5 messed with my mind stars!

Blake Crouch is a new to me author and he's definitely earned a spot on my favorites of 2019. It's been awhile since I have been so fascinated with a novel that I completely lost track of time. Recursion presents a big what if in his latest book, "what if you could have the chance to turn back time?"

Barry Sutton, an NYPD detective finds himself in this exact situation as an ordinary day at work leads him into a deeper investigation. Meanwhile, in another time and place, we meet neuroscientist Helena Smith whose groundbreaking research risks falling into the wrong hands. That's all I am going to say about the plot because the less you know, gives you more of a chance to enjoy the ride yourself.


I REALLY enjoyed my venture into the battle between science and the moral upheaval that happens as different characters make particular decisions. Although I am not sure it's exactly a beach read, it just might be the type of cerebral read when it's a raining night at the cottage and everyone is asleep.


Thanks to Netgalley and Crown Publishing for a digital galley in exchange for an honest review.

Goodreads Review 09/06/19
Publication Date 11/06/19

Helena and Barry are living completely different and separate lives. Helena is a scientist from Colorado obsessed with memories and how to retain them. She wants to help her mother remember herself. Barry is a New York Detective who answers a call about a woman who wants to jump off of a building. She is suffering from a new and mysterious illness in which the sufferer has complete memories of another life. Barry and Helena have never met. They need to save the world.

The world is our perception of it. Memory is perception. There is no present because the second we know what is happening has just happened. If we don't remember, then, is there a past? Those are the questions that lead to an interesting take on an old idea. I love that there can be a fresh take on the subject.

I was given an e-arc of Recursion by Blake Crouch from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This book comes out tomorrow, June 11.

The chapters switch back and forth following Barry and Helena. This story started off with a bang and anticipation. Some people get affected by FMS, False Memory Syndrome, and they all of a sudden have this whole other life in their memories as well as the life they currently live.

After reading Dark Matter, my mind was messed up and then hearing about this book I didn’t think that my brain would go back into a turmoil of questions and confusion and awe and it did.

This book hits home for me. Helena is trying to help with Alzheimer’s and I recently have had a family member get diagnosed with it and have seen first hand what it does to the human mind.

Overall, this book was good. It started off strong but as I got further into the story is started to slow down for me. I had big expectations for this book so that was part of the reason why it wasn’t as amazing as I was thinking it was going to be but it still was a good read.

I enjoyed Crouch’s Dark Matter, so I was excited to read this one. Recursion is a time-twisty thriller that makes you want to keep reading. It centers around Helena, a scientist that builds a chair that can put a person back in time to a strong memory. But the more it is used, the more it messes with the “current” time. With the help of Barry, Helena must figure out how to go before the chair was actually built before the world tears itself apart. If you enjoy science, considering what time really is, and a kind of creepy bad dude, you will enjoy this one.

Recursion was another fast-paced, thrilling read as we've come to expect from author Blake Crouch. It was so very compelling and suspenseful, but it was also romantic and sweet and sad. It was about time travel and the end of the world, but it was also about love and family and bravery and integrity. There's just so much more to Crouch's books than a lot of other thrillers or sci-fi books I've read. Recursion has heart, and I'm here for it 100%.

New York City cop Barry Sutton is investing the devastating phenomenon that the media has dubbed false memory syndrome. You have a memory that is so vivid that you question if they have happened or not.

Neuroscientist Helena Smith already understands the power of memory. It's why she has dedicated her life creating technology that will help preserve our most precious memories of the past. If she succeeds, anyone will be able to re experience a first kiss, birth of a child, or the last precious moment with a dying parent.

As Barry searches for the thuth he comes face to face with a worthy and scary opponent. False memory syndrome cm change your memories past present and future. As Helena and Barry work together, how can they make a difference when reality keeps changing and shifting before there eyes.

I enjoyed this book. It was hard to put down. I can see this book being the go to book for the beach this summer.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a complimentary review copy of Recursion. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

It’s hard for me to know how to review this book because it’s pretty unusual for me to dive into a sci-fi mystery. However, Crouch’s previous novel, Dark Matter, received so much positive hype that I decided to go for it. Recursion was a total page-turner; I read it in a few short days. This story challenged me...it was mind-bending and made me think hard in the best possible way. I’m excited to go back and read Dark Matter now that I know what I’m in for!

Prepare to push past the bounds of reality in this binge-worthy ride.

Recursion: The process a procedure goes through when one of the steps of the procedure involves invoking the procedure itself. An endless loop.

