Recursion
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-09-21 05:50:56
- Update Date：2025-09-07
- Status：finish
- Author：Blake Crouch
- ISBN：1509866671
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
Memory makes reality。
That's what NYC 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。
That's what neuroscientist Helena Smith believes。 It's why she's dedicated her life to creating a technology that will let us preserve our most precious memories。 If she succeeds， anyone will be able to re-experience a first kiss， the birth of a child， the final moment with a dying parent。
As Barry searches for the truth， he comes face to face with an opponent more terrifying than any disease—a force that attacks not just our minds， but the very fabric of the past。 And as its effects begin to unmake the world as we know it， only he and Helena， working together， will stand a chance at defeating it。
But how can they make a stand when reality itself is shifting and crumbling all around them？
At once a relentless pageturner and an intricate science-fiction puzzlebox about time， identity， and memory， Recursion is a thriller as only Blake Crouch could imagine it—and his most ambitious， mind-boggling， irresistible work to date。
That's what NYC 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。
That's what neuroscientist Helena Smith believes。 It's why she's dedicated her life to creating a technology that will let us preserve our most precious memories。 If she succeeds， anyone will be able to re-experience a first kiss， the birth of a child， the final moment with a dying parent。
As Barry searches for the truth， he comes face to face with an opponent more terrifying than any disease—a force that attacks not just our minds， but the very fabric of the past。 And as its effects begin to unmake the world as we know it， only he and Helena， working together， will stand a chance at defeating it。
But how can they make a stand when reality itself is shifting and crumbling all around them？
At once a relentless pageturner and an intricate science-fiction puzzlebox about time， identity， and memory， Recursion is a thriller as only Blake Crouch could imagine it—and his most ambitious， mind-boggling， irresistible work to date。
Reviews
PJ
，
There is nothing scarier than your own brain。 Who needs horror stories？ We have Blake Crouch。 As with Dark Matter， he makes the impossible seem possible， and that is a scary thing。
Emma
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3。5 starsWhat's with this ending？ 3。5 starsWhat's with this ending？ 。。。more
Andrea Dr。 Strádi
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A romantikus érzelmek kicsit nagyobb részét képezték a motivációknak， mint az nálam optimális， de ettől függetlenül izgalmas történet volt。
Gemma
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I don’t know who I am anymore。 This book fucked me up。
Heather
，
An imaginative thriller that I liked even better than Dark Matter！ I couldn't put this one down！ An imaginative thriller that I liked even better than Dark Matter！ I couldn't put this one down！ 。。。more
leanj
，
Really impressive book and story。 Was surprised when the romance snucked in there but I'm glad its part of the book。 100% recommend this to be your next read！ Really impressive book and story。 Was surprised when the romance snucked in there but I'm glad its part of the book。 100% recommend this to be your next read！ 。。。more
Vincent Biroscak
，
Wow！ If you like time travel/alternate reality books， put this at the top of your list！I’ll admit I was completely confused in the beginning and almost made the mistake of moving on to something else。 So glad I didn’t。 This is one of those books I wish I could go back and read again without knowing anything。 It all unfolds in two big stories one at an intimate ， personal level and another about the fate of all humankind。 The ending is beyond spectacular， which is so hard to do in most stories。 D Wow！ If you like time travel/alternate reality books， put this at the top of your list！I’ll admit I was completely confused in the beginning and almost made the mistake of moving on to something else。 So glad I didn’t。 This is one of those books I wish I could go back and read again without knowing anything。 It all unfolds in two big stories one at an intimate ， personal level and another about the fate of all humankind。 The ending is beyond spectacular， which is so hard to do in most stories。 Do yourself a favor and give this a read！ 。。。more
Wallace Furlani
，
4。5 ⭐️
Rohan Bhandari
，
Blake Crouch proves again why he is one of the best！It’s hard for me to believe that I can sit through a whole 350 page book in a day。 Not once， but twice。 Thanks to Blake Crouch’s two novels - Dark Matter and Recursion！Reading Recursion is like a roller coaster ride。 Unlike Dark Matter， whose pace was at overdrive mode at all the time， this book gives us glimpses of ultimate showdown to come and when it does， it just blows you away。 You just can’t put this book away until you finish it。I’m not Blake Crouch proves again why he is one of the best！It’s hard for me to believe that I can sit through a whole 350 page book in a day。 Not once， but twice。 Thanks to Blake Crouch’s two novels - Dark Matter and Recursion！Reading Recursion is like a roller coaster ride。 Unlike Dark Matter， whose pace was at overdrive mode at all the time， this book gives us glimpses of ultimate showdown to come and when it does， it just blows you away。 You just can’t put this book away until you finish it。I’m not a science expert so I will not comment on the physics aspect of it。 Not I will try to find any loop holes。 All I wanted was Sci-fi thriller book which would satisfy that itch and it did。Cheers！ 。。。more
