Recursion: A Novel
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.
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I love a novel that makes my brain think and wonder and stretch its limits...especially about concepts that we believe cannot happen or do not exist. Recursion did just that.
SPOILERS AHEAD
While this book was absolutely riveting, a true page-turner, I was a bit... put-off? annoyed? with the final page before we reach the epilogue. I felt like so much thought was put into this very intricate storyline only to have Barry have a bit of a “Come to Jesus” meeting with himself at the end.
He thinks he may be dying. He’s reliving his many, many lifetimes.
“I don’t want to look back anymore. I’m ready to accept that my existence will sometimes contain pain. No more trying to escape, either through nostalgia or a memory chair. They’re both the same fucking thing.”
Had he stopped there, I would have been fine. It’s a good realization to come to...a natural one. However, the next few lines felt like our life-lesson from the book was being delivered to us on a platter instead of letting the reader glean it from the story itself.
“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.”
So much excellent build-up and work, only to have it cheapened with a spoon-fed moral.
Sigh.
It’s okay, the epilogue makes up for it – it’s the ending we were all hoping for.
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Solid 4.5 Stars
Thank you to Crown Publishing & NetGalley for the digital copy to review.
After that I did find that it got tedious and frustrating (which may have been the point) but I do feel like it could have been shortened.
Definitely a mind bender in a fun way, but you also canât think about it TOO much or your brain will hurt. Some things just donât add up and get too hard to follow. I liked the initial scientific jargon but it did get to be a bit far fetched by the end, even for science fiction.
Overall, an interesting concept that had some cool moments and ones that really made you think about the concept or time and memory, but I would have liked it to be a bit shorter.
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