Dark Matter Writer Blake Crouch Has A Book Recommendation Perfect For Jurassic Park Fans

One of the hot new sci-fi series of 2024 was Apple TV's "Dark Matter," created by Blake Crouch and based on Crouch's 2016 novel. "Dark Matter" centers on one Jason Dessen (Joel Edgerton), a college physics professor who lives with his wife Daniela (Jennifer Connolly) and son Charlie (Oakes Fegley). However, everything changes when Jason is kidnapped by ... an alternate version of himself from a parallel dimension. Jason #02, as he's called, comes from a dimension where he didn't marry Daniela and kept working on weird physics experiments, eventually inventing a high-tech box that allows one to skip between dimensions. Jason #02 then decided to use this to see what his life would have been like if he had married Daniela, prompting him to insinuate himself into the Dessens' home and force Jason #01 to take his place in his own dimension.

Crouch co-wrote most of "Dark Matter" Season 1 and continued to work on the show's upcoming second season (which will premiere on August 28, 2026). He's also well-known in the literary community, having written best-sellers like "Upgrade" and "Recursion."

As an author, Crouch has, quite naturally, been asked about his own book recommendations. Indeed, when BookBub interviewed him in 2025, he revealed some of the better books that he had recently read. He talked about Veronica Roth's "Chosen Ones," Ted Chiang's "Exhalation" (with Chiang being the author of the short story that inspired the movie "Arrival"), and, of course, Andy Weir's "Project Hail Mary." Most notably, Crouch recommended "Aurora," a novel written by David Koepp, i.e. the writer or co-writer of films like "Death Becomes Her," "Jurassic Park," "Mission: Impossible," "Spider-Man," and many others.

Besides "Jurassic Park," David Koepp has penned multiple other Steven Spielberg movies, including "The Lost World: Jurassic Park," "Indiana Jones and the Temple of the Crystal Skull," and, most recently, "Disclosure Day." He's also written such movies as "Panic Room, "Zathura: A Space Adventure," "Kimi," and the Robert Langdon thrillers "Angels & Demons" and "Inferno," in addition to having written directed first-rate thrillers like "Stir of Echoes" and "Premium Rush." (On the flip side, Koepp directed but did not write the Johnny Depp box office bomb "Mortdecai," and yes, he knows that was a mistake.)

Beyond the realm of film, Koepp has authored two novels. His first, "Cold Storage," was published in 2019, and he later adapted that book into a script for the 2026 movie of the same name. "Aurora," meanwhile, came out in 2022, and Blake Crouch loved it. As he explained to BookBub:

"With 'Aurora,' David Koepp has firmly staked his ground as one of the best thriller writers working today. Come for the mind-blowing concept of a massive geomagnetic storm that wipes out nearly every power grid on Earth, stay for why this book truly soars — characters you'll love, breakneck pacing, and the question we're all wrestling with in these wild, modern times: What happens when life slips out of our control?" 

The premise of "Aurora" is, as Crouch noted, about an electromagnetic wave that hits Earth, turning off all the planet's electronics. (There was plenty of warning from scientists before the wave, but no one listened.) Post-blackout, the story follows two characters. One is a billionaire who believes this cataclysm cannot reach him, whereas the other is his less wealthy sister, who is more concerned with things like food and water.

"Aurora" is a story of survival after a blackout, which seems to be a topic that David Koepp is intensely interested in. Back in 1996, this concept was even at heart of his feature writing and directing debut "The Trigger Effect." The film stars Elisabeth Shue, Kyle MacLachlan, and Dermot Mulroney, and it's all about society undergoing a swift breakdown after the electricity goes out. Mind you, Koepp made that movie before the internet was as pervasive a force in our daily lives as well. Even if the power were to ultimately come back on at a later date, he knows civilization would fall apart in a matter of weeks in its absence.

"The Trigger Effect" earned decent reviews from critics (see: its 72 critical score on Rotten Tomatoes), but it failed to make much of an impact at the box office. Still, it appears that Koepp couldn't let the idea go. So, 26 years later, he explored the concept in a more controlled, less budget-conscious medium by writing "Aurora," and, if Blake Crouch is to be trusted, it turned out better. After writing so many top-notch cinematic thrillers, it's no surprise to learn that Koepp is great at penning literary thrillers, too.

Kirkus gave "Aurora" a positive review, praising its swift pace and gripping plot, and noted that it's very much a post-COVID thriller about how those who run the world think they can handle disasters yet balk in the face of actual helpful action. In particular, anti-science politicians ignore the science, making the disaster all the worse. It's also possible that Crouch likes "Aurora" because his novel "Dark Matter" is set in Chicago, while "Aurora" takes place in the Chicago suburbs. Hence, they are treading similar territory (quite literally).