Recursion

2.5 stars. began promisingly but eventually lost me. complex and ambitious, perhaps to a fault and a really poorly executed romance between the main 2 characters. what kept me going was the action.

A wonderful, thrilling ride.

ONE OF MY FAVS OF ALL TIME

I've heard good things about Blake Crouch, this is the first novel I've read by this author, and I am impressed. I recognized this name from thriller shelves, but I have to say his Sci-Fi is fantastic. This is a time travel loop story, always a favorite with me. It's very specific about what kind of time travel it is, which I always appreciate. What really impressed me was just how much story is crammed into 326 pages, I think there are longer books with less plot development than this book has by its halfway point.The premise of this book is really cool to me, part of it is how unique the science aspect of this book is. Most time travel stories have physics come up with the time portal/chair/chamber, but in Recursion time travel is a function of memory. This is a dual perspective narrative: The story follows a New York detective who gets sucked into some time travel shenanigans while investigating the outbreak of FMS in NYC. False Memory Syndrome is afflicting people seemingly at random, with the victims waking up to find complete sets of alternative memories from a different life. Our second MC is Helen, the scientist who's misused Alzheimer research into memory is twisted to create an invention that is wreaking havoc across the timeline. I don't want to give away any more of the time travel stuff As far as logically sound time travel goes, I think this qualifies, as for its level of complexity: this is a better thought out Tenet (2020). Not only that, but I wasn't super focused on figuring out the minutiae of the time traveling in this book, the way the time travel works enables the narrative to jump tracks without confusing the reader. This quirk of the story reminded me of old fix up novels. I will note that unlike fix up novels, there is a distinct plan that the narrative is following. Reading through this felt like being attached to a rope at the bottom of a well, and with each leap the story takes it tugs you towards its ending. Very Nice. A+This is totally spoiler territory, but I did not like the romance that develops between Barry and Helena. I understand that given the time loop in the story, there needed to be a second person to break the loop. I can also see that it's super convent if they're married and soul bonded. That kind of sucks, fine; they're soul bonded, that's got to be pretty cool and intense and beautiful, right? It really wasn't, it sounded excruciating and didn't at all focus on the romance as a factor in what is effectively a hundred-year time skip. Just one smooch in all that time, that's all we get. Maybe I'm just a little freak but like if you're going to have your characters spend like 133 years married to each other, maybe let us know how that sex life is going. I think that instinctively I know that what would have made this story perfect was a more intense connection between Helena and Barry. This is a great time travel story, someone should sell this to Nolan. The science/sci-fi speculation is also top-notch; it's cool to know that even as we learn more about the surrounding universe, that we are still able to find fields of study where much is unknown and imagine the possibilities. I am giving it monster bonus points for being a good time travel story and having a type of speculation that's unique. This came out the same year as [b:This is How You Lose the Time War 43352954 This is How You Lose the Time War Amal El-Mohtar https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1653185078l/43352954.SX50.jpg 58237743] and it surprised me that of the two time travel stories that year, this isn't the one getting the buzz because this book is a much more entertaining and interesting read.This is on the border between 4 and 5. A little romance would have gone a long way, so I'm going to be a conservative on this one just as a matter of personal taste.

2.5 stars. This really did not hit for me. In the moments I regained momentum, they were moments of hope, I suppose. But generally this book was bleak in a boring and pedestrian way.

I loved it, more so than Dark Matter. It has been three days and I am turning over so many thoughts about the way this book built to its crescendo, and quietly left me with the space to truly sit with the ramifications of the narrative.

An entertaining take on the classic time loop trope with ever-increasing stakes.

Psa: One thing I'd say is that when you pick up this book, you will be confused in the beginning. You WILL have trouble keeping up with different timelines. But then you'll understand what's happening and get used to it. Don't stop reading because you were confused in the beginning.

Okay, now to the book.

It was always interesting to pick up the book to see where the story is going. Some parts of it are predictable but it doesn't take much away from the story. The story is still always intriguing. At one point I felt like - urgh just tell me what happens already!! (In a good way).

The story picks up pace around the mid of book 2. And it gets interesting really quickly. So much so that you don't want to keep the book down.

I loved the sci-fi aspect of it. I loved the time aspect of it. What I didn't like was a bit of science but hey it's fiction.

