Recursion: A Novel

Recursion by Blake Crouch completely blew me away. It’s one of those books that grabs your attention from the first chapter and doesn’t let go until the very last page. The story centers around a neuroscientist, Helena Smith, and a detective, Barry Sutton, whose lives collide after the discovery of a technology that allows people to relive and even alter their memories. What starts as a scientific breakthrough quickly turns into something terrifying as reality itself begins to fracture. The pacing is incredible. Every chapter leaves you wanting more, and the twists are so well done that I found myself gasping out loud a few times. It’s a perfect blend of science fiction, emotional storytelling, and psychological suspense. I loved how it made me think deeply about memory, time, and what makes our lives truly real. As a busy mom, I don’t get a ton of uninterrupted reading time, but this book had me sneaking in chapters whenever I could — during nap time, waiting in the pickup line, even before bed when I should have been sleeping. The writing is sharp and cinematic, and the emotional connection between the characters really stuck with me long after I finished it. If you liked Dark Matter or enjoy stories that play with time and reality while still having a strong emotional core, Recursion is absolutely worth reading. It’s intense, beautiful, and haunting in the best way.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ In looking for a change from my recent lighter reads, I happened upon this contemporary science fiction read because I was intrigued by the premise. A book about memory and a phenomenon called False Memory Syndrome. A book about losing memory, finding memory and a hope of controlling memory. The story centers on 2 characters, Barry and Helene, and the chapters flip between the two voices at different timelines. Barry is a New York cop, and Helene is a scientist. Helene’s mother is suffering from Alzheimers, and Helene dedicates herself to studying memory in an effort to develop technology that can help preserve memories. She has the best of intentions, yet once presented with the prospect of virtually unending funding, she hesitatingly accepts a proposal from an unnamed source in order to continue her work on the technology. There is such an insightful line Helene gives in the book: “What teachers and professors never told her was about the dark side of finding your purpose. The part where it consumes you. Where it becomes a destroyer of relationships and happiness. And still, she wouldn’t trade it. This is the only person she knows how to be.” As one might image, things don’t go as planned. The book is about the relationship between Barry and Helene, her discovery, the use of that discovery, the effects on the world from her discovery, and the way they seek to prevent further harm. Thankfully the author was adept at allowing the reader to develop enough of an understanding to track with the story without needing to understand all of the physics concepts. The book takes you on a fast-paced and tense journey through multiple years as they race through time and memories. I definitely recommend! “…perhaps there’s a reason our memories are kept hazy and out of focus. Maybe their abstraction serves as an anesthetic, a buffer protecting us from the agony of time and all that it steals and erases.” Barry from Recursion

This book is a mystery, sci fi, thriller, and have some romance in it. It was so good that I was sucked into reading this. The way Crouch writes gravitates you into the story. The perspectives or Barry and Helena and the lives they live and what leads up to the main story line is amazing. It’s one of the books that I can’t give too much away or I will spoil it. At the end of the day it is an amazing read

WARNING! You will finish this book in about two days. Then any time you watch any movies or TV series about going back in time, you will question if it was inspired by Blake Crouch’s books. Incredibly well written and captivating book that will have you finishing and looking for the next read in 3 days. Highly recommend.

A sci-fi thriller that will leave you wondering and thinking about it long after you finish. Crouch is on par with Phlip K. Dick and Robert Heinlein in many ways, from his unique storytelling to his intricate plot lines. A quality read from start to finish, an awesome page turner of a novel, quick hitting and worth every page. Blake is quickly becoming one of my new favourite authors.

Blake Crouch is back, with another thought provoking mind bending novel that takes time, to travel through time and realise the full butterfly effect, or is that Mandela effect of what it means to remember. The story is well paced but longer than expected and broken into 5 "books". This services a timeline of events and makes it easier to read in order. That said what starts out as two distinct stories destined to converge - The send half of Recursion is more sci fi futuristic and all together linear changing up the reflections and mystery for straight up action. The last arc of the narrative is suitably repetitive while also stretching the credibility of its own ideas. There are points towards the end where it.just.doesnt.end. And then very easily it does and yet the final ending feels unfulfilled, it felt like so many threads had been retconned and left unresolved. If there is one issue with Blake's story is that he seems intent on telling a story of two destined lovers, and yet then totally ignores that poor wife and daughter of one of the main characters. The daughter especially is ignored in the backhalf dead twice and relegated to never being born, the wife an afterthought. I was expecting some resolution here but alas, at least the 2 main characters found each other again . Not the Notebook, or the Butterfly Effect or Looper this book does what Blake Crouch does best. Well worth reading!

Muito bom! Parece que estamos assistindo a um filme. Bastante informações chegando o todo tempo. Muita tensão misturado com suspense pra saber o que vai acontecer. Tem até romance! Pra quem gosta do assunto "tempo" e as diferentes formas de ver o passado, presente e futuro, vale a pena ler. Final me surpreendeu, não foi o que eu estava imaginando pelo desenrolar da história.

It's been a long time since a book managed to leave me with my mouth wide open in disbelief. Several times. I can't begin to describe this one, but I can tell you that it's a crazy page-turner that ended up in my actual dreams and prevented me from sleeping. It basically ruined my life. Now leave me alone, it's 3:28 AM and I'm writing a review. Damn.

Bought this after watching the TV series Dark Matter based on a book by the same author. Superb book. Loved every page. Brilliant pacing.

Amazing! Loved it, blown away by the read and fangirling about it