Blake Crouch does it again with Upgrade. This is the author who got me into Sci-fi (sorry Stephen king) and I will forever and always read any words he binds.

Blake Crouch is a starter pack author for sci-fi thrillers. Dark Matter introduced me to this mashup of genres, completely novel and totally engrossing. Upgrade read like a downgraded experience in contrast. Strong and fast-paced at the start, I found myself slogging page to page by the midpoint.

I thought I’d actually written a review for Upgrade months ago but somehow didn’t. Obviously. I loved everything about this read. The ending was incredible and I was so sucked into the characters I had to keep reminding myself they weren’t real.

Recursion is the first book I ever read by Blake Crouch, and it was freakin' masterful. I'm still dipping my toe into Sci-Fi and figuring out what subgenres work for me. Recursion was a home run. S0. Good. So when I got the chance to read Upgrade, I was ready for another mind-blowing ride, but sadly, I was left a little wanting.

It was good. Don't get me wrong. And I still eagerly await Crouch's work. But on the tail of Recursion, Upgrade was missing the tension and mind-bending wow factor I was looking for. The concept was interesting, and I appreciated the moral/ethical arguments presented by it, but something was missing.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Blake Crouch never disappoints. This book checks all the boxes for me. One of my 5 star reads for 2022.

I always feel dumber after reading Blake Crouch, but in a good way, if that makes sense? I feel excited to read more sci-fi every time I finish, and this time is no different. I want to understand how technology can be used to alter our lives so significantly. I think the best part of this book is that this DNA altering doesn't feel too far in the future. It seems plausible within the next 50-100 years, which is both scary and exciting. If you can expand your mind, this was a well researched fun ride!

I received an advance copy. All thoughts are my own.

This fun sci fi thriller kept me on my toes but I don’t see this book sticking with me for a very long time. In this book we follow Logan in the near future as he’s trying to research new virus. That is till he is led into a trap and an explosion exposes him to an unknown virus. Nothing appears to be different at first that is until Logan begins to notice that a lot of his skills have been enhanced. We follow Logan as this mysterious virus leads to past family drama dealing with gene mutation.

I love Blake Crouch’s writing it fun fast paced and keeps me on my toes . I always fly through his books but can’t remember anything about them a month later. If you are looking for a quick fun thriller with light sci-fi this is the book for you but the concepts don’t seem to stick. Saying that I will most definitely pick up any books Blake Crouch writes in the future ! I would like to thank the publishers and Net galley for a chance to read this book for an honest review.

I’ve enjoyed Blake Crouch since reading Dark Matter - a super sci-fi book with interwoven romance that never once made me feel dumb. I enjoy science fiction, but it can have a way of making even the smartest person feel like an idiot if it’s not written properly. Crouch is a genius at writing science fiction that’s intriguing and smart, but still accessible by folks who aren’t into the sciencey parts of sci-fi.

Upgrade is classic Crouch. It’s incredibly smart. Love and family are integral to the storyline. The action is fast-paced and thrilling. And of course, the science is sciencing.

Upgrade is so enthralling because it feels like it could be real, and that’s a horrifying thought. It was impossible to “look away” as the horrendous events of the story unfolded. This was a fictitious look at a man-made disaster at its worst. Scientists trying to support climate change efforts, but destroy the earth instead, rendering the practice of science virtually illegal except for a few chosen practitioners. Upgrades giving super human strength and smarts, potentially to the wrong people.

This was just a really hectic and horrifying book. It felt too real, and was done so well. Blake Crouch is just incredibly smart and writes incredibly smart stories. Go into this one with your eyes open and a reminder for yourself that it’s just a story (for now).

This is a solid Limitless-type outing. I'm a sucker for gene-editing improvement stories in general, so when I learned that Crouch was turning his hand to a completely different sub-genre of SF, I couldn't wait to see what he'd come up with.

