"Time is an illusion, a construct made out of human memory. There’s no such thing as the past, the present, or the future. It’s all happening now."
- Blake Crouch
An enthralling and mind-boggling sci-fi thriller, this novel follows in the footsteps of its predecessor, ‘Dark Matter’, which I thoroughly enjoyed and is one of my favorite books. Recursion follows along similar lines, with memory experiences and time travel the central themes this time around. It is a fascinating read, and though it read really well, it fell a little short of the exceptionally high bar set by ‘Dark Matter’.
It starts with city cop Barry Sutton trying to prevent the suicide of a woman affected by False Memory Syndrome (FMS), a perceived disease that causes vivid memories in a person of a different life he/she never lived. Disturbed by his conversation with the woman, who is so disoriented by her false memories that she jumps to her death, Barry begins to investigate further into the matter.
Helena Smith is a neuroscientist driven to finding a solution to circumvent Alzheimer's disease, which has affected her mother and made her lose nearly all her memories. Her research leads to a design of a "memory chair", an instrument to map and preserve the most important and precious memories of our brain. Crippled by lack of funding, she receives surprise aid from an eccentric multi-billionaire, who shares her enthusiasm for this idea. With all the latest technology at her disposal, she proceeds to complete her design of the memory chair, the single greatest innovation of the time. But the chair has yet another and a more world-changing consequence, a memory travel into the past.
Barry's investigation into FMS leads him on a path that collides with Helena's invention. The novel follows the lives of Barry and Helena, as they discover the devastating chain of events set in motion by the memory chair and how they try to use memory travel to the past to offset it and prevent the world from mass destruction.
Research or innovation of ground breaking sort always presents two sides, and the book brings out the ethical questions really well. While on one hand, people want to use the chair for beneficent purposes, there are darker forces wanting to utilize it for their own vested interests. Should such a technology be destroyed to prevent misuse or should be it preserved for its goodness? Should humans be allowed to play God? The book has some parallels to our world of today and the proliferation of AI, though not on a scale represented in the novel.
There's no doubting the brilliance of the author. He explores themes/concepts which are intriguingly complex and yet seem strangely real. The memory experiments, the brain theories especially about the release of DHT all give an air of plausibility to the novel, which is refreshingly new and usually not found in sci-fi novels.
I thoroughly enjoyed the first part of the novel. Though a bit slow at the start, it picked up pace and the suspense/thriller element was kept up throughout. The story was an amalgamation of different genres. The portrayal of mass destruction and the ensuing hysteria when things started to go wrong was near perfect in its execution. Also, there was no overdose of romance or emotions in this novel, which I appreciated.
It is not without its misses, though. The middle part of the story just trailed off and the description of the seemingly infinite timelines was repetitive and boring. With multiple events and timelines to keep track of, it became a bit confusing at times, though not unmanageable. I think the plot started going on a downward spiral around that point. Also, the intervention of government agencies, though seemingly integral to the plot, didn't quite strike a chord with me.
So, while the author masterminded a great novel around a subject that can be difficult to wrap to our heads around, this one was a little more difficult to follow and frankly just not as good when compared to his previous masterpiece ‘Dark Matter’.
Overall, a great read for lovers of scientific fiction and I would highly recommend it.
One note to the readers: As this is a novel centered on time, please take track of the incredibly helpful dates mentioned at the start of the each chapter. This will help to ensure your reading train doesn't go off the rails.
My rating: 4/5 stars
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