A very convoluted story of time travel (or something like that). A machine is invented that can take people back to a certain point in their memory where they can live their life all over again. The machine accidently becomes public and the world goes crazy. The continually changing history of memories and events ultimately leads to the world’s destruction . The inventor, Helena Smith, keeps going back in time to try to prevent it all from happening. An interesting premise but so very confusing. The only way to read it is to just go with the flow and not try to make sense of it.

I am a huge Blake Crouch fan and Recursion did not disappoint! I had planned to read it over Memorial Day weekend and started it on the Tuesday before- I was immediately hooked and ended up finishing it by Thursday. Crouch does a great job of making sense of high-concept science fiction, in this case memory and time travel. I never get bogged down in the science of it and I appreciate that Crouch develops characters that I care about and can understand their motivations. This was a page turner and I definitely recommend!

Blake Crouch writes such fascinating, compelling, and thought-provoking science fiction. His are books I would give to friends who love a good thriller and nonfiction, but think they don't like the unreality or fantastical element of sci-fi.

I have loved every Blake Crouch book I have read and this was no exception. Pines, Warward, and the Last Town were phenomenal, and then I read Dark Matter, and WOOO, that was EPIC!

And then I read Recursion.

Man, this guy can write a seriously un-put-down-able book. Could. Not. Stop. Reading. If you love sci-fi mysteries, then ANYTHING by Blake Crouch is your ticket!

This is such a smart book but it’s hard to describe. A sci-fi tale. A love story. A brilliant exploration of the importance of memory and memories. How our history defines our life. But it’s not a boring philosophical treatise but a very suspenseful story that kept me at the edge of my seat. Full of twists and surprises, and peopled with real characters that we really - really! - get to know. It’s hard to talk about the plot without spoiling it, let’s just say that it’s better not to know anything about it. After turning the last page, my brain kept thinking and rethinking parts of the plot. A very good friend of mine died a long time ago and I kept thinking how I’d take the opportunity to go back and change that without even considering the consequences. I imagine a lot of people would feel the same and the way that the author handles the aftermath of said consequences is very smart. This is the rare deep novel that is written in such a way that reads like a summer thriller. One of the best of the year.
I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thank you, NetGalley/Crown Publishing!

Blake Crouch has written another spectacular book Dark Matters swept me away and so did Recursion.Time travel memories mystery sci-fi combines for an unputdownable book.#netgalley #crownbooks

A new phenomenon has started throughout the world – False Memory Syndrome. Victims have memories of a whole other life they’ve led and it’s driving many of them completely mad. One of those victims is Ann Voss Peters and she’s sitting on the edge of a high rise building ready to jump. Detective Barry Sutton tries to talk her off of the edge but he isn’t able to save her. Barry understands despair as he lost his 15-year-old daughter, Meghan, in a hit and run accident. Barry begins to look into this False Memory Syndrome and is unwillingly pulled into a life-altering experience.

Eleven years before, neuroscientist Helena Smith is working on a memory chair that she hopes will help her mother who has Alzheimer’s as well as others with this disease. When she’s approached by Marcus Slade with an irresistible offer of full funding for her research, she readily accepts. She lives to regret this decision when Slade’s concept of her memory chair differs greatly from hers and she may have to destroy her dream to save the world.

You always know that when you pick up a book by Blake Crouch, you’ll be in for a unique experience. This is his best work yet. My fascination with this thrilling story never lagged at any time. This book has a beauty to it that I didn’t expect. This is an in depth study of grief and time and memory and is so much more than a thriller. The love story is an emotional one. Crouch never fails to make his readers look at the world in a whole new way.

Most highly recommended.

Blake Crouch is still a favorite but this one got a bit lost for me. I felt like it totally changed gears about halfway through and never quite got the pacing right again.

Recursion by Blake Crouch
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I have no problems in announcing that this book ought to be a multi-multi-billion-dollar bestseller.

Maybe I'm biased, too, but damn, this guy can write a great novel that tickles all my SF bones and reminds me how much I love well-crafted thrillers. Does this remind you of his Dark Matter? It should.

And if you loved the ideas behind The Butterfly Effect, Flatliners, and Groundhog Day, I'm certain you're going to fall head-over-heels for this novel.

Am I giving too much away? No. Probably not. The novel goes well beyond the initial premises of memory replacement and mystery and a bit of the oddball secret conspiracy bits and dives straight into the heart of some really messed-up emotional family stuff, the implications of which flatlined me.

And if anyone is worried that novels like these usually stop long before the full ramifications are revealed, rest assured. Crouch goes DEEP into the aftermath, aftermath, aftermath, aftermath. What we get afterward is not just a great mystery/thriller or an extremely solid SF novel, but one that is full of deeply emotional resonance and quality that will last long after the tale has finished.

