adventure starts as a young college student.

A plain sort of guy, he's a smart man when it

comes to physics and the stars. He has a girl friend

that he can't understand. His life has not been

easy but he keeps trying to look forward to better

times. What he gets is an adventure that is

unbelievable, and he gets a second chance on life.

The book takes you into a new world that is not

to be believed but we all have dreams. The

things Mark is put thru is a little funny or a

little scary, but very entertaining to read. It

is a book you don't want to put down. You have

to know some basic science facts understand some

of what is going on. It's a good read!


4 1/2 stars

Any age can read it nothing xxx rated in story

Cookie: Nathan

complimentary book given for a free review. juliesbookreview.blogspot.com

[Alvaro Tejada Galindo · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really loved this book...since I start reading I couldn't stop...the rich world and the characters interaction that Mr. Ahmed created is just wonderful.

After reading the book, you start to wonder if he was actually abducted by aliens...because the clear explanations of the mysteries of the universe are just amazing...

I totally enjoyed reading it and can recommended 100% even if you're not into Sci-Fi...this book will leave you craving for more...

I just wish there could be a sequel...because I'm already missing the characters and would to love to read them again in a new adventure...

[F.A. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easily one of the best SF books I've ever read. Extremely well rounded, with the right balance of action, adventure, science, mind blowing creativity and interesting characters. The underlying moral of the story is clear and highly applicable to us humans in this day and age. There rarely comes along a book which you continue to think about long after you've finished it. This is one of those books.

[Greg · Rating 3 out of 5]

This started off as an intriguing tale, stayed strong and consistent through the middle, then drastically diverged in style near the end. Instead of remaining consistent with the style through the rest of the book where it trades off on points of view of the main characters, it only follows one of two lines of development and feels very rushed like the author just wanted to be done with the story.
Overall I liked the story and enjoyed most of it.

[Melyfong · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was written with an easy to read prose that I found quite enjoyable and had a plot that was intricate and all-encompassing. I thoroughly enjoyed this mix of sci-fi and fantasy and would recommend it to anyone who likes either of the two.

[Ken · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall it was a good read, but a bit predictable and simple in some areas. The ending reminded me of Dan Brown's Gods and Demons, in that, it was a major let down and it could have gone in a number of different directions.

[Alexandru · Rating 1 out of 5]

Juvenile book

[Patsy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a mildly interesting science fiction book. It is more of a social commentary on the human race but does pose some unique scenarios.

[E. SASSER · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good Read

The brook was quite entertaining and a quick read. The other was predictable but kept my interest. I recommend it.

[Mohammad danish uddin · Rating 5 out of 5]

very good book but sometimes in the middle boring