Blake Crouch

Around the world, people have begun falling victim to a new, unexplained phenomenon which manifests as a sudden recall of false memories so disturbing that many sufferers ultimately commit suicide. Barry, a police investigator, becomes personally embroiled in the mystery when during his probing discovers that False Memory Syndrome is actually a lab-manufactured affliction. Captured by the architects of FMS, he is sent back to the night of his daughter's tragic death, where (when?) he is show more given an opportunity to change history.

A delightful, super-entertaining thriller — not what I typically read, but it proved to be the sort of book I'm reluctant to put down even when it's time to go to bed or feed myself. The challenge of tracking multiple timelines had me periodically scratching my head, and Crouch kept me guessing about how the story could possibly resolve satisfactorily. It does...I think...though the nuclear bomb scenes gave me actual nightmares (a first). show less

The first chapter of this book is about as mysterious and suspenseful as a book can be. Can the rest of it deliver on this promise?

The answer is almost a complete "yes". The author depicts the consequences of a terrible invention that allows a person to enter into any of the multiverse of alternate existences that quantum theory postulates are created at every decision point in our lives. I won't give away the book's central plot point, because that would spoil the brilliance of how the show more author slowly reveals the truth to the reader. Given the complexity of the whole idea, it is a wonder he pulls it off. If a time travel novel has to tread carefully around a few paradoxes, this book is like walking blindfolded through an infinite minefield of them. (Or perhaps "mindfield" is more accurate.)

The heart of the story boils down to a love story of a man for his wife and son and in coming to accept both the consequences and beauty of the decisions we make and their outcomes. The book--which you will want to read in one sitting--rarely stumbles as it rushes headlong to an intense, unforgettable conclusion. Not just five stars--FIVE BIG STARS. show less

Blake Crouch is the only science-fiction writer I will read with any regularity. That is because his plots and subject matter are never ridiculous. That is more true of UPGRADE than of any of his other books that I've read. He succeeds in making his main character and narrator sound like a scientist when he talks about genealogy and DNA.

Logan lives happily with his wife and child and never wishes for more. He is a scientist but now works as a special agent for the Gene Protection Agency. It show more is his job to find and arrest anyone who tries to modify genes.

On one of Logan's raids of a "dark gene lab," he is impaled with a virus that will upgrade his own genes and make him an almost superhuman. He discovers that this was a deliberate plan of his previously-thought-dead mother, also a scientist but far more brilliant than he is.

What follows is Logan's adventures as he attempts to prevent his mother and then his sister from infecting the world with this virus. They feel that the human species can only be saved by this upgrade. But Logan knows that he can't stand by and watch millions die from the virus's negative effects.

This all happens in the 21st century, only a few years from now. Crouch could be implying that this is something we need to worry about but warns that "it's not nice to fool Mother Nature" (which you may remember if you're old enough). He could also be saying that our intelligence doesn't need to be upgraded. Maybe his final letter to his wife and daughter explains it. show less

After finishing Recursion, my first thought was that Blake Crouch likes a good mindf*ck because that is what Recursion is. His previous novel, Dark Matter was confusing but at least I understood the science behind the story. Plus, I wasn’t confused for very long. I cannot say that about his latest one though. Every twist added a layer of complexity to the story so that by the time you finally got around to the ending, the story is too convoluted for rational thought. You are just there for show more the ride with no control of the reins.

The thing is that you don’t realize this at the time of reading it. It is only when you finish the story and think back over everything you read when you finally question what exactly happened. The more you think about it, the more you recognize the confusion until you can do nothing but question what exactly you read. Prior to that point, the story seems not just reasonable but thrilling and fast-paced. You don’t get the chance to sit and reflect on the action because Mr. Crouch doesn’t afford you the opportunity, keeping you and his characters at a frantic pace of discovery, action, and reaction, and you are perfectly fine with this while reading it. After your adrenaline levels drop and common sense once again reigns supreme in your brain, you begin to feel as if Mr. Crouch duped you into thinking his story has more substance and merit than it may actually have. The problem is that you have to wade through layer upon layer of plot twists in order to figure out what the basic plot is before you can determine if that feeling of duplicity towards Mr. Crouch is an accurate assessment. For my own part, I had no desire to wade through all that. I can’t say Recursion makes a lot of sense when viewing it in the light of day, but it certainly is a wacky ride while you are on it. show less