I have been a huge fan of Blake Crouch since long before any of his books were turned into TV shows and I won't be surprised if this novel ends up as a TV series too, a movie wouldn't do it justice.
Barry Sutton is a cop investigating False Memory Syndrome, a strange disorder that causes sufferers of this malady to recall in perfect detail memories of living an entirely different life than the one they really have. Nobody knows what causes it or whether it is possibly contagious but once someone has False Memory Syndrome those in their close social circles seem to come down with it as well.
Helena Smith is a brilliant Neuroscientist who has been working on way to preserve memories in hopes of helping her mother who is rapidly forgetting everything and everyone to Alzheimer's. Her technology is successful beyond anyone's imagination and can give users the ability not just to remember the past but to relive it. What could possibly go wrong? When Barry is given the "gift" of a chance to relive the past and be a better father, son and husband he will find out what can go wrong, on more than one timeline.
This book will blow your mind.

"Recursion" by Blake Crouch
The sci-fi master of head games returns with another one. Blake Crouch's new novel follows a detective who is called to the edge of a building where a woman is going to jump. She tells him: "I have false memory syndrome."

"People are suddenly waking up and remembering another life that has run parallel to the one that they're living, and one is in all color, and one is faded, in black and white, but they both feel real. Suddenly people have memories of a spouse or career that they never had ... It end ups that it is something that's happening because of a neuroscientist named Helena, who has invented kind of a time machine ... I ignored my family so I could just get through the book, I wanted to know what was happening." -Stephanie Curtis

3.5 Stars

A sci-fi thriller with tons of twists. This book is dense; there is so much going on that at times I felt a little overwhelmed. But it was definitely worth it. We follow our two main characters, Billy, a NYPD detective, and Helena, a scientist intimately involved with the False Memory Syndrome. Knowing much more than that would spoil the wild ride that is Recursion.

I received an advanced copy through Netgalley in return for an honest review.

Call the chiropractor. This book gave me mental whiplash and I loved it. Talk about a mind bender! What if you could undo something in your past and relive your life from just before that point? Would you? In Blake Crouch's genre-bending thriller set in present day, FMS (False Memory Syndrome) is an unwanted side effect to using the device invented to give you a "do over." Told from the perspective of Barry (a police officer investigating the phenomenon) and Helena (the inventor), you will find yourself hop-scotching through time and staying up late to see how it all ends.

A big thank you to Crown Publishing and NetGalley for the opportunity to preview this genre-defying thriller in exchange for an honest review.

Special thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Overall, 3 stars. The first 50% was without a doubt 5 stars, but the repetition for the last half of the book was a bit too tedious for me.

If you were given a chance to go back and change the past, would you? Or would you leave the past in the past?

The book follows a researcher who is desperate to preserve her mother's memory as she deteriorates with Alzheimer's. She is approached by a man and offered unlimited money and resources to complete her research. What she doesn't know is that he plans to use her research for evil.

Then there's Barry who works in law enforcement, while battling depression surrounding his daughter's death and divorce.

In typical Blake Crouch fashion, Recursion is fast-paced, exciting, and hard to put down. Mixing thriller and sci-fi once again, Recursion deals with questions of time and memory in a twisty way that keeps readers guessing. Fans of Dark Matter by Crouch will love this one, although the tone is somewhat darker than Dark Matter's. I highly recommend this to anyone wanting to try out sci-fi who might feel intimidated by a lot of technobabble or lengthy tomes. Crouch keeps the story moving in a way that feels like you're reading a movie, and it's accessible for even the least likely to pick up a science fiction novel.

Blake Crouch’s “Recursion” grabs you from the first page and doesn’t let go until the satisfying conclusion. As a science fiction thriller, the storyline was gripping, but there was still time to explore the dynamics between the two point of view characters and how the events from the story were affecting them. The biggest surprise for me is the book succeeded in explaining complex concepts such as time, reality, and memory without making my head hurt. Then again, I really enjoyed “Dark Matter” so I knew going into this that Blake Crouch had it handled. Future books by Blake Crouch have been elevated to an automatic read for me after “Recursion.”

YES. As a Blake Crouch super-fan, I have been counting down the days to this book - and I promise you, it delivers. I'm so amazed by Crouch's ability to control plots that would, in a lesser author's hands, be completely unwieldy. In Dark Matter, it was travels through the paradoxical multiverse. In Recursion, Crouch weaves together chapters from NYC cop Barry Sutton and neuroscientist Helena Smith - initially, separate timelines, but that eventually converge. The science in this is spooky and fascinating - what I, in my lack of science expertise, call "science magic" (though Crouch, like Crichton, walks the reader through just enough real science that it feels very believable, and you're happy to cross the blurred line between science fact and fiction). There's great engagement in this book with the nature of reality and truth, the weight of "what if?" and the responsibility held by scientific innovators. There's really not much one can say about the plot without getting into spoiler territory, but if you've read Dark Matter, I'll just say... this one gets just as twisty and tricky and frightening, and Crouch never loses control.