Leahrae
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It was good and definitely messed with my brain！ Wish it had a more definite ending but I did really like it。 Would encourage anyone that liked this book to also watch Dark on Netflix as they reminded me a lot of each other。
Michael
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I think I read this book before。。。。
Jess28
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So at first I thought this was intriguing。 Then exciting！ But then the last quarter of the book was so drawn out， repetitive and depressing that I only gave it three stars。
Colton
，
The idea of this book is great it started off a little slow and the jumping between stories felt a little jostling at times but the plot and the idea for this story kept me going and enthralled。 When I finally got to the climax of the book， which was a little predictable but still enjoyable， I felt that the author kept trying to top the climax but really fell short。 The story just kept going but now without any real steaks or gravity to keep things grounded。 After all that the author outright te The idea of this book is great it started off a little slow and the jumping between stories felt a little jostling at times but the plot and the idea for this story kept me going and enthralled。 When I finally got to the climax of the book， which was a little predictable but still enjoyable， I felt that the author kept trying to top the climax but really fell short。 The story just kept going but now without any real steaks or gravity to keep things grounded。 After all that the author outright tells you the theme of the book and how you should feel about it and it felt kind of patronizing。 It was a fun read but nothing I would read again。 If you like sort of Syfy with some thriller then this is a good book。 。。。more
Ryan
，
That was really fun！ Exciting， thoughtful， action-packed， fresh and （bonus） introspective and uplifting in its resolution。
Bonnie
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Fun time travel concept that is well thought out and clearly explained。 Lots of fun。
Bryan Edward
，
Mind-bending fun！ I really enjoyed it， and I think I followed all the dips and twists of time。 Really clever！
Shannon
，
I wasn't expecting to like this book， as I am not into science fiction。 I nearly gave up about halfway through， and then there was a plot twist that hooked me in。 There were tedious sections for sure， but overall the story of the relationships kept me interested。 If you could go back and do things differently， would your life play out differently？ Can you ever escape yourself？ I likely will not start reading sci fi， but this was a good exploration of the genre to force me out of my usual space。 I wasn't expecting to like this book， as I am not into science fiction。 I nearly gave up about halfway through， and then there was a plot twist that hooked me in。 There were tedious sections for sure， but overall the story of the relationships kept me interested。 If you could go back and do things differently， would your life play out differently？ Can you ever escape yourself？ I likely will not start reading sci fi， but this was a good exploration of the genre to force me out of my usual space。 。。。more
Joshua Keough
，
really really similar to lathe of heaven imo， but also very good
Idehugo
，
Surto。 Apenas surto！
Logan
，
I'll admit it， I waded slowly through this book。 I was bored by the writing style， I thought the dialogue wasn't anything substantial， but like most other books， it picks up later on。 Thing is， this book picks up and sprints across the finish line and THEN goes for another race， maybe a million; maybe it goes through an indefinite amount of races， stuck in its own time loop and--metaphor's getting lost for the sake of an inside joke with this text。 Point being， Recursion's climax， or its "final I'll admit it， I waded slowly through this book。 I was bored by the writing style， I thought the dialogue wasn't anything substantial， but like most other books， it picks up later on。 Thing is， this book picks up and sprints across the finish line and THEN goes for another race， maybe a million; maybe it goes through an indefinite amount of races， stuck in its own time loop and--metaphor's getting lost for the sake of an inside joke with this text。 Point being， Recursion's climax， or its "final book" in terms of sectioning， was the best climax I've ever read。 It transported me to another realm and made me fear， made me cry， made me wonder。Crouch has a good hand in replicating a movie's feel。 I would expect such from a screenwriter。 Is that satisfactory in a novel， who's to say？ This novel left me with enough admiration that I'm willing to look past it。 I will say， in this timeline or the next， that this book was a blast。4。369/5 。。。more
