Blake Crouch

What if someone could rewrite your entire life?'My son has been erased.' Those are the last words the woman tells Barry Sutton, before she leaps from the Manhattan rooftop. Deeply unnerved, Barry begins to investigate her death, only to learn that this wasn't an isolated case. All across the country, people are waking up to lives different than the ones they fell asleep to. Are they suffering from False Memory Syndrome, a mysterious, new disease that afflicts people with vivid memories of a life they never lived? Or is something far more sinister behind the fracturing of reality all around him?Miles away, neuroscientist Helena Smith is developing a technology that allows us to preserve our most intense memories, and relive them. If she succeeds, anyone will be able to re-experience a first kiss, the birth of a child, the final moment with a dying parent.Barry's search for the truth leads him on an impossible, astonishing journey, as he discovers that Helena's work has yielded a terrifying gift - the ability not just to preserve memories, but to remake them... at the risk of destroying what it means to be human.

Recursion

New York City cop Barry Sutton investigates the devastating phenomenon the media has dubbed False Memory Syndrome-- a mysterious affliction that drives its victims mad with memories of a life they never lived. Neuroscientist Helena Smith dedicated her life to creating a technology that will let us preserve our most precious moments of our pasts. If she succeeds, anyone will be able to re-experience a first kiss, the birth of a child, the final moment with a dying parent. Together they face a force that attacks not just our minds but the very fabric of the past. Memory makes reality-- and the force is beginning to unmake the world as we know it. -- adapted from jacket.

A Novel

Gwenifer

His heart pounds in his ears. His mind races. It is the lonely hour of the night, one with which he is all too familiar-

when the city sleeps but you don't, and all the regrets of your life rage in your mind with an unbearable intensity. Thinking about his father who died when he was young, and the enduring question-

is this what you want? to do yourself into a still-life painting of a memory because life has broken your heart?

Bria

I'm in awe of how Crouch was able to fit so much in 384 pages. He made sure to leave nothing unanswered. This could easily be the best movie adaptation, and I hope it's being considered.

A. D. Knapp

Elisavet Rozaki 

(4.5)
I'm about to go through an existential crisis because of this book but it'll be worth it.

Avery

Several original ideas presented in a fun-to-read way. Never seen some of these concepts explored in the this direction.

Michael Knepprath

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From the bestselling author of Dark Matter and the Wayward Pines trilogy comes a relentless thriller about time, identity, and memory—his most mind-boggling, irresistible work to date, and the inspiration for Shondaland’s upcoming Netflix film. “Gloriously twisting . . . a heady campfire tale of a novel.”—The New York Times Book Review NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY Time • NPR • BookRiot Reality is broken. At first, it looks like a disease. An epidemic that spreads through no known means, driving its victims mad with memories of a life they never lived. But the force that’s sweeping the world is no pathogen. It’s just the first shock wave, unleashed by a stunning discovery—and what’s in jeopardy is not our minds but the very fabric of time itself. In New York City, Detective Barry Sutton is closing in on the truth—and in a remote laboratory, neuroscientist Helena Smith is unaware that she alone holds the key to this mystery . . . and the tools for fighting back. Together, Barry and Helena will have to confront their enemy—before they, and the world, are trapped in a loop of ever-growing chaos. Praise for Recursion “An action-packed, brilliantly unique ride that had me up late and shirking responsibilities until I had devoured the last page . . . a fantastic read.”—Andy Weir, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Martian “Another profound science-fiction thriller. Crouch masterfully blends science and intrigue into the experience of what it means to be deeply human.”—Newsweek “Definitely not one to forget when you’re packing for vacation . . . [Crouch] breathes fresh life into matters with a mix of heart, intelligence, and philosophical musings.”—Entertainment Weekly “A trippy journey down memory lane . . . [Crouch’s] intelligence is an able match for the challenge he’s set of overcoming the structure of time itself.”—Time “Wildly entertaining . . . another winning novel from an author at the top of his game.”—AV Club

Lindy

I found it very formulaic (but somehow lacking in understanding of how the formulae are supposed to work) and Christopher Nolan-y.