Barry Sutton is a New York Detective called upon the scene to help a woman on the edge. She suffers from False Memory Syndrome (FMS) or alternative memory timelines. Ann remembers life with her husband and child but these memories are a life she has never lived. A life she longs for. As she drops off the edge, she becomes part of a growing FMS suicidal statistic.

Helena has been working on memory mapping and preservation for her Alzheimer's research. Her motives are personal as she is a witness to her mother's memory deterioration. Determine to create a "memory" device, she is given a chance to change the way we hold on to our thoughts. But also a way to change them and to exploit them.

When Barry is given a chance to change his past, he finds himself in a battle with his family's ever-changing reality. And there is collateral damage. Helena's work has been used in an unorthodox way and is changing world history. As memories crumble around them, Helena enrolls Barry in a fight to preserve the present day.

Recursion is a page-turner that is hard to wrap your mind around. The alternating timelines and perspectives are at first hard to track but the story falls into place like pieces of a puzzle. The characters have buy-in and you rally alongside them on their quest in the past and present. The narrative is well written and moves at a pace that holds the reader captive. Crouch pushes the boundaries of how we see reality and it's worth.

Recursion brings into the loop philosophical and scientific thought. If you could go back into time, what would you change to create a new timeline of memories? If memories are experiences of the past, are we living in the present? How can we have memories of experiences we have not lived?

Following on the heels of Dark Matter, Recussion is a fantastic follow-up novel. The next novel cannot come soon enough.

"Is deja vu the specter of false timelines that never happened but did, casting their shadow on reality?"

Thank you Netgalley, Crown Publishing, and the author for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Wow! This was such a unique concept that was executed in a completely entertaining manner. I knew that I wanted to read this book as soon as I saw that it was being published. I was very impressed with Blake Crouch's Dark Matter and I wanted to see if this new book would be as entertaining. Once I really started reading this book, I didn't want to stop. I really had a great time with this one.

Helena is a scientist. She has made a chair that she hopes will preserve memories for individuals with Alzheimer's or other ailments that produce problems with memory. Her chair ends up doing something a bit more. This chair has the ability to propel individuals back into their memories. Unfortunately, everyone connected to the events that are changed is left with memories of both timelines. Barry is a New York City police officer. He has been dealing with a lot of cases of False Memory Syndrome while on the job and he decides to look into the phenomena a bit further. He has no idea what is really going on but what he learns shocks him.

I found the entire premise of this book to be very well done. It was somewhat complicated and I found myself really trying to figure out how things would work out. I think that the characters' desperation to change events and correct mistakes was perfectly illustrated and I couldn't help but cheer them on. I think that this story really proved how big of an impact even a small change in our lives can make and how important our memories are.

I would highly recommend this book to others. This was a very thought-provoking journey filled with fantastic characters and a lot of emotion. I cannot wait to read more from this wonderful author!

I received a digital review copy of this book from Crown Publishing via NetGalley.

My mind is blown by this sci-fi, fantasy, time-travel philosophical novel about what would happen if the constructs of time and memory as we know them were turned on their head.

The premise of this is that Helena, a super intelligent neuroscientist trying to cure her mother’s Alzheimer’s inadvertently comes up with a time-travelling machine that works based off memories. Don’t worry, this is proper sci-fi and the explanation for how everything works makes sense in the novel and will have you googling theoretical physics principles to figure out how plausible the mind-bending premise is.

This isn’t typically my type of novel being that I’m not a huge fan of sci-fi, fantasy, thrillers, time travel or philosophical novels, but I couldn’t help being captivated by this amazing novel. Why? Because even though this focuses a lot on sci-fi elements, it also is in large part about human emotion. And it’s a love story to our memories of family, loss, and even romance.

I think this is an eminently readable sci-fi, fantasy thriller both for fans of that style of book and for those who don’t typically read these genres but are looking to dip their toes in something new. Read this one!

Blake Crouch has done it again!!! Recursion was fascinating, confusing and brilliant!

Dark Matter is one of my favorite sci-fi books of all time so I was almost scared to delve into Recursion - nervous it wouldn't live up to my expectations for Crouch. This book was ambitious. Thankfully, I had nothing to fear. Mr. Crouch's brilliant mind hasn't failed us yet.

Recursion deals with memory - preserving memory, and using it to shift our reality. What a roller coaster ride this was. Can you imagine going back into a specific memory with all the knowledge you have now? What would you change or do differently if given the opportunity for a "do over"?


