I didn't think I could love a Blake Crouch book more than I loved Dark Matter but Recursion was so wonderful!

5 Hearts
SJ, Romance Junkies

From New York Times bestseller Blake Crouch, author of the bestselling Wayward Pines trilogy, comes this fascinating, fast-paced, and though-provoking novel about time-travel, memory, and who we think we are in RECURSION.

The story opens with New York City police officer Barry Sutton investigating a condition the media has named False Memory Syndrome, in which afflicted individuals go crazy suffering memories of lives they've never lived.

Helena Smith is a neuroscientist working at a secret location on a project that will change lives. Working to try to solve the mysteries of memory in hopes her research might help her father with Alzheimer's, she ends up creating something wonderful...and monstrous.

But before long, Barry is suffering False Memory Syndrome. Helena realizes she's made a tremendous mistake in judgement but has nowhere to turn and no way out, and the villain grows in power. When Barry encounters Helena, they realize they might be able to stop what's coming. Together, the two make an impossible journey, and fail more often than they succeed.

The pacing in this novel is perfect; the juxtaposition of Barry's trials and Helena's realization of what's she's done is magical. Crouch is a master at revealing secrets, keeping the reader on the edge, glued to his prose.

The romance in the story enhances the plot, but make no mistake, RECURSION is a science fiction thriller driven by greed, hope, and love. It will leave the reader thinking about the ideas of self and memory long after finishing that final page. What an outstanding read!

Recommended Read

An absolutely gripping, mind-bending thriller with "theory, paradox, and possibility" written all over it. The pacing is perfect, the characters are most believable, the story line is very, very cool and the descriptive writing is spot on.
The unusual way Crouch blends the concept of human memory with the illusion of time makes for a tale that is occasionally difficult to keep up with if you're reading casually, but if you pay attention, it snaps into focus immediately.
I was especially impressed with the inclusion of the "Grandfather paradox" without the extraneous mumbo-jumbo often associated with bending the space-time continuum. Using human memories vs. something more Sci-Fi like a time machine made the story much more of a thriller than a sci-fi adventure, but it definitely has elements of both.
After the first night's reading, I was reminded of the conversation between Pinto and the Professor in "Animal House" when they were smoking dope:
"That means that one tiny atom in my fingernail..."
"Could be one.. tiny... little... universe."
But this book is much, much more than a passing reflection on the philosophy and mechanics of memory. It's a page-turner par-excellence.
And just wait until you get to the last 20%. It'll blow you away.

You can't go wrong with anything Blake Crouch has written. Recursion is no different. 10/10. I can't recommend this book enough. Reading the book from two characters points of view makes it flow and keeps you interested. I couldn't put this book down. Hurry up and start reading. This book is unlike anything you have read.

I believe everyone has memories they would like to erase or change. You’d like to take back an insult, tell someone you love them or turn that foul ball into a walk off home run. Could that be done? What would be the consequences?
Recursion, Blake Crouch’s new novel examines the question of altering reality and it’s effects. Police officer Barry Sutton and neuroscientist Helena Smith face the question of memory from very different perspectives and needs. Barry is investigating FMS (False Memory Syndrome) after a woman claims to be a victim of FMS and commits suicide. Helena wants to develop a method of reactivating memories as a cure for Alzheimer’s. Though their approaches and needs are different, Barry and Helena interact as they seek answers to their issues.
This novel is a mystery story. This novel is a love story. This novel is a theoretical science story. This is a complex, thought provoking altered reality novel. You will question what is reality, what is memory, what is time, what can we believe is real and more. Recursion is a thinkers book. You will remember it long after you put it down or maybe you will pick it up and reread it. If you do, your mind will be bent again. This time in a new way. It’s that good. I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley. #NetGalley #Recursion

Powerful, thought provoking and highly entertaining!!!
I love how this authors mind works.

ARC provided by NetGalley

3.5 stars

The plot in this one is incredibly intricate and complex. I didn't always think I had it straight in my head but enjoyed it for its surprising twists and the sophistication of the tangled events.

In Recursion Blake Crouch introduces us to NYPD Detective Barry Sutton, who tries to stop a woman from jumping off a high rise building. While trying to talk her off the edge she tells him that she’s suffering from a rare disease called False Memory Syndrome, which makes her believe she lived an entire other life which includes a son who doesn't actually exist. Unsurprisingly these extra memories are leading to depression, anxiety and suicidal ideation. Detective Sutton is intrigued. His own daughter died a few years earlier and this woman's story pushes him to begin looking into his daughter's life. And then there is another, parallel story which occurred 11 years earlier, in which Dr Helena Smith is trying to fund her plans to build a machine which can record human memory. Of course a donor/investor is found and this person is a mystery too. The rest of the book follows the two parallel stories which become entwined and continue to grow in complexity.