This is a screenplay written as a novel. Or, this is what happens when a screenwriter renders his blockbuster idea in prose. Unfortunately what happens is the dialogue is usually wooden and overly-straightforward, without a shred of nuance; any sort of plot exegesis is delivered offhand and matter-of-fact. Scenes occurs at breakneck pace. Settings blur past the camera...you get the idea. Maybe this is normal for the genre: epic (sort-of)-sci-fi thriller? I've never read a Jack Reacher novel before...

Thankfully time travel is not approached with the intent of deliberately confusing the reader. Timelines split, things repeat, but the reader may rest assured that any of these threads can be plausibly abandoned at any time, if the plot so calls for it. Which means you don't have to keep it all in your head as the plot progresses.

It would be chauvinistic to suggest this is bad writing, cinema-as-a-novel, so I won't, but also because it isn't. The plot is extremely fluid and interesting and engaging; the romance and trauma genuinely heartrending. But everything else feels flat, rendered in 2D, without any of the depth I have come to expect from the format. (In all likelihood I am projecting my dissatisfaction, in a way, with the poor quality of modern cinema onto this poor novel. Sorry)

0xADADA

This was one of those rare books that gets you thinking, questioning the nature of memory, identity, and reality itself. I continue to think about it days after having read it.

An awesome take on the genre, an im super excited Netflix bought the rights to make a TV series. This is a must read

Sonia Grgas

Really 3.5 - 3 for first half and 4 for second half. Saying why that is would be a spoiler.

Smart, suspenseful, and surprisingly touching. This was my second time reading Blake Crouch, and it definitely won't be my last.

Frederik De Bosschere

I read this book in about 4 sittings. Extremely thought provoking, unpredictable, and an amazing ending. One of the few books I’d consider re-reading for fun 

Abigail Stutz

Syahla Aurel

** spoiler alert **
           This book was a whole journey. Truthfully at first it was kind of tiring and hurtful to see them dying over and over again, but fortunately the ending justified all of their agony lol. I also felt like this book would be a good movie like Inception. I recommend this book to anyone who likes sci-fi story.

Danielle 

This is a book I truly can't stop thinking about, similar to Dark Mater by the same author. I'm not the most experienced sci fi reader, but I knew I had to read this one after loving Dark Matter, and I am so glad I did. I'm also glad I knew nothing about this book before reading it! 

There was some technical stuff that I know went right over my head, but I still understood the plot and enjoyed the characters and their development. This story makes you think about life, the choices we make, the thing that are out of our control, human nature, and so much more. 

It's a fantastic summer read and I highly recommend it!

Quinn Tenorio

I read Crouch's previous book Dark Matter and ripped through it. The way he writes and the concepts he plays with in his books are so well executed. I then picked up this book from my local library and was so happy to have ready it. A fantastic book just as good as Dark Matter, I highly recommend, especially if you enjoy mind-bending concepts.

Lakshya Malik

Hmm so let's see. Recursion is a science-fiction thriller novel written by Blake Crouch. It is mind-bending, slick, invigorating, and at the best of its times, a solid page-turner. 

Some problems I have
I read Crouch's Dark Matter and I loved the book. Loved the story, the characters, and in all and all, it was an immersive and enjoyable ride. 

Recursion, however, felt like it missed the mark a little towards the last quarter. The novel is divided internally into five books (or parts) and epilogue. The first three parts, or books, were quite interesting but with the onset of book four—it felt like I was now reading a different story. As if the main story with the protagonists and the antagonist ended with book three and afterward, it was just an extension. And, even though a logical extension, it was slightly harder to get through. 

With book five, the story pulled me back in for a little while, and then again, it became hard to read and even a little exhausting. But I will say that the last twenty-five or so pages were really good and the ending and epilogue were well carried out.

Overall, I feel the book was a good sci-fi thriller and will definitely bend your minds in all the amazing ways.

Final rating: 3.75 stars (rounded off to 4 for goodreads)

Jule

4.5 ⭐️ because literally everybody says dark matter is even better and I have to give it a try.

But this was excellent in itself. Save recommendation.

Officially a Blake Crouch fan! I loved Dark Matter, but this surpasses it with bells on! 

