Title: Recursion
Author: Blake Crouch
Publisher: Crown
Rating: 4.5/5

--Thank you to NetGalley and Crown for this ARC to review!--

Wow. Just wow. I knew I was going to like this book because I thoroughly enjoyed <i>Dark Matter</i>, but I wasn't expecting this. From synopsis: "Memory makes reality. That’s what New York City cop Barry Sutton is learning as he 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." How could you not want to know what happens next?

<i>Recursion</i> follows main characters Barry Sutton, a NYC cop, and scientist Helena Smith who both find themselves intertwined in the mystery of FMS in ways that will change them forever. Helena has good intentions for her machine that can preserve memories, especially for people like her mother suffering from Alzheimer's. But, like the fears many have of new technology, Helena's science goes haywire and thus we have the story. I won't say much more because basically anything I could say could be a spoiler.

You HAVE to check out this book. It is both relatable and sci-fy-trippy and I challenge you to not wish you had some of this technology in your own life for one reason or another. The writing is thorough and paints a vivid picture of what the characters are going through. Nothing in this book is really too far-fetched. Even the acknowledgements mention that this science isn't too far off. Crouch has done it again! There is even a deal with Netflix to bring this story to the screen! Can't wait!

#crownpublishing #netgalley #blakecrouch #recursion #books #currentlyreading #accordingtomrsmadonna #sciencefiction #pageturner

I was worried that because of the multiple timelines that this book would be hard to follow. However, it really wasn't. I found the concept highly interesting. What if you could go back in time and change your life? What would it do to the rest of the world? I really enjoy a scientific book that explains what is going on without be feeling like I need to be a neuroscientist in order to understand it.

I received a copy from netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

What have I just read?? Brilliant writing and a mind boggling story that will have you rereading certain pages to make sure that what you are reading is really happening! This novel will take you on a relentless journey that will have your head spinning with every chapter.

The story takes place in present day and begins with a detective investigating a possible suicidal person suffering from FMS (False Memory Syndrome) a condition that seems to be cropping up more and more frequently. Then you have Helena who is a neuroscientist and is trying to find a technological way to achieve holding on to precious memories for Alzheimer patients since her own mother has been battling the disease for many years and does not have a lot of time left. This book is a real page turner that will have you holding your breath at times and also sitting on the edge.of your seat.

Blake Crouch is a wonderful writer and I don't know how he kept his facts straight throughout this story, but he did! I wouldn't recommend reading this book when you are sleepy because it will only keep you awake and reading well into the night. As I was reading I had many questions but is they were all answered by the end of this story. I am not a big science fiction fan but this author knows how to make fantasy eerily realistic and I am so glad that this is fiction because it could be considered a warning of what can happen when certain technology falls into the lap of the wrong individuals.

I want to thank Crown Publishing and Netgalley for allowing me the opportunity to read this ARC!

I highly recommend this book to any reader who is looking for a great thriller with terrific writing and a unique storyline!
I have given this book a rating of 5 Mind Boggling 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 stars!!

4.5 stars
Wow! That was one mind-boggling, terrifying, sci-fi thriller!

Helena Smith has only ever wanted one thing, to help her mother who suffers from Alzheimer’s. She wants to develop a way to preserve memories. Barry is a NYPD detective and has come face to face with FMS – False Memory Syndrome. Not much is known about FMS, but it is greatly feared as more and more seem to be coming down with it.

I don’t even know where to start, this is one of those times when less is more. This was such a fun read! It was often hard to wrap my little brain around what was going on and yet I was completely addicted to this story. I frequently reread passages just to make sure I was reading it correctly. This book was intense, thrilling, and very cleverly written.

I would love to spend a day in Blake Crouch’s brain! Where does he come up with this stuff?? I don’t read science fiction, but the way he weaves sci-fi and the thriller genre is amazing! I am a fan for life!

I highly recommend this book as well as Dark Matter for those who love a good thriller, you won’t be disappointed!

Blake Crouch sure knows how to get my attention! Brilliant story that will blow your mind. This is a mix of Total Recall and Terminator...sort of.... but to be honest so much more. I’ve been thinking about this book nonstop and couldn’t put it down. Wow!
Did that really just happened, again? What the heck? SciFi at its best. I can’t believe how good this was! Suspense....suspense....suspense!
This is definitely one of my top 5 reads for 2019 and can’t wait to see what BC writes next! ♥️

“Time is what keeps everything from happening at once.” -RAY CUMMINGS
This was a NETGALLEY gift and all opinions are my own! Happy Reading!