Barry Sutton is a NYPD Detective who answers a "jumper" call. As he attempts to talk her down from the ledge he learns she is suffering from False Memory Syndrome - vivid memories of an alternate life. These memories feel real and those suffering from FMS have difficulty reconciling the dual memories/lives.

Meanwhile, neuroscientist Helena Smith has devoted her life to memory research. She wants to map memories to preserve them. Her greatest hope is to help people with Alzheimers, Dementia and brain injuries. Ultimately she uncovers more than just a way to map memories. Her research leads to the discovery that causes FMS. Helena and her researchers travel back into past memories. This leads to changes which cause dual timeline memories for everyone involved.

Barry and Helena's stories intersect as they find themselves face to face with the darker implications of the research. Each change comes with a cost. As more and more people suffer from FMS, mass hysteria builds. Are our minds strong enough to handle dual realities? Can multiple timeline memories coexist in the same person? Can the world handle this type of technology?

Recursion certainly made me think and question everything I know about reality. I couldn't help but wonder about those moments of deja vu we all experience. What if there was more to them? Ultimately our memories make up who we are. They are definitely powerful and I love how Crouch explored this topic. It was thought provoking, emotional and made for fascinating reading.

Recursion is Blake Crouch’s newest wonder. This sci-fi novel is one-of-kind and he clearly has a knack for penning highly scientific, yet easily readable and creatively unique stories. It’s not often that you find a book about something entirely different than the norm, and Blake Crouch has done it...again .
This story centers around the concept of our memories and what they mean to us as humans. If one was to discover the ability to manipulate memories, what affect would that have on our reality and life as we know it, and what would the far-reaching consequences be? It’s a slippery slope, as the characters in this book will discover. Despite the daunting topic, this story is immediately immersive and a definite page-turner,until about two-thirds of the way through. At that point the story begins to get caught in a loop, repeating certain events, for effect, but the result is that it begins to get bogged down in some scientific jargon, and feels somewhat repetitive and long. Once past this, however, the story picks up and concludes quite nicely, making some really poignant points to ponder. Overall, it’s well-written, thought-provoking, emotional and incredibly intriguing.

I enjoyed this book! It was an interesting time travel/science fiction story. I loved the concept. I do wish Helena was a more fully fleshed out character. She felt a little wooden at times. But I found this book to be very entertaining.

When you purchase a Blake Crouch novel you know two things for certain: 1. YOU ARE IN FOR ONE HELL OF A RIDE 2. YOU WILL FEEL AN IMMENSE SENSE OF EMPTINESS UNTIL HIS NEXT NOVEL COMES OUT
Blake Crouch is through and through one of my all time favorite writers. Recursion marks the seventh novel of his that I have absorbed into my brain like a sponge. Famously know for the Wayward Pines trilogy and Dark Matter, Recursion enters as a fast-paced, breath-taking summer read of apocalyptic proportions. People around the globe are suffering from a condition know as False Memory Syndrome. This condition drives people insane with memories of a life that they have never lived before, even so far as to the brink of suicide. Enter Barry Sutton, a cop who is investigated this rapidly growing threat until he becomes hopelessly intertwined with a truth that is simply incomprehensible.
Helena Smith is a brilliant neuroscience who is on the verge of inventing a machine that will cure Alzheimer's and ends up inventing something far more ground-breaking than anything previously known to man. But, with this invention comes intense repercussions and powerful people that desperately want the machine for their own selfish motivations.
Crouch has created a truly original work that makes it difficult to compare to others. If I had to compare it to other works I would say it is one part Groundhog's Day and two parts Inception. This is an immense story with layers upon layers of plot that continue to spiral out of control into apocalyptic proportions. It addresses questions of morality, love and the heavy burden of great power and responsibility.
I wish to thank NetGalley for a chance to absorb this amazing work before it was even released so I could let everyone know just how engrossing Crouch's newest work truly is!

This was posted on my Goodreads account:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2698513832

Thank You to Crown Publishing and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

WOW!!
This is one book that will have you still thinking about it weeks after you finishing reading it.
Imagine being able to go back to a time in your life where you made a bad decision or lived through a devastating event and have a chance to live it again with a different outcome.
Would you do it?
Would you still do it knowing that changing the past could result in also changing the past of people around you and not necessarily for the better.


