My first dip into sci-fi and ofcourse everyone recommends Blake Crouch--now I understand why! This was action-packed and just a really fun time.

"Upgrade" offers readers a compelling glimpse into a potential future, where gene editing reshapes humanity. Crouch's dedication to scientific accuracy enhances the story's immersion and credibility. Crouch's writing is skillful, and the plot maintains a brisk pace, keeping me fully engaged. Talk about a page turner!

While the cat-and-mouse dynamics in the story occasionally feel familiar, and the resolution lacks major surprises, "Upgrade" remains a satisfying read.

What makes this novel stand out is its unique approach to cautionary themes. Beyond the expected warnings about the dangers of unregulated gene editing, the book delves deeper into the perils of prioritizing intelligence over essential human qualities like empathy and compassion. It vividly portrays characters intoxicated by their intelligence, taking audacious risks for what they perceive as the greater good. This subversive exploration challenges conventional wisdom and invites readers to ponder the potential pitfalls of such a mindset. Scarily realistic.

"Upgrade" is a captivating fusion of science and philosophy, encouraging us to rethink the path to solving the world's problems and prompting reflection on the consequences of unbridled ambition and intellectual hubris.

I have read all of Crouch's books, and I'll have to say that this one sits solidly as my second favorite, right after Dark Matter. The lack of the 5th star is due to having questions I'd have liked to have answered.

Thank you to the publisher and Netalley for my review copy.

The Upgrade was an intense read, jam packed with action at every turn and just enough heart to make you hope everything would end well.

I've read most of Blake Crouched novels and this one was not his best. It was engaging enough, but there were no surprises. After the initial set up, it was just action with predictable outcomes. It was a quick read. 3.5 stars, rounded down.

Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

As a fan of Dark Matter and Recursion, I was disappointed in Upgrade. Rather than a twisty, intelligent sci-fi novel, it felt like one extended chase scene with very surface-level science. I still look forward to Bake Crouch’s next book and hope it gets back to the intelligent thrillers that we’ve come to love from him. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Blake Crouch is back with another entertaining thriller, and I'm so glad it's much more "Dark Matter" than "Recursion". It's not particularly breaking new ground, there are definitely books and movies out there that approach this topic with more nuance and complexity, but that's not really what I read Blake Crouch for - I read him for fast-paced, engaging sci-fi thrills, which is exactly what I got from "Upgrade". Impossible to put down!

Interesting read. Gripping and realistic. Some hard to understand technical writing for me at least. I read on my kindle and that helps when you don't know what a word means. I recommend that if you have it. I will say this is not my usual read but one of the best books I have read this year. Jump into this book and be ready for a ride that makes you question our current world and our future. Highly Recommend

This book didn't hit my hopes quite like other Blake Crouch books have unfortunately.

I have always loved how easily you can grasp his previous stories without being a scient nut and this one for me had a few moments that went over my head. Or possibly it was just slower and I didn't fully take it in.

This book to me was interesting at first and very gripping, but throughout somehow went too slow and also too fast? The concept is great - the way the story goes about humanity and if there was a crisis we could fix, but with huge consequences what do we do?
I saw both sides of the coin.

Logan was written very well and the ending did get me. I was selfishly wanting that to happen all along!

Overall still intriguing and think people would enjoy it, but not as twisty, gripping, and easy to follow for me.

This one for me is 4.5 stars rounded up to 5.
Upgrade is such a thrill ride. It's hard to describe this book without giving away much of the plot, and I definitely don't want to do that. It's best to go in blind and go along for the ride. It'll make you think about the larger consequences of gene editing which is a topic that is already hard to really get a grasp on. It wasn't the strongest ending to me, which is why I'd give it the half star off if I could.

Thank you to Netgally and t he publishers for an ARC copy. I give this review voluntarily.

A part of me wants to say that this book is so cool and fascinating and another part wants to say it's a horror story that is scary and chilling. I don't know what part is in the majority at this point but it is truly a novel that will make you think and examine what is a possibility in our human being's future. Another thought I had was that if our brains are capable of such intelligence then why aren't human beings smarter than where most of us are on the IQ scale? Shouldn't we all be at the minimum of the genius scale by now in our evolution?

