{"id":238,"date":"2024-08-19T04:28:44","date_gmt":"2024-08-19T03:28:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/adenpetersen.com\/?p=238"},"modified":"2025-06-17T01:32:47","modified_gmt":"2025-06-17T00:32:47","slug":"recursion-by-blake-couch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adenpetersen.com\/?p=238","title":{"rendered":"“Recursion” by Blake Couch"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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What It’s About<\/h2>

“Recursion” is the second book I’ve read by Blake Crouch, following “Dark Matter” a few weeks ago. While both explore the concept of different lives lived, “Recursion” focuses on memories and a machine that allows people to return to specific points in time and relive their lives from there.<\/p>

The novel introduces fascinating concepts like multiple timelines, dark memories (memories from alternate timelines), and alternate realities. It takes about half the book to fully grasp these ideas, but once you do, the second half becomes incredibly engaging and hard to put down.<\/p>

How I Discovered It<\/h2>

After enjoying “Dark Matter,” I was eager to dive into another of Crouch’s mind-bending novels. I had an idea of what to expect given the similar themes of multiverse and alternate realities.<\/p>

As a bonus, I’ve recently discovered that “Dark Matter” has been adapted into a TV series. I’m looking forward to watching it and comparing it to the book, especially since I read it so recently.<\/p>

Thoughts<\/h2>

What I Liked About It<\/h3>
  • The exploration of memories, time, and reality<\/li>
  • The mind-bending concepts introduced in the book<\/li>
  • Crouch’s writing style, consistent with “Dark Matter”<\/li><\/ul>

    What I Didn’t Like About It<\/h3>
    • The slower pace of the first half as it introduces complex concepts, which took some time to understand fully<\/li><\/ul>

      Who Would Like It?<\/h2>

      Readers who enjoyed “Dark Matter” or those interested in science fiction that delves into themes of memory, time, and alternate realities would likely appreciate this book.<\/p>

      Related Books<\/h2>
      • Dark Matter by Blake Crouch<\/li><\/ul>

        Notes and Quotes<\/h2>
        • “Life is nothing how he expected it would be when he was young and living under the delusion that things could be controlled. Nothing can be controlled. Only endured.” (Page 60)
          • Note: Growing up involves not just realizing but accepting that you won’t be special, while still trying your best anyway.<\/li><\/ul><\/li>
          • “But in actuality, it’s the filter between us and reality. What is memory, our reality is a memory it is split moments behind what is actually occurring and is a result of the combining of all our senses.” (Page 136)<\/li>
          • “To a two-dimensional being, traveling along a third dimension wouldn’t just be impossible, it’d be something they couldn’t conceive of.” (Page 360)
            • Note: This reminds me of the book “Flatland” about a 2D world of geometric shapes.<\/li><\/ul><\/li>
            • “Memory is our only true access to reality. I think you were right. Some other moment, an old memory, is just as much now as this sentence I’m speaking.” (Page 362)
              • There is no difference between an old memory and the current reality. They are both memories.<\/li><\/ul><\/li>
              • “Time is what keeps everything from happening at once.” \u2014RAY CUMMINGS (Page 557)<\/li>
              • “Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.” \u2014S\u00d8REN KIERKEGAARD (Page 1108)<\/li><\/ul>

                Things I Want to Investigate Further<\/h2>
                • What are memories and how can we preserve them in older age?<\/li>
                • DMT and how it can play with the brain<\/li>
                • Time vs memories and how it plays into the multiverse<\/li><\/ul>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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                  What It’s About “Recursion” is the second book I’ve read by Blake Crouch, following “Dark Matter” a few weeks ago. While both explore the concept of different lives lived, “Recursion” focuses on memories and a machine that allows people to return to specific points in time and relive their lives from there. The novel introduces […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[4,5],"class_list":["post-238","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorised","tag-book-review","tag-personal"],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":false,"thumbnail":false,"medium":false,"medium_large":false,"large":false,"1536x1536":false,"2048x2048":false},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"adenpetersen.com","author_link":"https:\/\/adenpetersen.com\/?author=1"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"What It’s About “Recursion” is the second book I’ve read by Blake Crouch, following “Dark Matter” a few weeks ago. While both explore the concept of different lives lived, “Recursion” focuses on memories and a machine that allows people to return to specific points in time and relive their lives from there. The novel introduces…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/adenpetersen.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/238","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/adenpetersen.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/adenpetersen.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adenpetersen.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adenpetersen.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=238"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/adenpetersen.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/238\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":245,"href":"https:\/\/adenpetersen.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/238\/revisions\/245"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adenpetersen.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=238"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adenpetersen.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=238"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adenpetersen.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=238"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}