Five SHINING stars for this summer blockbuster.

My interview with the author is forthcoming from the Booklist Reader - look for it June 10, then go inhale the book!

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Crown Publishing for this ARC, out 6/11/19!

If you loved Dark Matter by Blake Crouch, you're absolutely going to love Recursion. It is just the mind-bending sci-fi tale I've been waiting for ever since finishing Dark Matter and reading Iain Reid's latest last year. Crouch is one of the most interesting sci-fi writers out there right now in my opinion, and I'm effortlessly intrigued by his writing whenever I pick something of his up. The way this book is structured is perfect, and even all of the scientific jargon makes sense once you get into it and understand what is happening. Crouch paints such a vivid picture for everything he is writing about, and it just makes his work that much more enjoyable. I knew what each character looked like, I could envision them together, I could see what was happening and the destruction that was occurring at every twist and turn. I can't wait to buy this book and start reading it again, because it is already one of my favorites of this year.

I loved this - it felt like a disaster movie mixed with Groundhog Day. Crouch does a great job with adding enough science that it seems feasible without making it hard to understand. I was excited to read this after loving Dark Matter and this was just as entertaining. I can't explain too much without spoilers, but I recommend for fans of thrillers or light sci-fi. This book takes place in the real world with scientific elements that don't exist, so it doesn't feel overly sci-fi, if that normally would put someone off the idea.

Recursion. Recursion. Recursion. I envision Blake Crouch writing while seated at a spinning wheel weaving two yarns together, loosely at first, but increasingly more taut with each pass. The fabric he creates is a sci-fi thriller set in the recent past, or maybe the near future. Does it really matter which?

One of the strands is Barry Sutton, an intermittently retired New York City detective whose life began to fray after tragedy struck his small family. The other strand is Helena Smith, a brilliant neurosurgeon working relentlessly toward a biotech breakthrough in Alzheimer’s research to mend her mother’s memories.

Barry starts digging into what is being called False Memory Syndrome when first-hand details surrounding a suicide case don’t line up with reality. Years pass for Barry who has been living an alternate timeline after some strange events precipitated FMS symptoms of his own.

Meanwhile, Helena’s funding has almost run dry and she is presented with an unbelievable opportunity to continue her research on the Immersive Platform for Projection of Long-Term Explicit, Episodic Memories. The offer of limitless funding, endless resources, a state of the art laboratory, and her own dedicated research team— It comes at the cost of an employment contract, an NDA, living on a repurposed oil rig with unrivaled luxurious amenities, though without the ability to communicate with anyone off-site, and a slightly troubling requirement to work on infrastructure for human trials. She is beyond thrilled.

Barry and Helena meet. Did their paths cross by fate or were they bound by lives already lived? False Memory Syndrome has thrown the world into chaos. Nuclear attacks are launched. Mass suicides erupt. The thread-bare existence of a life lived too many times carries more anguish than any person should have to bear. How is it decided that reality has been unraveled one time too many? Who determines whether stitching it back together would be best forgotten?

Thanks to NetGalley and Crown Publishing for the opportunity to read this book. My review is honest and unbiased. #NetGalley #Recursion

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***PoTeNtiAL sPoiLeR ALeRt***
The title of the book is Recursion: A Novel. If you’re not into experiencing February 2nd for a third or fourth time, skip this one.

I remember being completely blown away by Dark Matter, but I think Blake Crouch topped that novel with Recursion. (And not just because he out-scienced me in Dark Matter.)

Recursion is a wild ride, and he really throws in some sharp twists, turns, and then doubles back around with this one. Neuroscientist Helena Smith is motivated by her mother's Alzheimers to create something that will capture our memories and let us play them back when we have lost them. Meanwhile, Barry Sutton is a NYC copy investigating a suicide that seems to be related to False Memory Syndrome - something that appears to not only affect the primary person who contracts it, but soon everyone related to them, and it seems to be spreading.

This is a tale about memory, time, as well as the repercussions of science and messing with both of the former. Admittedly, the science of it was tricky and fascinating. This was pretty unputdownable, as just when I thought I knew where it might be headed he dropped another twist on me.

It's a pretty fabulous premise and a roller coaster of a read.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing an ARC for review.

Blake Crouch delivered another science fiction thriller hit with this one! It immediately hooked my attention, and I finished it quickly! Definitely a page turner. The story follows two characters on a plot that was inspired from the Mandela Effect. Said effect is a phenomenon in which a care number of people share false memories of past events. Some people speculate that the false memories are caused by parallel universes spilling into our own, while others say the memories are a failure of our collective memory. Crouch's novel deals with the former explanation, as NYPD detective Barry Sutton is investigating "False Memory Syndrome", a condition where people remember false memories of a different life they lived. His investigation will eventually lead him to brilliant scientist, Helena Smith, who invented a device that is changing the world.

I love Crouch's quick writing style and appreciate the little vivid details he gives to fully immerse the reader with the fictional world. Recursion is a quick moving plot that will leave you fully satisfied after reading. Dark Matter fans are sure to fall quickly in love with this story.