Usually straight science fiction is not my thing, but this was something above and beyond! I initially tried it because of all the hype over Crouch's book, Dark Matter. And this was definitely deserving of similar praise.
The story is a winding and intriguing tale of two main characters whose life intertwine but intermittently based on the events in the book. It begins with Barry who is NYPD officer and has a suicide case of someone suffering from a new syndrome called "FMS" or "False Memory Syndrome". At first it is unclear what is causing this and what will be done to try to stop it. Our other protagonist is a neuroscientist named Helena whose goal in her work is to find a way to help people suffering from dementia hold onto memories longer. Her aim is driven through her mother having dementia and her obvious love for her.
As the story weaves together, it brings everything from science fiction, thriller and a love-story. This book was a wonderful experience and will certainly have me lining up to read the next thing by this author.
Highly recommend!
#Recursion #NetGalley

I literally have no idea where to even start with this book. I legit have NO words. I finished it last night and thought maybe if I slept on it and reflected on it I may find the perfect words, but I got nothing lol

This book is seriously mind blowing. I found myself taking my time with it even though I was sucked in so that I could digest all the words and what was happening.

That ending! What?! I have SO many questions but none at all. Makes no sense. I can't with this book. It's genius. So so good. It deserves every bit of hype it's getting

Thank you to NetGalley for my copy of this book.

What a fabulously delicious book. This book has a fantastic story line, excellent characters and is just unputdownable. I would highly recommend this book to anyone and I enjoyed it immensely.

Love. Has the same magic as Dark Matter and Pines. Blake Crouch writes such unique, creative stories. This story was thought provoking and fast paced. Toward the latter end of the story it got a little repetitive, but I still enjoyed it. If you liked Dark Matter you will love this as well.

In this mind-blowing thriller from Blake Crouch, the world is suffering from a new illness called "False Memory Syndrome" in which sufferers are suddenly flooded with vivid memories of lives they never lived. Suicides spike as people are overwhelmed with grief of losing children they never had and partners they never met. Something bad is happening, and it threatens the continued existence of the human race.

This is a roller coaster of a read. The stakes are very high and the plot moves fast. I stayed up way too late to finish this one. Readers will also like Middlegame by Seanan McGuire.

Wow! What a wild ride, Blake Crouch has done it again! This book kept me on the edge of my seat, it’s smart, suspenseful and mesmerizing.

**I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review of this book.

I read and loved Crouch's previous book, Dark Matter back in 2016. It was a non-stop, twisty thrill ride that taught me to put my trust in this author and allow him to unfold his story for me. Not an easy thing to do but as the plot rolled along the science-y details began to make sense and I loved the ride!

Recursion also has an imaginative plot and provides readers with lots of food for thought in terms of scientific ethics and the role of memory in our lives. The first half of the book hits readers with an exciting, complex plot and two interesting main characters in Barry and Helena. But it's the second half of the book where things got dicey for me.

By the midway point, the plot was confusing as the focus became less on the characters and more on the increasingly convoluted fake versus real memories and the chaotic multiple time shifts. This time shifting became repetitive which left me frustrated and eager to skim the last quarter of the book.

While I didn't love this book as much as I had hoped, I remain a Crouch fan. He is a highly imaginative author and I appreciate that he takes on ambitious, mind-bending plots but I feel that Recursion is a better pick for avid Sci-Fi fans.

Disclaimer: My sincere thanks to Crown Publishing for providing me with a complimentary digital copy, via NetGalley, in exchange for my honest review.

Mind blown...several times over! What a twisted, disjointed, warped, thrilling piece of work this is! It will make you want to cheer in some parts and pull your hair out in others. Even though it was often confusing dealing with different timelines, I really enjoyed this book but it was totally out of character for me to read something like this. Now I'm ready to get on the Blake Crouch bandwagon and read more of his earlier books.

Black Crouch has garnered the reputation as an author extraordinaire — and rightfully so. His previous release, <i>Dark Matter</i>, was one of my favorite books of its respective year, and it looks like <i>Recursion</i> has received the same honor. This is Crouch working at a whole other level: he takes everything that worked in his previous stories, and improved on them.

I’m not a sci-fi guy; I don’t have the head for it. Crouch writes sci-fi for readers like me. His concepts and ideas are fully fleshed-out and certainly seem “legitimate”, but Crouch never gets bogged down in technical talk; he never goes over the reader’s head. He writes sci-fi lyrics set to a thriller beat. This makes for an absolutely riveting, horrifying, fun read about False Memory Syndrome (look it up — creepy stuff!) and the Mandela Effect and more.

