Introduction

Recursion is a novel about memory or time travel. This book is the best book in the Science Fiction category of Goodreads Choice Awards 2019.

Author

Blake Crouch is an American novelist and screenwriter. He is best known for his Wayward Pines Trilogy which was adapted into a television series. He has written more than a dozen novels and created a television show known as Good Behavior.

Content

Recursion is divided into 5 books with an epilogue at the end. The books has no title.

Review

The main characters in Recursion are Barry Sutton and Helena Smith. The story revolves on a chair created by Helena that is able to let the user to go back in time and change the reality. Helena spends the first part of her life trying to build the chair and the rest of her life trying to destroy it. It is a big twist, right? You would have to read the book to find out the reason.

In the book, there is an anomaly known as the False Memory Syndrome (FMS). The author did a great job describing the syndrome and its effects.

One notable part of the book is that the nuclear war materialises. However, there is not a lot of description of the post-apocalyptic scene. Although there are only a few scenes, the author really brings up the image of the disaster vividly.

Honestly, I really enjoy the story. It far exceeds my expectation. The author did try to give some explanation to the science behind the memory travel but I doubt its veracity. However, as this is a fiction, I should not find fault on the scientific part. After finishing this book, I understand why it is chosen as the best book in its category and it is a fitting award.

Quotes

1. Nothing can be controlled. Only endured.
2. You can’t truly understand yourself until you’ve lived many lives.
3. Life with a cheat code isn’t life. Our existence isn’t something to be engineered or optimized for the avoidance of pain.

Rating

Interested in Recursion?

You may get the book from Kinokuniya Malaysia through the link below*.

Get the book here

*Disclosure: The above link is Involve Asia affiliate link. Thus, I may earn a small commission when you purchase the book through this link.

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