The story is both science fiction and thriller. It is certainly not a story that Mr. Crouch could tell as only a mystery, as the science fiction concepts in the book are unique, clever and essential to the story. Unfortunately I am still not the best fan of science fiction. I can appreciate what an author is doing, but never seem to fully connect with the characters. And I am all about character development and likability. I am able to love a book even when the plot is quiet or still if the characters are likable and real.

The book is a bit shocking, at times even downright scary. It is full of twists that kept me on edge. I liked it very much despite my own issues with science fiction, and if that is a genre you love then I would recommend this one highly.

Thanks to Netgalley, Mr. Crouch and Crown Publishing for this free digital ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

There are so many reviews for this I can't add any value at this point. But I did think it was excellent! Hard to go wrong with Crouch. Recommended.

I really appreciate the comp copy for an honest review!!

This book started off so good. I was loving the first 180 pages but then something happened that made it turn from interesting to just boring and repetitive. First I swore I had heard this story before somewhere else. I had just finished up OA and some of the things from this book mirrored the show so it felt too familiar to it. I enjoyed the writing style. It was very beautiful at times and kept me engaged. Second there just wasn't any emotional feelings for the characters. I felt like the characters were just an afterthought to the science and the chair. I'm giving the book 2.5 stars for starting off so good and the writing syle.

I wasn't sure what I would get with Recursion, but I hoped I would get something similar to Dark Matter. Thankfully my wish was granted! I hope Blake Crouch is able to give us a few more releases in this realm of Quantum Physics. I love it!

I'll be honest - Recursion broke my brain a little, but it sure was fun. If you loved Dark Matter, Recursion is a must read.

I have to say I am am BIG Blake Crouch fan. He had me at Pines, and I've never looked back.
This book was a lot of fun and left my head spinning. I thought I knew what was going on very early, but was wrong. I liked the different perspectives for each chapter. Barry is a very likable character. I was rooting for him the whole time. The evolution of Helena's character from naive researcher to a save the world type warrior was very interesting.
While it could get confusing at times, the only real problem I had with the book was that it ended when it did. I want to know what happened next for both Barry and Helena. I hope they are happy.

I did not like Recursion nearly as much as Blake Crouch’s earlier book Dark Matter. Recursion had many, many plot holes.

It is possible that I was overly critical because I have studied memory, and how memories of traumatic events are “encoded.”

(Real life spoiler: there’s little to no difference in how we remember traumatic and mundane events. Most revisited memories are combined with false memories. For example, you think you remember having your picture taken on vacation 10 years ago, but can you remember what is on the other side of the photograph? Who took the shot? You only think you remember it because you have reminded yourself that the event happened..)

I am capable of suspending my disbelief when a book is grounded in science or reality and then takes a leap into the science fiction (the impossibilities). Crouch grounded this book in made-up (debunked) theories about memory and cognition. It took me out of the plot, and I just didn’t enjoy it.

And it's another great one from Blake Crouch. How this author manages to take a mind-bending concept and make it readily accessible for even non-science-minded folk like myself, I don't know. But he did it with Dark Matter, and has done it again here, and it's wonderful. This time he's tackling time travel and memory, and yes, he connects them so that they make almost perfect sense. I'm sure if I sat and tried I could probably poke holes in some of his plot points (or more likely, just confuse myself completely!) but I chose to just roll with the happenings in the book, and it was a terrific ride. It's full of interesting and complex characters that I cared about, and while the pace isn't quite breakneck, it moves along nicely. In short, I highly recommend this one.

My thanks to Netgalley and Crown Publishing for providing a copy for an unbiased review.

I didn't enjoy this book as much as I had hoped. I enjoyed Dark Matter a lot more. I didn't enjoy the two simultaneous story lines. It got confusing at time. Recursion is definitely not a light read. Blake Crouch likes to keep the reader thinking and guessing.

A fast-paced, mind-bending thriller that could only come from the likes of Blake Crouch!

It’s 2007 and Alzheimer’s disease is becoming more prevalent with no apparent cure in sight. Helena Smith’s mother is a victim of the disease and she has made it her life’s work to combat the disease with science. As a researcher, she hasn’t made much progress, but all that changes one day when a stranger walks into her lab and offers her an open checkbook to build the contraption that she dreams of: a memory chair. Now secluded on an abandoned oil rig that has been outfitted into a secret laboratory, Helena is making advancements on her chair light years ahead of where she was at Stanford. Once her team finally manages to capture and recreate memories, Helena can’t wait to use it for her mother. But the chair’s mysterious benefactor seems to have other plans for the chair’s use, plans that she never saw coming or thought possible.

