BOOK TIP

Recursion

Blake Crouch

The good news is that you don't need to be conversant about relativity on a PhD level to understand this fist-to-the-jaw sci-fi thriller from the author of "Wayward Pines." While the easy comparisons are to "Groundhog Day," "The Time Machine," "Back to the Future" and countless other time travel stories, what Crouch has really done is write a love story about Memory — what it is, how it can be explored or exploited, and how it's characterized by goofballs like me against the convenient latitude and longitude of "time" as a measurement. The heroes are New York cop Barry Sutton and neuroscientist Helena Smith, and they may have to invest lifetimes to save the world. Incredibly clever and eye-opening — and a breathtaking novel so good I have to go back in the time (that doesn't really exist) to read it again for the first time.