The premise of Upgrade sounded exactly like something I would love - Logan begins noticing some changes after an explosion during a raid, and has to hunt down the person responsible. Add in Crouch’s usual knack for high-stakes, non-stop action, and I was certain this would easily be one of my favorite books of the year.

And then it wasn’t. The beginning was so promising, but I found the middle part just ended up dragging enough that I actually put the book down multiple times. There were so many things in this book that I usually love - family drama, genetic experiments, and commentary on humanity’s current situation. Everything just wasn’t quite clicking for me. But I figured it would be worth pushing through because the endings to Dark Matter and Recursion were both so good. Unfortunately, the ending just didn’t work for me either.

All of that being said, I do think that the majority of readers will absolutely love this book! As in all of his recent books, Crouch does an excellent job of taking hard science fiction concepts and making them relatable while wrapping everything up in an action rich narrative. While Upgrade didn’t quite work for me in book form, I am still looking forward to seeing the movie version when/if it comes out!

Upgrade is set in the future, after “The Great Starvation” has killed two hundred million people. This famine was unintentionally caused by a genetic engineer. That engineer was Logan’s mother. She was a brilliant scientist, but her experiments had devastating consequences. Now, genetically modifying anything is a crime and Logan works for the Gene Protection Agency.

Logan is exposed to a gene modifying virus on the job, and starts to notice changes in his mind and body. He has become sharper than ever. He has better concentration, vision, and strength. With this new version of himself, Logan is the only one capable of saving humanity by stopping a plan that is already set in motion.

Action, drama, suspense, and science combine in this fast-paced technothriller.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

4 stars Thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine Books to allow me to read this novel. Published October 22, 2022.

I may not understand or be a full on fan of science fiction, but I am sure a fan of Blake Crouch. The way he writes science fiction makes you believe it is probably someday going to happen. Or could very easily become the truth. I have read all three of his science fiction novels and loved each one, although I will admit it took some coaxing to get me to read the first one.

In this novel the Ramsay family are all scientists. Marian, the mother, has developed a genome upgrade and tried it out on her children, Logan and Kara. It takes and they feel the upgraded affects. Then she starts to develop another upgrade, but leaves it to her children to finish. Kara wants to use it on the worlds population - even tho it may kill millions of people - Logan is against it, deciding there has to be another way to save the population of the world from what will be a guaranteed total demise.

If you are like me, there will be many many words and implications that will go right over your head in this novel - never to be understood. However, you can understand enough to know that this is a fast paced, deeply moving, novel that feels true to life. A page turner at it's best.

Logan Ramsey works for the GPA - Gene Protection Agency. He wanted to be a brilliant scientist but when put beside his mom's brilliance, he knew he couldn't make the cut. But he did work for her, with devastating results. Now he tries to apprehend anyone who might be involved in gene editing. But on his last job, there is an explosion, Logan is injured, and then Logan notices his body and mind changing. Everything about him is improving at a mind boggling rate. Now his own agency wants to study him and use him in their war against those who would tamper with genes. Upgrade is both a thinking girl's story and an action thriller which hits too close to home with some of the subjects it broaches. Once again, Blake Crouch has written a story that will have you pondering its themes for a long time to come..

Upgrade is my first book by Crouch and it won’t be my last. It was an interesting concept that left my turning pages and wanting more. Can’t wait to see his other books

Blake Crouch is one of the only authors that can convince me to read science fiction. I tried Recursion randomly. Then Dark Matter. He's great so I tried Upgrade. I am NOT disappointed in the slightest.

So what is it exactly that gets an "upgrade" in this novel? The human race. And not like "I upgraded to the newest iPhone so my life is so much easier." More like...stronger, faster, smarter, just BETTER. Somehow this happens to Logan Ramsay. His very DNA has been somehow altered as he becomes a test subject for this new "upgraded" humanity. But is this what we truly need?

This novel went so quickly because it was so good! I would HIGHLY recommend it, even if science fiction isn't your normal cup of tea.