I don't feel like I can properly express the complexity of my rating without mentioning some spoilers, so please turn back now if you don't want to know what happens.

___

This book was a hard one to review because I don't really have one specific feeling about the thing as a whole. The premise here is that a super rich guy approaches a scientist and helps her build a machine that can map and bring back memories under the guise that she'll be able to help her mom and millions others with Alzheimer's. An NYPD detective investigates a woman's death who claims to be experiencing memories as if they really happened. Turns out reliving memories in the machine creates a kind of time travel back to that memory which, in turn, causes discrepancies in timelines to become merged as the newly discovered “False Memory Sydrome.”

Chapter 1 - For me, this was a 5/5. We bounce around the two main characters where Barry's story is a sort of neo-noir crime thriller and Helena's is that of a sci-fi thriller. A woman with false memory syndrome kills herself (a recurring theme in later chapters) and Barry's curiosity leads him to seek answers. Helena is approached by a shadowy figure who offers her unlimited money for a research project.

Ch 2 - The reader starts getting answers as to what Helena's research is actually leading to. Barry gets an opportunity of a life time. Are any of their troubles worth it? Solid 4/5 on this chapter.

Chapters 3-5 - So, this is where things get hairy. I have to give these chapters like 2-2.5/5. Up until this point, there is a cohesive story going on, and Crouch really does his best on trying to wrap things up. It's not entirely his fault. It's just that any time someone does any sort of time travel, by the second visit, things fall apart. This sort of fiction becomes rife with inconsistencies and in-universe rule breaking. Also, because of all the damage Helena's machine has done, there's really no way that the book could have ended with any sort of satisfactory happy ending. The ending he did choose was kind of an ass pull to be perfectly honest.

Going in blind, the tone changes really caught me off guard. I thought I was getting into like a Blade Runner/Maltese Falcon type situation, but then Helena's story made me think it was going more Jurassic Park/playing God type stuff. We're thrown straight into a reality best described by Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse-Five and even treated with a quote from the book. That quickly descends into a chain of events that gives us Minority Report into all-out nuclear war. I really wish Crouch stayed with the memory plot and less with time travel/paradoxes. I was happy to Barry's daughter come back and the complexities that arose, but I was rolling my eyes by the time he was married to Helena in a new timeline. That just didn't do it for me. All in all, I really enjoyed Crouch's writing style and would be glad to revisit something that hopefully isn't as convoluted as time travel.

This was a good book. Lots of jumping around in time but it all makes sense. Not sure about the open-ended ending but overall an enjoyable read.

Very much in the flavor, style, and spirit of ‘Dark Matter' with the all of the best qualities of said other book - the quick pace, the clever story structure, and certainly the mystery and intrigue.  As the plot unfolds, it is evident that the thought is to play with similar ideas as his other works, but the author also manages to make this distinctly adjacent in a way that makes it feel completely different.  And while there are certain exposition and plot device elements that were slightly difficult to follow in the middle, you are able to get the gist of it.  In a great way, the story evolves to a more streamlined sci-fi tale in the last third, but it also feels earned and is one of the best stretches of the book as it blends/integrates these elements with philosophy, moral, and ethical dynamics and dilemmas. This all consistently raises the stakes and things escalate in a way that make it a ‘page turner' when everything does go sideways, ultimately leading to a satisfying conclusion.

I am late to the party, but I loves this one. Can't wait to try his other works.

Loving the Sci-Fi genre with the element of time bend. Really works the brain. The writing style is great. Thanks to my visualization powers, I have seen a great film now hahah

Like its predecessor, this is a very predictable book, but this time without the surprise element.

I am pretty sure this book was written to get some prospect contracts for screen formats or something.

The worst thing is reading it right after Dark Matter, because then its flaws are easier to spot. But that's what most people actually do.

PS: The author does not seem to know what recursion really is. I had to force myself to give it another definition in order to finish the book.

4.5 stars. Love a time loop. Just a damn good time.

I heard there are two types of people. Those who prefer Dark Matter and those who prefer Recursion. I guess I'm in the second camp? But only barely.

As much as I liked Dark Matter I guessed the ending at the beginning and situations they got into were getting more and more ridiculous. But it was a thrill ride until the end even though now that I look back I consider the last third of it the weakest.