Ten years later, New York City cop Barry Sutton is called to a potential suicide jumper. As he tries to talk her off the ledge, she confesses that she has FMS or false memory syndrome. Becoming more prevalent, people are stricken with a second set of false memories of a completely different life that they never lived. In many cases, it drives the person crazy until they commit suicide to escape from the madness. Although Barry tries to persuade her, he is unsuccessful, and she jumps to her death. Experts aren’t sure how the disease is transmitted nor is there any known cure. He only hopes that he hasn’t contracted it from this woman. As Barry investigates what loose ends there are, he finds something that doesn’t add up. What Barry doesn’t realize is that this investigation will set forth a series of events that will change the world as he knows it, and possibly several other alternate worlds too!

Only the mind of Blake Crouch could conjure up a thriller this mind-bending. His previous novel Dark Matter was such an intense read that it stayed with me for days and I kept telling people about it. This was just as intense and will be sure to make my top list for the year. Crouch has a way of making his reader’s question what they think they know. Sure, it’s science fiction, but just think about it if it were true. Disrupting the space-time continuum would cause all out chaos. Where his previous novel dealt with string theory, this one focus in on actually traveling back in time and the ramifications of even living the exact same life over again. He makes theoretical physics fun to read about and will hopefully inspire some future minds to continue developing this type of science. I also just learned that this is going to become a movie on Netflix in 2020, so I highly recommended getting your copy now so that you can digest this awesome read.

There is quite a bit of strong language throughout the book as well as implied sex scenes that is more appropriate for mature audiences.

I received a complimentary copy of this title from the publisher. The views and opinions expressed within are my own.

After finishing Recursion, my first thought was that Blake Crouch likes a good mindf*ck because that is what Recursion is. His previous novel, Dark Matter was confusing but at least I understood the science behind the story. Plus, I wasn't confused for very long. I cannot say that about his latest one though. Every twist added a layer of complexity to the story so that by the time you finally got around to the ending, the story is too convoluted for rational thought. You are just there for the ride with no control of the reins.

The thing is that you don't realize this at the time of reading it. It is only when you finish the story and think back over everything you read when you finally question what exactly happened. The more you think about it, the more you recognize the confusion until you can do nothing but question what exactly you read. Prior to that point, the story seems not just reasonable but thrilling and fast-paced. You don't get the chance to sit and reflect on the action because Mr. Crouch doesn't afford you the opportunity, keeping you and his characters at a frantic pace of discovery, action, and reaction, and you are perfectly fine with this while reading it. After your adrenaline levels drop and common sense once again reigns supreme in your brain, you begin to feel as if Mr. Crouch duped you into thinking his story has more substance and merit than it may actually have. The problem is that you have to wade through layer upon layer of plot twists in order to figure out what the basic plot is before you can determine if that feeling of duplicity towards Mr. Crouch is an accurate assessment. For my own part, I had no desire to wade through all that. I can't say Recursion makes a lot of sense when viewing it in the light of day, but it certainly is a wacky ride while you are on it.

What is a memory and what is not? I'm not a science fiction fan, but this books makes you think about what your memories mean as Helen's chair allows people to go back and change their personal history. What affect does personal change have on world history.

Disclaimer: I received an advance copy of this book via NetGalley.

I have heard a lot of hype about Recursion over the past few months, so was very excited to get a copy of this book. I had previously read the Wayward Pines series that Crouch authored, and absolutely loved it (although the TV adaptation fell a little flat for me).

The premise of this book is basically: woman scientist builds a chair that is her life's work, allowing people to re-experience memories...with what turns out to be life-altering consequences. Big money investor provides the funding. Guy she meets along the way turns out to be her soul mate that helps her save the earth from destroying itself. The story moves along at a fast pace, and you can almost imagine this being adapted for a movie as you read along. The story fell flat for me, though...I kept waiting for the moment that would really "hook" me and pull me in, but it never happened.

I'm glad I had the opportunity to read the book, and I still like the author...I just didn't love this book. However, I would still recommend this to friends if they are looking for a quick read, and looking for something a little different.

I read this book in one day because I do enjoy this author, but this was a lot to take in. I was exhausted by the protagonist's living the same life over and over again with just a few modifications. She deserves her final rest. I feel the book slows down with the reliving...by necessity. The recursion concept is fascinating and well developed so even though this is not my favorite book of his, I respect it.

Thanks to Net Galley for the ARC. This book, like so many of Blake Crouch's books are 5 star ideas that run out of steam. This book is really quite good. It just goes on a bit too long. I understood the concept long before he might have thought I did and thus, he explained a few too many times and then, just scienced away the final explanation of things when I would have cared for a bit more explanation. While Version Control is a better book, I am all in on time travel in new and clever ways. I suspect some TV company is going to snatch this up. That will be fun to watch.