Daetwan
，
I had a lot of fun reading this book and it was the exact mind bender I was looking for in a novel。 The last 100 pages are wild。 Thanks look forward to reading more by Blake。
Julie
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Audiobook narration was great， but I would recommend actually reading this book。 No spoilers， but due to the nature of the plot， I wished I could have gone back to revisit certain passages more easily。In terms of the actual book itself， wow。 I am so impressed。 Blake Crouch might be my new favorite author。 A+Also， THIS is how you do multiple narrators and time jumps in a book。 Just saying。
Michael Huntone
，
If you thought Crouch's Dark Matter was crazy。。。 wait until you read this！ No idea how Crouch not only conceived of this， but laid it out and kept track of it in his own brain to be able to put this story to paper。 A thrilling mind bender- once you get into it （on page 1） you'll be swept into it， only taking breaks when you start to feel like your brain is bleeding。。。 and it will。 But really， thrilling， enjoyable。。。 highly recommended。 And if you haven't read Dark Matter yet。。。 read that one too If you thought Crouch's Dark Matter was crazy。。。 wait until you read this！ No idea how Crouch not only conceived of this， but laid it out and kept track of it in his own brain to be able to put this story to paper。 A thrilling mind bender- once you get into it （on page 1） you'll be swept into it， only taking breaks when you start to feel like your brain is bleeding。。。 and it will。 But really， thrilling， enjoyable。。。 highly recommended。 And if you haven't read Dark Matter yet。。。 read that one too！ 。。。more
Algernon （Darth Anyan）
，
“Time is an illusion， a construct made out of human memory。 There’s no such thing as the past， the present， or the future。 It’s all happening now。” If the concept sounds familiar it’s probably because this novel is a re-packaging of “Dark Matter”， with only minor cosmetic alterations to the plot and characters。 Speaking of this， both novels also share numerous similarities with the “Wayward Pines” novels， reinforcing the argument that Blake Crouch is some sort of one-trick pony who stumbled on “Time is an illusion， a construct made out of human memory。 There’s no such thing as the past， the present， or the future。 It’s all happening now。” If the concept sounds familiar it’s probably because this novel is a re-packaging of “Dark Matter”， with only minor cosmetic alterations to the plot and characters。 Speaking of this， both novels also share numerous similarities with the “Wayward Pines” novels， reinforcing the argument that Blake Crouch is some sort of one-trick pony who stumbled on a popular formula and is milking it for all its worth。If I sound disappointed right now， it may be due to the wrong expectations about the novel。 I thought it will be about time travel， and it turns out it is just another iteration of the parallel universes theory from “Dark Matter” ， one that is even more flimsily developed than the first time around。 “So do they lose their memories of their real life？”“No， they suddenly have two sets of memories。 One true， one false。 In some cases， patients felt like their memories and consciousness had moved from one life into another。 In others， patients experienced a sudden ‘flash-in’ of false memories from a life they never lived。” The premise is rife with glossed over paradoxes and scientifically sounding mumbo jumbo of the sort that believes it is enough to put in some trigger words like a superconducting quantum interference device or quantum-annealing processors to cover your bases as far as research is concerned。 The novel， like previous ones from Crouch， leans heavily towards the speculative end of the spectrum， relying on fast-paced action and human interest angles to skip over a more thorough scientific argumentation or any concerns about style。 If we can’t rely on memory， our species will unravel。 And its already beginning。 Helena， a researcher into brain functions， and Barry， a New York detective， are the two lead characters of this thriller。 The connection between them is memory。 Both are driven / defined in their present life by past trauma。 Helena has witnessed her mother’s mind become unravelled by Alzheimer disease。 She is now determined to unlock the mysteries of how the brain processes memory。 Barry has lost his daughter a decade ago in a hit-and-run accident and still can put his life back together。 But what if some evil mastermind offers Helena and Barry the means to alter the past， to wipe the board clean and start all over from scratch？ Sure， playing with the nature of reality might bring the whole universe down on our heads， but who cares about the apocalypse when your own happiness is within grasp？ 。。 the concept of the present is just an illusion， made out of memories and constructed by our brain。 The subjective nature of reality is not a new concept。 In fact， I can name a few science-fiction novels where the idea was beautifully implemented: “Time and Again”by Jack Finney and “Somewhere in Time” by Richard Matheson。 [Late in the novel there is even a quote from “Slaughterhouse-Five” by Kurt Vonnegut Jr。 