Recursion by Blake Crouch
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I feel like I am waking from a fever dream.
Recursion. Wow.
The possibility of this type of scenario in a future world is terrifying. Can you even imagine?
Maybe you don’t know what Recursion is about. Honestly, I am not sure I can adequately summarize it.
Basically, this novel follows two characters, Helena Smith and Barry Sutton.
Helena is a neuroscientist who is dedicated to creating a technology that will save our memories. Her mother is losing a battle with dementia and all Helena wants to do is help her before it is too late.
She gets recruited to work for a private company, but when her work goes too well, she’s afraid of the repercussions if the technology should fall into the wrong hands.
And, oh baby, is she ever right!
Barry is a New York City cop, who, when he can no longer ignore its significance, begins to investigate a phenomenon known as False Memory Syndrome, or FMS.
FMS is so powerful, it is causing a significant number of people to take their own lives. It is a mystery as to what the cause of the syndrome is, but Barry is hoping he will be able to uncover it.
When we begin following Barry and Helena, they are in different timelines, but eventually, those converge and a partnership develops.
Helena essentially helps Barry, by filling in a lot of missing pieces to his investigation.
This was such a wild ride. No one does temporal stories like Blake Crouch. The shifting timelines, the examination of time as a construct, dimension, however you want to describe it, it’s amazing to read.
Recursion left me reeling. A Neuroscientific Thriller for the record books. I am so glad I finally made the time for this one. It was hella fun!
I did get confused a bit as it starts racing to the conclusion. There were a lot of jumps and perspectives to try to remember and recall.
I think partly, that may have been because, it got so intense, I was reading really quickly. I needed to know what the heck was going to happen.
That’s not necessarily a bad thing, it just makes it hard to let every detail sink in and I think this is a very detail-oriented story.
If you liked Dark Matter like I did, you should definitely check this one out. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.
Write on, Crouch! I can’t wait to see what he whips up next!!