4.5/5

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy to review.

Blake Crouch writes my kind of sci-fi. He always provides a fresh and brutal take on genre tropes. In this case, he rewrites the real-world phenomenon of the Mandela Effect, creating an interesting and fast paced narrative surrounding the concept of false memories.

My favorite parts of this book come later in the story, but that's not to say the beginning bits are bad. There's an extended lead-in to the titular theme of the book: recursion. Only once Crouch has fully developed his characters and trimmed the fat, does he dive headfirst into the juicy bits.

The best passage in the book happens when things get as bad as they're going to get. Racing to save themselves (or at least one of them), our leads find themselves in a nightmare scenario. I blew through this part, hit the next chapter, then flipped back to read it all over again. It's one of the coolest, most harrowing and disturbing things I've read. No spoilers, but this scene is set in Crouch's home state of Colorado. I only say that much because I want people to know what I'm talking about, should they read the book.

I've followed Crouch's career since DESERT PLACES and his partnership with J.A. Konrath. He has yet to write a bad book, and has earned insta-buy status from me. I can't wait to see what his mind cooks up next.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Crown Publishing for the review copy. I can't wait to add this hardcover to my collection.

Life is a collection of memories - each moment builds on the previous to create new pages in the story of our existence.

There are few things more difficult and painful than when a loved one begins to lose their memory. In Recursion, Helena’s mission is to save her mother from the atrocities Alzheimer’s by preserving even the smallest and most select memories. She receives funding from a mysterious benefactor in a deal seemingly too good to be true.

Helena’s invention has unintended consequences – it is able to override memories and send the world into alternative timelines (cue Bran from Game of Thrones). Imagine being able to erase losing a loved one by rewinding life to before the tragedy. Further complication matter, alternative timelines cross leaving all humans afflicted with two pasts – think of the most vivid déjà vu where you had a different wife, daughter, life or even death!

Frankly, this is a hard premise to explain because I don’t believe I completely understood how it worked. This was a very complex Groundhog’s Day of sorts that Crouch has become known for. While I don’t believe you need a PhD to enjoy this book, it would certainly help. However, my confusion really did not take away from the characters or the adventure.

I enjoyed the premise but felt this story had two too many reiterations (similar to Dark Matter). I almost wish this narrative was a short story or other form of literature. Recursion gets an A+ for creativity and originality, but a B for execution.

PS - shout out to naming a character Amor Towles author of Couch’s and our favorite book!

Was your mind blown by Dark Matter back in 2016? I remember reading that book in just one day, trying to figure out where in the world this story would end? The big question with his latest book is...can Crouch hit it out of the park again? The answer is YES, he can and he did. This time around the plot focuses on the idea of memory - how are memories made, can they be copied and replanted, and what happens if there's a massive F-up as these people experiment with our memories? The plot begins as Helena is a Stanford scientist, trying desperately to create a chair that when all hooked up, will be able to help her mother, who is suffering from Alzheimer's, recover her life memories. A stranger enters her lab and offers to fund her project but yes, there is a price. The parallel story line involves Barry, a NYC police detective, grieving the death of his daughter after all these years and trying to talk a jumper off a high rise building. How are these two connected? Just jump on this roller coaster of a book and enjoy the screaming, thrilling, hold-onto-the-safety-bar ride.

This rather odd sci-fi story starts out promising. A woman scientist studying memories to help her mother with Alzheimer's finds a seemingly benevolent benefactor who provides unlimited funds in a unique lab set in an old off-shore oil rig. When her efforts seem successful, she prepares to tell the world and help her mother, but her benefactor has other ideas. His new plan involves a special chair and time traveling using memories. The plot takes some unusual turns, many difficult to understand and accept. I couldn't get into the story but I did finish it to see how it ended.

Blake Crouch continues to amaze me in his ability to tell a spellbinding story and educate the reader about very complex topics at the same time. This book blew my mind multiple times and made me reconsider everything I think I know and understand about time and memory. I just hope he keeps writing, I already can't wait for his next book!

I can't recommend this book highly enough, especially to those who loved his last book, Dark Matter. Recursion may be even better.

5 highly enthusiastic stars and I hope everyone reads it!

*Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for my advanced readers copy in exchange for my honest review!!*

Time. I love books that deal with time. Recursion is one of those books. Helena Smith wants to find away to preserve memories for Alzheimer’s patients but invents a technology that does more than that. If you had the chance to do a “do over” would you despite the moral implications and how it affects the world around you? I liked the concept of the book because it is so different than many other books out there dealing with time. Recursion is a mind blowing thrill ride that was difficult to put down. I haven’t been disappointed yet by Blake Crouch and Recursion is probably one of my top favorites of his so far.

This is a worthy follow up the the author's previous novel Dark Matter. This is science fiction for everyone, not just the usual science fiction fans. It is also a thriller and has a touch of romance. It deals with time (and time travel), memory and identity. I will be enthusiastically recommending it to my friends and customers.