Recursion (Crouch)

Recursion 
Blake Crouch, 2019
Random House
336 pp.
ISBN-13: 9781524759797


Summary
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. (From the publisher.)

Author Bio
• Birth—1978
• Where—Statesville, North Carolina, USA
• Education—B.A., Univerfsity of North Carolina-Chapel Hill
• Currently—lives in Durango, Colorado


Blake Crouch is an American author, known for his 2012-14 Wayward Pines Trilogy, which was adapted into the 2015 television series Wayward Pines. In 2016, he published Dark Matter and in 2019, Recursion, both science fiction thrillers, both achieving wide acclaim.

Early life and career
Crouch was born near the piedmont town of Statesville, North Carolina in 1978. He attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and graduated in 2000 with degrees in English and Creative Writing. He published his first two novels, Desert Places and Locked Doors, in 2004 and 2005.

In addition to his novels, his short stories have appeared in Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine, Thriller 2 and other anthologies.

Crouch lives in Durango, Colorado. (From Wikipedia. Retrieved 7/29/2016.)

Book Reviews
[A] fantastic philosophical thriller [with] ingenious plotting, cinematic action and unflappable characters.
Minneapolis Star Tribune


A mind-bending thriller.
USA Today


[Crouch] has sketched out the rules for a new reality.… [Recursion] has a thrumming pulse that moves beyond big ideas and into their effects on a larger, more complex world.
Jason Sheehan - NPR


[Recursion] will keep you up all night—first because you can't stop reading it, and then because you can't stop thinking about it.
BuzzFeed


[An] epic page-turner.
Good Housekeeping


Suffice it to say that, having tackled the subject of alternative dimensions in 2016’s Dark Matter, the author tackles another familiar science fiction trope here. And, as was the case with that previous book, he breathes fresh life into the matters with a mix of heart, intelligence, and philosophical musings.… Recursion is definitely one not to forget when you’re packing for vacation.
Etertainment Weekly


[I]ntriguing, adventurous, terrifying, emotional, philosophical, and even inspirational…. Blake Crouch may be a daredevil, unafraid of any speculative heights, but he’s an incredibly talented writer and thinker, too. His surefootedness… is well worth every ooh and aah it collects. Bravo.
Washington Independent Review of Books


[I]ntelligent, mind-bending thriller.… Crouch effortlessly integrates sophisticated philosophical concepts—such as the relationship of human perceptions of what is real to actual reality—into a complex and engrossing plot. Michael Crichton’s fans won’t want to miss this one.
Publishers Weekly


Completely engrossing… highly recommended, especially for readers who enjoy suspenseful, fast-moving, well-crafted, science-based Sci-Fi.
Library Journal


Crouch fills his follow-up to Dark Matter (2016) with mind-bending science, mounting suspense, and some romance. Readers may have to accept that they might not get the physics of what’s going on, but, in a peculiar way, that’s part of the fun.
Booklist


Crouch delivers a bullet-fast narrative and raises the stakes to a fever pitch. A poignant love story is woven in with much food for thought on grief and the nature of memories and how they shape us, rounding out this twisty and terrifying thrill ride.
Kirkus Reviews

Discussion Questions
 1. If put in Helena’s position, would you have accepted Jee-woon’s offer, especially without knowing who you’d be working for?

2. Who would benefit/suffer most from the creation of the chair?

3. What are the pros and cons of the chair?

4. When Helena laments her lack of personal relationships and work-life imbalance, Slade says, "I think balance is for people who don’t know why they’re here.” (p. 39). Do you agree?

5. Do you think Helena’s tunnel vision about building the chair blinds her to its potential for evil? Or is she aware of all of its capabilities—both good and bad?

6. Is there anything to be learned from the characters in the book about reconciling with the past?

7. Which of the two protagonists do you find more relatable—Barry or Helena? In what ways, if any, can you relate to Slade? Explain.

8. Does the view of time presented in the book make you think differently about déjà vu or memories in general? How so?

9. What do you think of Marcus Slade’s obsession with (re)creating the chair? Can you empathize with him? If you were in his situation, would you be tempted to do the same?

10. Would you use the chair for self-gain or for humanitarian purposes, if put in Slade’s position?

11. If you could relive a treasured moment of your past without consequences, would you? What moment would you choose?

12. Is there some moment in your past you would go back to and do differently, even if it meant your loved ones experiencing dead memories?

13. Helena feels solely responsible for the fate of the world due to her creation of the chair. Is she right for feeling this way?

14. What lesson, if any, does Barry learn throughout the course of the book and how does it contrast with the view of the past that Slade endorses?

15. The author leaves the book somewhat open-ended. Do you believe Barry and Helena will eventually be together again?
(Questions issued by the publisher.)

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