On the other hand Recursion was borderline between 3 and 4 stars until the last third where it got crazy and amazing. I guess it shows that if you have strong ending it counts for more than having strong core story and weak ending. The re-readability is also much higher than Dark Matter's as the story is about manipulating time.

First three acts (out of five) were kinda losing me. I also admit I wasn't in the headspace to read about deaths and time manipulation while going through a loss myself. Pacing is slower throughout most of the book which was actually welcomed because the situations MCs got into weren't as ridiculous even when they were mind/reality-bending.

Around 100 pages before the end one of the MCs made the dumbest thing I've read this year only for it to lead to the best scene I've read this year so far. So let's call it even. And the book did not let go from there until the end which solidified the 4 star rating.

There was also no cheating regarding page count with no
...sentences structured...
like...
this.

There are suppose to be some plot holes here. Can anyone tell me what they are? Slade says that he manipulated the timeline at the end to make Helena believe it's impossible to enter dead memory. So the interview with the convict who died was orchestrated by Slade to convince Helena. Which means it's not a plot hole. What else is there?

First of all, it is a loop, not a recursion. As a programmer, the definitions of the two words are very different. But, if you use “Loop” as the title, it will be not as catchy as “Recursion”, so, that is okay.

It was starting with a very promising unique non-mainstream sci-fi story. A machine that can record and simulate the memory immersively where you can live and enjoy the moment and full sensory stimulation based on your memory. At the same time, there is a new disease called False Memory Syndrom, as the reader, we will try to guess what is the connection between these two phenomena. The story was very promising, until, somehow, it turns out to be another time-traveling story.

To be fair, Recursion still gives a unique non-mainstream time-traveling story. I define mainstream story as repairing the time paradox or multiverse creation (a very meh story). But Recursion, since the main theme is about memory, introduces a unique concept: a Dead Memory, that everybody can remember a timeline before the user goes back to “memory” (time) and changes the history. It gives fear and nightmare to people because from their perspective, they are living two lives and both memories are as real to each other.

There are several other rules, as this concept will give another implication. At first, I need time to adjust the concept as it never appears in another story. However, after you are used to this concept, the story flows as a usual time-traveling story.

I still enjoy the rest of the story, as the actions and the problem-solving are very intriguing. But I think I can't give more than 4 stars, 3.5 is the max.

5/5 but I would give this 1000000 stars if I could. One of my new favorite books of all time wow.

A quick, fun read with some interesting concepts and philosophy. The dialogue sounds more like a TedX talk than human conversation and there is way too much plot getting in the way of the story.

Lots of timey wimey stuff.

Several original ideas presented in a fun-to-read way. Never seen some of these concepts explored in the this direction.

I don't think I would have enjoyed this book as much if I wasn't reading it with other people. It started off very intense and you jump right into it. That made me interested in reading further. But as the story went on it became very convoluted and it sort of loses its impact. I didn't really care about the story or the characters that much. Especially the whole part on the oil rig. It was just a whole sequence of finding out Slade is a fucking asshole and manipulating Helena out of her own life. 

Then when Barry and Helena meet it's even worse. They sort of skip out on this whole falling-in-love thing. They tell us they are so fucking in love but that just falls out of nowhere. The book doesn't actually describe them falling in love. Which makes me not care about them. 

The whole lifetimes at the end, I also didn't really like. I don't really know why. Maybe because we only see it from Barry's point of view or because it just sort of seemed like pointless intensity. We all know that this isn't the end of the book so we know Helena is going to go back in the machine. So then nothing feels like it's as tense as they want it to be. 

I will admit I'm highly biased with regard to the subject matter of this book (and Upgrade, another novel from Crouch). So take that into consideration for my 5 star rating. This book blew my mind. I reread a chapter before moving forward because of the explosion of imagination it triggered. Would recommend anyone with a love for sci-fi read it.

I must admit that Crouch's writing style just works for me and I'd probably enjoy reading just about anything written in that style (at least based on the 2 books of his I have read which is admittedly a small sample).

A fantastic read! The science had me thinking the whole way through while the thriller aspect kept me on the edge of my seat. A truly pleasurable read. Highly recommended.