I call this a home run. And I like it even more than Dark Matter. :) I'm reminded of the quality I read in another's book, The Gone World. High praise, I think. :)

"Recursion" offers a fast-paced, emotional thriller for any fan of time travel fiction. Being one of said fans, I generally enjoyed Blake Crouch's most recent. Crouch clearly took time to think through the science and mechanics of "the chair," and drew careful histories for Barry and Helena that made it easy to connect to them. But much like Crouch's "Dark Matter," I had a hard time letting go of some skepticism at the convenience and sometimes illogical turns in the plot. Action scenes, especially, seemed written with a TV or movie scene in mind, rather than for a reader of a novel. The dialogue, especially concerning science or moral conundrums of "the right thing to do," was sometimes stilted and characters' voices seemed to blend together. Part Four in particular seemed to suffer from these issues, and I found my interest flagging before the story picked up again. For all his effort in trying to craft a scientific explanation for the story, Crouch sometimes seemed to handwave away any explanation for his characters' actions, particularly the supporting characters. Thankfully, I found the emotional thread in the story again in the end, and I finished generally satisfied. There is more to "Recursion" than just its science fiction, which makes it a decent read for anyone looking for a good blend of time travel and some meditation on the meaning of memory.

I can’t say enough about recursion! Dark matter was one of my top 10 for 2018 and this new release is definitely a contender for this year. Recursion has same feel and original writing as Dark Matter and yet the story is new and the addiction is real! I read far too late into the night trying to finish. I need to go back into Blake Crouch’s backlist and read them all! I have a feeling I will love them all as much as I loved these two titles. ⁣
⁣
If you love science and an authentic love story look no further. This story has everything you need.

06/11/2019 Recursion by Blake Crouch

This was fantastic! Absolutely amazing! More exclamation points please!
If you enjoyed Dark Matter or the Wayward Pines trilogy, definitely pick this one up. By the way, since no one asked, the Wayward Pines books lead to me binging Twin Peaks last summer and that show was so incredibly odd and I never quite knew what was going on.
Anyways.
Recursion is the story of what happens when brilliance meets desperation. Searching for a way to help stop the dementia that is slowly stealing her mother, Helena creates a device that will change the history of medicine. What was meant to be a way to preserve a person’s precious memories turns into a potential weapon that could have devastating effects.
Barry, depressed and steal grieving for his daughter a decade after her death, is investigating a woman’s suicide after he is unable to talk her down from the ledge. Plagued with FMS, False Memory Syndrome, the woman is devastated by the memories of a loving husband and son. But she was never married and has never been a mom so how does she know about this other life? Why does it feel so real? With more and more FMS cases coming to light, Barry gets swept up in a mystery so profound it’s capable of destroying the world.
This is one of the fabulous sci-fi books that are better when you know nothing about it. I went into this not knowing the plot, only the author. The characters are great, the science went way over my head, and the story moved very quickly. There are so many twists and turns and explosive events that it just got better and better the further you read. Fast paced, gripping, and emotional, Recursion is an incredible story of strength and perseverance.
Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read and review this title. All opinions are my own.

4.5 stars! Imagine all the sudden you get a nose bleed and are hit with completely new memories. Your old memories are still there, but they are greyed out and distant. You remember two different lives. This book is about Barry and Helena, and their experiences with “false memory syndrome” and their work to help fix it.

That’s not even a very good description, I honestly don’t know where to start to try and give a synopsis on this one. Let me start by saying this is not my normal genre. However Blake Crouch just does such an amazing job writing it. I loved this book just as much as I loved Dark Matter. He truly pulls you into this world that seems crazy and absurd, but you immediately get wrapped up in it and wanting to figure out how it all works. Writing a book like Recursion takes a true gift, and Blake has it! I highly recommend picking this one up when it comes out on June 11th-even if it’s not your normal genre-you won’t regret it!

Loved it! Recursion is very fast paced, intense and creative.

The concept of the book is so interesting and complex but Crouch writes it in a way that is very understandable. The ideas are very interesting to think about and he makes them seem so real. There is a good balance between the technical science fiction parts and personal and emotional parts. It deals with some very interesting questions surrounding humanity and the moral issues of technological advancements. Even though we may have good intentions to make things better, do we have right to mess with other peoples lives and memories and make choices for them? Are there dangerous side effects that we do not yet posses the knowledge to prevent?

I like that unlike other thrillers it is a bit harder to predict what is going to happen because all of this science fiction stuff is unknown; anything goes!

If you liked Dark Matter then you will definitely enjoy this book. I absolutely recommend it.

I received a copy of Recursion through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Loved this book! I read ‘Dark Matter and didn’t think it could be topped, but the characters and storyline were spectacular. 5 stars all the way!

