Dark Matter

Janis Svilpis is a professor of English at the University of Calgary.

Dark Matter starts with a repellent scene of bondage and brain surgery,
and climaxes in an apocalypse. In between, it is mostly less
extravagant, but still a heady blend of horror and thriller, saturated
in conspiracy, paranoia, megalomania, and sadism.

Anthony Cross, a charismatic Nobel laureate obsessed with penetrating
the ultimate secrets of the physical universe, finds inspiration by
mutilating people. Surrounding him are other obsessed characters: the
female scientist who loves and wants to protect him, the policewoman who
stumbles onto the cover-up of his murders and falls under his spell, the
other researchers whose fame depends on his genius, and the sinister
organization that funds and exploits his research. As the policewoman
closes in, Cross has power struggles with just about everybody, fighting
free long enough for his ultimate experiment.

This story is interesting largely because of the ways Reeves-Stevens
has plastered up the cracks in his horror-thriller formula. Cross is
related to Drs. Frankenstein and Moreau: his “madness” and his
“genius” are conventions of popular fiction. Many passages that show
the world through his eyes are effective: they are psychologically
incredible, but vivid. The other characters have little life beyond the
story’s requirements, but they fit neatly into their formulaic places.
And the climax is certainly spectacular, even though we are prepared for
it by Cross’s constant lecturing, which is less lyrical than
Reeves-Stevens might have hoped. On the whole, however, he has
skillfully filled out an utterly predictable structure with various
surprises—big and little, and mostly unpleasant. This does not save
his book from being lurid and sometimes laughable, but it does deliver a
kick that will keep many readers from noticing.