If Blake Crouch writes it, I am going to read it. Dark Matter is still the one I recommend the most, but Upgrade is a solid addition to his sci-fi compendium.

Upgrade explores the idea of hacking the genome - what's the risk, what's too far, and what's the line at which we are no longer human.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for sharing this book with me. All thoughts are my own.

A fascinating, near-future world. Intriguing concepts. An action-adventure, race-to-the-end story for sure.

Where it fell short was in that unnameable, creepy-but-this-could-really-happen vibe. It definitely had that, but didn't "hit me" as hard as I would want for a 5-star selection. I also didn't care for the main character's choice at the end of novel - it was a little crunchy and granola-eating, kumbaya kinda business. But... up until that point I appreciated the bit of fun poking at militant, "true believers".

Definitely worth a read for sci-fi and/or action-adventure fans.

Blake Crouch does it again. Upgrade is the perfect mix of humanity meets science, and leaves the reader considering what would I do (or not do!) for the future of our species? Crouch’s writing is immersive and cinematic—I’ll continue to read anything he writes with good reason.

Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review!

Reading a science fiction thriller, a person might expect to be thrilled. Or intrigued. Or even just entertained. Upgrade did none of those things for me. I think there are many reasons for that, but it largely comes down to a lack of creativity. Like it's probably smart to explain all the genetic ins and outs behind your sci-fi whatever, but lecture-y info dumps are not the way. Either I knew it already and was bored by the explanation, or I didn't know it and was bored by the explanation. Another thing: action scenes in movies have their own inherent excitement. It's my experience that in books you need something more to make it engaging. You have to care about the characters or the outcome. Otherwise, it's just boring descriptions of guns and cars that I couldn't care less about. Finally, the book's message has the energy of a man repeating something a woman already said but LOUDER. The concept is nothing revolutionary, but it has a distinct white-man flavor in its delivery. More on that later.

Expect your basic genre content from the near future: excessive government oversight with obliterated privacy protections, corporations with so much insidious and blatant data-gathering that they know everything about you down to your genetic code, law enforcement that uses A.I. to predict subversive behavior (Minority Report, anyone?), and dumb humanity killing the planet obvi. In terms of villainy, we have a too-smart scientist who nearly single-handedly set off a global famine with her actions. She's characterized as hyper-rational and ambitious to a fault. Her son, Logan, is our protagonist, both ashamed of his mother and ashamed of himself for not living up to her flash-bright intelligence. When Logan is on the job during a raid of an illicit genetics lab, he's hit with a bioweapon that alters his DNA. It turns out to be an upgrade that makes him stronger, more intelligent, more aware, and able to compartmentalize his emotions to the point of shutting them out. In essence, Logan becomes a diamond-perfect new superhuman, though he had no say in the matter.

Unfortunately, our protagonist becomes one note in his super persona. Like yes, I get it, he's super smart now. Cool. Everyone else is beneath him and his speedy mind. Of COURSE, a cishet white guy imagines himself our collective hero. He becomes the champion of humanity's compassion in a morally dubious battle with the two women embracing drastic action away from all kinds of feelings. And nbd but one of them is a veteran who probably has PTSD from her time as a POW, so her mental health is not likely calibrated in a pro-feelings type way compared to the guy with a loving family who lives in the suburbs.

The whole book comes down to whether humans need to be more rational to save ourselves and our planet or whether we need to be more empathetic and community-oriented on a broad scale. And I guess I just don't get how there's a question here? Or how some white guy is the one to have sorted this all out on behalf of everyone? Tl;dr: I was bored and unimpressed with the framing, execution, and resolution of this bland science fiction not-so-thriller.

Upgrade is a fast paced sci-fi thriller that focuses on gene editing and the overall plight of humanity. It has some deep thoughts for a thriller. While I enjoyed the story better in Recursion by the same author I felt Upgrade was faster paced.