I loved everything about this book. I loved Helen and Barry and the sacrifices they made for each other to try and rewrite a new ending for the world. I loved the concept of this book. The one thing I did not love was the ending and that was only because it meant the story was at an end.
Great book for anyone into science and technology and it's effects on society

Blake Crouch is quickly becoming one of my very favorite authors. I read Dark Matter when it was released, and I was blown away. I finished the first book in the Way Pines trilogy, Pines, last week, and I was once again blown away. Then came this sci-fi thriller, and ho-y crap! I was absolutely overwhelmed with delight. This is a book I will reccomend to anyone and everyone that asks me what their next read should be.

Recursion alternates between the perspective of neuroscientist, Helena Smith, in the year 2007, and NYPD detective, Barry Sutton, in the year 2018. The reader follows Helena's attempt to cure Alzheimers as she develops a device to retrieve memories, and Barry's investigation of a mysterious disease known as False Memory Syndrome, FMS.

This is an addictive thriller that you will not be able to put down once you start. Thank you so much to Netgalley for sending me an advanced copy!!

I couldn’t put down this intense mind-bending thriller! It starts out with a scientist trying to create a “memory chair” to help her mother with Alzheimer’s and takes off from there. I don’t want to give away any spoilers but it is quite the ride. The characters were fully fleshed out and I could empathize with their plight. The only reason I wouldn’t give this a five stars is a couple awkward chapters near the end that were written a little too scientific and technical instead of integrated into the story. I would highly recommend this book.

Thanks to NetGalley, Crown Publishing, and the author Blake Crouch an advanced digital review copy. This book will be published June 11, 2019.

Here’s my favorite part about Blake’s books: he has a way of making me feeling like I’m a freakin’ genius. Sure, I always spend the first 50-100 pages confused as hell, re-reading and trying to figure out what’s going on, teetering on the edge of feeling like a complete moron. Happened with Dark Matter. Happened here. And both times, there’s that moment when it all clicks. The science makes sense, I finally understand what‘s happening, and I have this euphoric feeling that I’m the smartest person to ever read a book (sidenote: i am not). Here’s what you should know: if you liked #DarkMatter, you will like #Recursion. The formula is similar to Dark Matter: the story starts at a micro level (a man and his family), a crazy scientific concept is introduced, said scientific concept gets into the wrong hands and is used for nefarious purposes, things escalate very quickly (and by very quickly i mean the last 100 pages completely go off the rails). It is for sure one of the COOLEST books I’ve read this year: un-putdownable, cinematic in scope, and by far one of my favorite sci-fi reads in some time.

A little slow-going for me at first, this book quickly took off in mind-bending and mind-blowing concepts about time and memory and alternate reality via alternate timelines that may or may not have once happened. The book ended a bit disappointingly, but, was overall so amazing, creative, and inventive, that I'm not mad about it. Like Blake Crouch's last book, I was most intrigued by the multiple alternatives we're shown. Such as, if one thing changes, what does that mean for a 70+ year life? If another thing is tweaked just slightly, a whole new timeline is created and changed. I can't imagine how delicate an operation it must be to compose such a story, and weave everything just so. I'm sure a smarter person may have the ability to find more holes, but I was enjoying the concept too much to nit pick. Great read!

“Do you want to change the word with me?”

Mind-bending, smart and very thought-provoking! What would you do if you invented a object that could literally bend time and memory and change the course of history? What would you do with this technology? Those are just some of the questions posed by Blake Crouch in this incredibly action-packed and suspenseful thriller. There is so much discussion of time and space and memory that I feel like I just had a physics lesson. In the very best way!

Barry is a New York City cop mourning the loss of his daughter. His grief has driven him apart from his beloved wife Julia and they both are shells of their former selves. Barry’s grief as a father simply overwhelm him. Then one day he is called to scene of a potentially suicidal woman. That sets off a rapid chain of events that are so mind-bending and creative that I simply cannot imagine where the author gets his ideas from! From New York City to Arizona to Antartica, Barry and a team of scientists rocket down a path that might ultimately lead to the end of civilization as we know it. Can Barry and the brilliant researcher Helena solve the puzzle of the devastating mass “false memory syndrome” that is plaguing the world?

“If we can’t rely on memory, our species will unravel. And it’s already beginning.”

This thrilling story took many twists and turns and I applaud the author for sustaining this very thought-provoking tale to its fantastic conclusion. There is even a beautiful romance at the heart of this story because really, what is life without love?

“Is this real? Is this happening? It can’t be, and yet it feels exactly like living.”

If you have ever experienced deja vu or have been been interested in the concept of non-linear time, you will love this book. It is addictive and suspenseful and I could not put it down. ‘Recursion’ is one of those books that would make a fantastic movie. Calling Keanu Reeves!

“Because memory . . . is everything.”