Aims

Jenna

the major sciency things were lost on me but didnt stop me from enjoying:) little repetitive @ the end but given it was multiverse timeline shit it works 

Joy Bush

4.75 ⭐ rounded up. 
The first 60% is so perfect, then it has a slow lull, and a nice ending.

I really enjoyed this book. Sci-fi isn’t my issue read, so I find a take longer to read them. Sometimes I was a bit confused at the book, but overall understood what was going on. It was different from what I usually read, which was good. I enjoyed the change! I would definitely read another book by this author again! I’ve got Dark Matter in my TBR! 

Bookworm

Colleen

4 Stars
 
*A thrilling, emotional SciFi that explores how memories affect us all*
 

Well, I thought I would digest this book for a couple of days before reviewing. But I’m still teetering back and forth on how I feel about this book. There were parts that were impactful to me. There were parts that were exciting and gripping. And there were parts that kept this from being a five-star read for me.
 
To start with, I loved Dark Matter. So when I saw that Crouch had a new book coming out, I got so excited. I wanted to go into this book as blind as possible, because I love when you can explore and experience a book without the hype. I only glanced at the synopsis enough to see that the story had to do with memory and didn’t read any farther. I studiously avoided all discussions about this book. I didn’t even read a single review, because I wanted to make absolutely certain nothing got spoiled for me! I was so enthused to read Recursion.
 
And it did live up to my expectations… mostly. Honestly, despite my attempts to keep my reading experience a blank slate, I was fairly sure this was going to end up on my Top of the Year list. And maybe my expectations were on the high side. So let me be clear, this is still a great book! I will highly recommend it. But it sadly, did not make it onto my favorites list.
 
The first reason that I struggled with this book (particularly the first quarter of it) is entirely personal. One of the main characters, Helena Smith, is a neuroscientist trying to find a way to record and recover memories for Alzheimer’s patients. She is driven in this mission in order to save her own mother who is rapidly declining from that disease. I recently lost a loved one to Alzheimer’s related complications, and this story hit me hard. It was so difficult to read this story and not be suffocated by grief and pain. It’s hard to see someone you love forget you, but the most heartbreaking part is watching them forget themselves. I had to put this book down for an entire week, because it overwhelmed me. On the one hand, that shows that Crouch wrote a completely convincing portrayal of the havoc that Alzheimer’s causes. But on the other, I can’t say I enjoyed this book. “Enjoy” is definitely not the right word. It was engaging. Thrilling. But I didn’t enjoy it.
 
On a less personal note, this story didn’t feel as original. I’m trying really hard to avoid any spoilers, but some of the themes and setup were quite similar to Dark Matter. Either book on its own is great, but together they are less unique. Again, trying to avoid spoilers: towards the end, it got repetitive. Up until that point, I had thought it would still be at least 4.5 Stars rounded to 5. But the repetitiveness got tedious until I found myself wanting the cycle to break just so the story would move on and wrap up. So that is the main reason I am only giving this 4 Stars. It was also difficult to follow the non-chronological storylines at first. And as always, I hate novels written in present tense. I understand why Crouch chose present tense – it fits the theme. But I found it so discordant at times.
 
But let me circle back to my earlier statement that this is still a great book. Yes, I had some issues with it, and it didn’t wow me as much as I was expecting. While there were similarities between Dark Matter and Recursion, both books are still outstanding compared to the masses of boring, unoriginal stories out there. Crouch did a wonderful job of incorporating current science and theories into a captivating story. He expertly explores all of the ways that memory affects our lives as well as topics such as love, grief, regret, purpose, and self-identity. There are many excellent ideas and talking points, so I’m glad that this book was selected by my bookclub. I look forward to discussing it!
 
Bottom line: it isn’t perfect, but it’s still bloody good. I recommend it to any fans of Speculative Fiction and Hard SciFi. And I will still look forward to whatever Crouch comes out with next!


RATING FACTORS:
Ease of Reading: 4 Stars
Writing Style: 4 Stars
Characters and Character Development: 5 Stars
Plot Structure and Development: 4 Stars
Level of Captivation: 4 Stars
Originality: 4 Stars

Anthony

I'm a sucker for time travel. I liked the way it was written with two perspectives that intertwined. I do have to admit though, after so much investment in the characters, I wasn't too pleased with the ending!

Recursion

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