Recursion by Blake Crouch - Available June 11, 2019

Our memories shape how we perceive the world. When NYPD detective Barry Sutton is first on the scene of an attempted suicide he comes face to face with a woman who has a new condition called False Memory Syndrome (FMS) and he begins to investigate her life which puts him right in the middle of a world where people can jump back in time to relive memories and change their past. This is all possible thanks to Helena Smith, the inventor of the memory chair. How will changing the past affect the future and what happens if the memory chair gets into the wrong hands?

This book grabbed me immediately. I loved the idea of returning to a strong memory and reliving or changing the past. I loved how Crouch revealed how this works and the effects it would have on others. My only complaint is that I have been reading this when my life was too busy to read this from cover to cover in one sitting, I had a hard time putting it down. The changing timetables and the story lines that were evolving at a fast pace while they changed may be confusing for some readers but I found it engaging. You will be a fan of this book if you also liked Dark Matter as the style was similar. I don't normally read science fiction books (with the exception of Recursion and Dark Matter) and I still really enjoyed it so whether sci-fi is your thing or not, I encourage you to give this one a try.

Thank you to NetGalley and Crown Publishing for the advanced reader's copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. You purchase this book on June 11, 2019.

Blake Crouch has done it again bringing us a new thriller involving time and memory. The concept is outstanding and really pulls readers in. The characters are relatable making it easy to imagine yourself in their position. Would you prevent a tragedy if you had the capability of traveling back in time and doing so? This is a book that will really make you think. It is fast-paced and filled will plenty of action. Highly recommended to readers looking for a fresh thriller involving time travel. If you've enjoyed Crouch's previous novels, be sure to check out Recursion today. You won't be disappointed!

2007: Spurred by her mother's dementia, Helena Smith devotes her genius to the study of human memory but is on the verge of failure when she's thrown a lifeline by a brilliant magnate. Her research flourishes, but progress comes with a cost. 2018: Dogged NYPD detective Barry Sutton fails to stop the suicide of a woman tormented by False Memory Syndrome, a mysterious ailment where people recall a life that never happened. He is drawn into a conspiracy that threatens the fabric of reality. Memory, time, identity, and reality intertwine in this delightful mind trip.

Thank you to the publisher for this copy ! This truly was epic. Out June 11th. ✨

This was a ride !

The first 50% ? A good 4⭐. Compared to the rest of the book, it was slow-ish and a bit repetitive (but still interesting). The author had to make everything come together slowly at first because there was so much. I'm not new to SciFi, but the concept of this book must have been the most complex I've ever read. I had to stop from times to times to reassess and understand. Note that it's not a bad thing, it truly was fascinating.

And then the story kept accelerating until it was exponential. The last 50% of this book was incredible (5⭐). It was fast paced and complex and my mind kept wondering about all the different things that could happen and how to try to fix everything. It truly was epic.

I liked the ending. I would have added an extra life at the end. First, because I would have wanted a bit more of it and second, because it felt a bit rushed... But finally, even though it makes a cute ending of them reuniting and Helena keeping her sanity, I'm was she wasn't part of the solution. She was the fierce scientists, but ended up being saved by a man.

This is a 4,5⭐ rounded down, because there are so many unpaved avenues that I would have loved to discover. One of them is politics. I would have believed that in one of the scenarios Russia and China wouldn't have attacked the other nations right away. I mean, at some points, they have to kinda notice that what they're triggering is awful. Other things, I would have LOVED for Helena to make her way through politics and get to higher ground and give a peace nationwide message. Work through the crisis.
Also, can we talk about how impractical the characters have been ? If you know exactly when everyone is going to remember, try to be somewhere safe in the world in very close proximity to the chair. This sounded very stupid to me. What was also stupid is that they never thought of alterning Barry and Helena going back in time so each time line one of them would have had a break. Helena could totally have teached Barry how to do the chair and then him to hair again. And finally, why did they never think about making it portative !? Like something you could wear and activate at the right time. The deprivation was a nicer way to die, but if they had a portative chair they could have been ready to reset had they uncountered any unforeseen death.

Blake Crouch did it again! He actually topped Dark Matter and left my head spinning, and my mind blown!

The book starts out with Detective Barry Sutton being called out to a jumper and while trying to talk her off the ledge, is intrigued by the fact that she is experiencing what’s being called False Memories. She remembers an entire other life with a husband and son and would prefer not to live without them. (I was hooked at False Memories!)

The book then flashes back to 2007 to a neurologist, Helen, who has been working on a memory project.

The book goes back and forth between the two timelines, and the first big twisty mind blower hits about 1/3rd of the way through. But does Crouch stop there? Nope. He just keeps zinging all the crazy mind bending cray cray at the reader page after page after page!

I seriously read this all day long from beginning to end only putting this down for sustenance or potty breaks! Thank goodness I started on a Saturday morning and had no other plans for the day.

I need to go grab Crouch’s backlist because I need more to keep me going until he comes up with his next book. This guy is brilliant!!

*Thank you so much to NetGalley and Crown Publishing for the advance copy!*