Recursion

A Novel

By: Blake Crouch

Narrated by: Jon Lindstrom, Abby Craden

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From the bestselling author of Dark Matter and the Wayward Pines trilogy comes a relentless thriller about time, identity, and memory—his most mind-boggling, irresistible work to date, and the inspiration for Shondaland’s upcoming Netflix film.

“Gloriously twisting . . . a heady campfire tale of a novel.”—The New York Times Book Review

NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY Time • NPR • BookRiot

Reality is broken.

At first, it looks like a disease. An epidemic that spreads through no known means, driving its victims mad with memories of a life they never lived. But the force that’s sweeping the world is no pathogen. It’s just the first shock wave, unleashed by a stunning discovery—and what’s in jeopardy is not our minds but the very fabric of time itself.

In New York City, Detective Barry Sutton is closing in on the truth—and in a remote laboratory, neuroscientist Helena Smith is unaware that she alone holds the key to this mystery . . . and the tools for fighting back.

Together, Barry and Helena will have to confront their enemy—before they, and the world, are trapped in a loop of ever-growing chaos.

Praise for Recursion

“An action-packed, brilliantly unique ride that had me up late and shirking responsibilities until I had devoured the last page . . . a fantastic read.”—Andy Weir, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Martian

“Another profound science-fiction thriller. Crouch masterfully blends science and intrigue into the experience of what it means to be deeply human.”—Newsweek

“Definitely not one to forget when you’re packing for vacation . . . [Crouch] breathes fresh life into matters with a mix of heart, intelligence, and philosophical musings.”—Entertainment Weekly

“A trippy journey down memory lane . . . [Crouch’s] intelligence is an able match for the challenge he’s set of overcoming the structure of time itself.”—Time

“Wildly entertaining . . . another winning novel from an author at the top of his game.”—AV Club

Enjoyable despite some flaws

This is my first experience with Blake Crouch but I've been on a bit of a time travel kick lately so I decided to give this one a go. I actually really enjoyed the premise and even enjoyed the plot which I know other reviewers heavily criticized. However it is not without flaws. Ultimately, without any other Blake Crouch works in my memory to compare this to, I still felt that this was worth the credit.

The biggest flaw is that it does get a little drawn out. I have to be careful not to give any plot spoilers away but the protagonist can't figure out how to fix a problem and the author lets her struggle with this a bit too long in a way that isn't all that exciting for the reader.

The second flaw is that there are people that just seem to be far too smart in the book to take such illogical action. It's a huge pet peeve of mine when authors make characters act in a way that doesn't logically jive with their character in order to build suspense.

If you think too hard about it, there are other ways the plot could have gone and other things different characters might have done that would have made more sense.

I think the author missed out on some character development opportunities that would have made the story more intriguing. He just kind of gets stuck in a time loop at one point that is almost maddening and I think there was a bit of missed opportunity there.

Despite the shortcomings, I still really enjoyed the story and the premise. I'll be looking for more Blake Crouch works to check out based on this one and the reviews that seem to suggest this wasn't as enjoyable as some of his other works.

A real Short review of a great book

I'll keep it brief. A wonderful tale. A fantastic time travel mechanism. A tale that made my heart race and my eyes well up. Couldn't stop listening. Worthy of your time and credit. Both narrators were great! thank you for reading this. Hope you enjoy this book!

Best audiobook I have listened to all year!

Easily the best audiobook I've listened to this year. This was mind bending madness. I completely devoured this book. I wonder how many calories I burned while reading because of how quickly my heart would pound. Blake Crouch is absofuckinlutely a GENIUS.

The story was perfect. The details were phenomenal, the progression of the story and the characters were just..I dont even have words. He is an artist....an artist of mind bending madness and it's brilliant.

i like it i guess

humans engineer everything. that is the true meaning of what it means to be human.

the best

Loved, loved, loved this book! Superb story. Excellent writing. I highly recommend this book. This is the first book I have read by this author and I will certainly read his other books.