We have already told you about two science fiction novels by the famous American writer Blake Crouch «Dark Matter» and «Upgrade». And now let’s talk about the book that the author wrote right in between — this «Recursion» from the publishing house «RM». Once again, the reader is presented with Crouch’s signature fantasy and cinematic thriller with a dash of science. This time, the story will focus on time travel, so it will definitely appeal not only to the writer’s fans, but to all those who like such stories.
Pluses:
quality publication; bright and attractive cover; a fascinating science fiction story about time travel and the importance of memories; the book raises important and complex issues; a plot that cannot be predicted
Minuses:
characters are just tools for presenting the story
«Recursion» / Recursion
Author Blake Crouch
Translator Anatoliy Sagan
Publisher RM
Language Ukrainian
Number of pages 392
Cover Solid
Year of publication 2024
Size 150×225 mm
Website ridna-mova.com
The neuroscientist Helena Smith’s mother is suffering from Alzheimer’s and is gradually forgetting herself, her family, and her life. To save her memory, the heroine creates a chair that is supposed to preserve the memories of sick people. But with funding from a well-known philanthropist, the project goes in a different direction, as it turns out that the chair can be used as a time machine, where people’s memories play the role of «fuel».
Meanwhile, detective Barry Sutton investigates the strange suicide of a woman. Before she died, she claimed that she suddenly clearly remembered another life she never had. This syndrome is called FSM — false memory syndrome. A certain number of people has realistic false memories of other lives. As the detective follows the case further, he realizes that the memories were real, and this will lead him to incredible events, the love of his life, and the literal nuclear end of the world.
«Recursion» — is another classic example of a science fiction novel by Blake Crouch. He takes a familiar genre, in this case science fiction, adds a bit of science, and spices it up with thriller and action. The result is a highly cinematic novel that is hard to put down.
Unlike «Upgrade», there is less science here, and the events are focused on time travel with minimal scientific explanations. But they are still there. The book focuses on the story that happened to the characters.
In my review of «Dark Matter», I said that Blake Crouch shouldn’t get involved in excessive psychologizing and love elements in his novels because he does it worst. In «Upgrade», the author bypassed these topics or touched on them only slightly, but in «Recursion» he returned to the themes of love, relationships, family, etc. But to my surprise, there are no problems with this, it all looks coherent, logical, and adequate. Even more so. The theme of the love of a lifetime is very obvious here, but everything is done without unnecessary water, reflection, etc. Exactly what you need for a fantastic thriller. No more and no less.
The main characters are adequately written. I can’t say that they are any outstanding characters, which is true of the author’s other novels. But they are just sane and do not cause irritation, and that’s okay. Because, in my opinion, the main thing in Blake Crouch’s novels is the plot and its playout, complex decisions for morality and science. The characters are just tools through which the author conveys all this to the reader.
The author, as always, raises complex topics in his novel. This time, he reflects on the importance of memories, on the fact that our memory is us, that it shapes us and our environment and has a powerful influence on life. In «Recursion» human memory is the most important element of existence and the literal fuel for the time machine. It is human memories that can save the world or lead to its quick and terrible end.
In his novel, Blake Crouch reminds us of the consequences of decisions we make solely for ourselves and for purely selfish reasons. In his story, he shows what terrible things can happen to the world if everyone thinks about themselves without regard for others. According to Crouch, this is pure suicide for everything, which he shows very effectively.
«Recursion» — A beautifully written novel and a classic modern bestseller. The sentences are short, there is constant action and story development, and there is minimal explanation and exposition, but it is presented neatly and harmoniously integrated into the narrative. With this novel, Crouch once again demonstrates his own skill. It does not manifest itself in a fancifully stylized and incredibly bright text. On the contrary. Everything here is calculated and dosed to work for maximum impact on the reader.
And the writer, as always, surprises me with his invention and ability to twist the plot so that I never guessed where the story would turn next. This applies not only to this novel, but to all the author’s stories in general. And for this, I am especially grateful to him because the more you read, the more you can calculate the plot and guess what will happen next. This often happens to me, but not with Blake Crouch’s books. They constantly throw you into events that are impossible to predict, and it’s incredible.
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