What catapulted this from a 4-star read to a 5-star read is the surprising romance in the final quarter. Crouch took the time to build his characters, and make me care for them, so when their lives began to go in directions I didn’t expect, I was able to remain sympathetic and hang on to the ride. The characters’ relationships (oh, to say more would be a spoiler!) hurt my heart in all the best ways. Did the epilogue make me cry? Maybe a little.

So far this is my book of the year. Totally worth all the hype it has gotten, and bravo to Blake Crouch!

<b>Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the free review copy.</b>

I was quite the fan of Dark Matter so I came into this with high hopes and I have to say there were met! I find Crouch's writing to be incredibly gripping and engaging. With Recursion, I often didn't want to put the book down but also felt the need TO put it down and grapple with some of the themes. What is time? What is memory? If memories can be altered, forgotten, even gaslighted, how can we be sure of anything and what makes us us? This all was especially interesting to me with the current times and as someone who has lived with a family member with Alzheimer's. Great read and I look forward to whatever he gets up to next.

Thank you to NetGalley, Crown Publishing, and Blake Crouch for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Blake Crouch’s latest novel tests the thing most people hold dear, their memories. Imagine going about your day when all of a sudden you see flashes of another life. You can’t explain it and you begin to question reality. What if you lived another life where your loved one hadn’t died when you were a kid? What if you could get a do-over? Is your current existence a lie? An aberration?

These are the questions at the heart of Recursion, Much in the same vain as Dark Matter, this thriller is fast-paced, mind-bending and completely entertaining.

I thoroughly enjoyed the plot and the many moral conundrums posed throughout. The main characters were vivid to the point where it seemed almost surreal. I was invested in their lives. I asked myself more than once, what if this has happened and we didn’t even know about it?

I’m giving it 4.5 stars. If you are a fan of Dark Matter or other sci-fi novels, then this book is for you.

Thank you to #NetGalley for providing me a copy of #Recursion (one of my favorite books of 2019),

Absolutely LOVED this book. This was my second Blake Crouch read and it was just as good as the first. I kept saying WTF at the end of every chapter. Absolutely mind-blowing!

Five intense, addicting, mind bending, WHAT A RIDE stars to Recursion!⁣
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My reading tastes are pretty fluid and I will generally read all genres. Science Fiction is not a genre I will typically reach for, but thanks to Blake Crouch I’ve stepped out of my comfort zone and not only read but LOVED two books in this genre. ⁣
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Like his previous book (Dark Matter), I blazed through Recursion in one sitting. This is a ‘get annoyed when real life intervenes’ type of story. I’m not very tech savvy but I was able to follow the storyline with minimal confusion.⁣
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Fast paced action ✔️ ⁣
Mystery ✔️⁣
Suspense ✔️⁣
Love Story ✔️⁣
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A Science Fiction novel that brought me to tears? YES! There is a little something in here for all genre lovers. Thank you Blake Crouch for breaking me out of my comfort zone and giving me two 5⭐️ reads. For all of you naysayers who may think Science Fiction is not your jam- this is a memorable read and well worth your time. While I didn’t love this as much as Dark Matter, it gets the full 5 stars from me. Thank you @crownpublishing for the advance reader in exchange for my honest review. ⁣Recursion is out now!
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New York City police officer Barry Sutton gets wrapped up in a time-travel adventure while investigating the mysterious False Memory Syndrome, in Blake Crouch’s Recursion. Along the way he crosses paths with neuroscientist Helena Smith, who discovered the secret held in people’s memories and realizes the danger she has unleashed.

There is a sense of impending doom as reality as everyone knows it begins to unravel and every effort to right the course of history introduces new problems. I don’t want to say more about the plot for fear of revealing a twist, but this is a fast-pace thriller that infuses fresh ideas into the time-travel genre.

Crouch has already written a number of successful thrillers, including Dark Matter and the Wayward Pines series, but this is his best novel yet. Recursion (digital galley, Crown Publishing Group) deals nicely with the many paradoxes that inevitably crop up with time travel and Crouch wraps up everything neatly at the end.

Thank you so much to Crown Publishing via Netgalley for the eARC of one of my most anticipated books of the year!
Part science fiction, part suspense, and part love story — Recursion looks at the impact memory, or false memories can have on our lives.
I loved the intricacies of the plot and the intersections of the cast of characters. If you read Dark Matter, I think you will see some of the same ideas, but presented in a new and more complex way.