that appears to reinforce the relation between memory and reality if you take it out of context of what that novel is all about]。 In both my examples the protagonists travel back in time by the power of their memories of the past。 Blake Crouch could have done something good with the concept， but he is not really interested in ideas。 My impression is that he is first of all a Hollywood scriptwriter who uses his novels as a winning pitch to studio executives for a future blockbuster movie。 The pacing， the special effects and the thriller part of the novel take precedence over character development and plot consistency。 I believe he is self-aware of these elements， but like any good craftsman takes pride in his achievements。 “ ’Now’ is just an illusion， an accident of how our brains process reality。”“That’s just 。。。 freshman philosophy shit。” Having unloaded all my frustration at misplaced expectations， I must finally say that ‘Recursion’ is a decent thriller， an easy read and maybe even a thought provoking speculative exercise for readers who are still unfamiliar with the repetitive nature of the author’s novels。 Bring in the popcorn！ Barry chokes down the grief， pops the trunk， and grabs his tactical shotgun and a box of shells。 。。。more
Emily
，
3。5 ⭐️
Madeleine
，
This felt like it was written backwards from the ending （much like a recursive function！） the last third was riveting， but the early stages were much less engaging。Character development was scant， which made the love story seem like an odd choice for a throughline。 Was the journey worth the payoff？ I’m not sure。
Steve
，
Really cool premise and mechanics， it was an easy read too
Adam
，
Have you ever listened to a song from Girl Talk？ He takes all these powerfully nostalgic samples from memorable hip hop songs and mashes them together。 The songs in their entirety aren’t great， but they are listenable， and it’s fun to hear what comes next。 This is the book version of that。 There’s the bloody noses from Butterfly Effect， using time travel for love like in Grimwood’s Replay， learning from previously lived lives to try to save the world like in Edge of Tomorrow， time being experien Have you ever listened to a song from Girl Talk？ He takes all these powerfully nostalgic samples from memorable hip hop songs and mashes them together。 The songs in their entirety aren’t great， but they are listenable， and it’s fun to hear what comes next。 This is the book version of that。 There’s the bloody noses from Butterfly Effect， using time travel for love like in Grimwood’s Replay， learning from previously lived lives to try to save the world like in Edge of Tomorrow， time being experienced all at once like Chiang’s Story of Your Life， and I’m sure I’m missing many others。 Recursion is almost a greatest hits album of science fiction tropes， and while Crouch has crocheted interesting patches into his tapestry the final third stalled a bit for me and left my toes cold。The most exciting part of this story was in the middle as the pieces started to fit together。 Trying to work out what the heck is happening provided a tensile strength to much of this book that helped propel the plot。 But I found the final act sputtering， and with much of the mystery gone I had to push myself to the finish。 The couple in this story might be soulmates for eternity but I experienced relationship fatigue just thinking about them。Memory makes reality。 That’s the tagline。 And for a while it did seem like Crouch had a unique take on alternate timelines and memory controlling our perception of reality。 But by the end it just felt like another time travel story。 And the emotional lynchpin？“Life with a cheat code isn’t life。 Our existence isn’t something to be engineered or optimized for the avoidance of pain。 That’s what it is to be human—the beauty and the pain， each meaningless without the other。”Yeah。 Can’t have the sweet without the sour。 I didn’t find this theme to be that interesting to be honest。 It’s been done before and I also just think it’s common sense。But I don’t want to come off too negative as I did enjoy the book。 Crouch is an interesting author。 His last two books explore dense and classic science fiction themes， but he’s quite talented at commercializing them for a modern audience。 His books are quick and snappy and mine interesting ground。 He’s definitely a master of the ‘I don’t know if this makes any sense it’s all happening so fast！’ writing style。I’ll definitely keep monitoring Crouch’s books in the future。Story-7， Language-7， Ideas-8， Characters-7， Enjoyment-7， Overall=7。2 。。。more
Benjamin
，
Page-turner。 Can’t wait for the Netflix series。
Chuck Karas
，
Great story but could be a little confusing at times。 An interesting premise that you must first die first to live in another timeline。 Helena Smith， a brilliant scientist， creates an incredible invention to relive memories with good intentions to cure her mothers alzheimers。 Her funder Marcus Slade has other intentions。
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Recursion
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Recursion&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Recursion&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0