What I will say now is that I loved this book and can't wait to read it again. It is definitely at the top of my favorite books I've ever read, probably in my top 10. I am very drawn to books with intelligent characters and themes that make you think. It's set sometime in the future but the author doesn't say how far. My guess would be between 30-60 years in the future. Genetic altering is done so often that they've made a branch of the government to handle illegal tampering with genetics. The main character is Logan Ramsey. At the start of the book he is not genius smart but he's no dummy either. His mom is a genius with a 180 IQ. OK here is where there will be some spoilers so beware.... She believes that the way to save the human race is through intelligence. So she has worked for around 20 years to come up with a way to change both Logan's and his sister Kara's genome. An Upgrade to make them geniuses. Well not only are they geniuses but they surpass their mom's IQ and not by a little. The down side is the more intelligent they get the more emotions and empathy go out the window. The mom has come up with the formula for changing the entire human race with this Upgrade but she hasn't come up with a delivery method. She is hoping that with their upgrades her children with figure that out. Now here's where that action comes in. Logan thinks it's a terrible idea and wants to destroy all the information for the formula. Kara thinks it's a good idea. This is the conundrum. This is where the race begins to either stop Kara or watch the human race transform. It's a great ride. I don't know the accuracy of the science. Are we capable of transforming our DNA now? Will we be capable in the future? What will happen if all the science in this book is accurate and comes to pass? I highly recommend this novel and give it 5 stars.

This is so far my least favorite from this author. I enjoyed it enough but it felt slow and dry compared to his other works. Would definitely still read from this author in the future but this was not my favorite.

I may just be too much of a character driven girl but this was so boring. While I think the science was interesting, it wasn't much of a story to me. I also get completely lost in actions scenes, but we know this about me.

Blake Crouch does it again with a suspenseful, fun book that plays in science fiction. Logan Ramsey finds himself transformed into a man who is smarter, stronger, and more able than anything he could have imagined. He's been infected by a virus and must race to protect humanity from the same fate. Crouch builds an action-packed story, while raising questions about the ethics in science, and what we need, as humanity, to save ourselves. It was a fun read.

Thaanks to #Upgrade #NetGalley for the eARC.

Since I enjoyed Dark Matter and Recursion by Blake Crouch, I of course had to pick up Upgrade by him as well. And luckily, it didn't disappoint! It's a scifi thriller that kept me hooked and engaged through the entire story, and that's really all I want from a thriller!

Definitely one to look into if you're interested in a fast-story!

"Upgrade" by Blake Crouch offers a mind-bending exploration of technological advancement and its ethical implications. Crouch's signature blend of science fiction and thrilling storytelling is on full display as characters grapple with the consequences of pushing the boundaries of human capability, leaving readers questioning the fine line between progress and peril.

Upgrade is my first foray into a Blake Crouch novel, having only read a short story of his from one of those random Amazon collections. What do I think for my first? In short, it's fine.

The short of it is that this book was very much written to be turned into a movie or series at some point. It reads in that specific way where you can envision every scene, moment and how it would all play out on the big screen. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it does take away and potential for nuance and subtlety. Well, as much as there could be in an action, sci-fi thriller.

Logan is your no-fluff, action protagonist that has a wife and daughter who love him and whom he loves, with one sibling and only one parent. It's all cliche. He's good at what he does but as soon as he gets that DNA upgrade, he's better in every way and that's about it.

Prepare for lots of insight and observational text on people and objects and things that you would anticipate with someone whose brain and being is now galaxy level. It does become exhausting after a while. You only need a few of those instances, but once again, you're practically reading a movie.

This isn't a bad story by any means but you know exactly what will happen, beat for beat, before it even happens. Hell, we nearly get the climactic rooftop battle with the "antagonist" at the end before it just kinda ends in a very anticlimactic fashion.

Overall, I'm glad I read this but I'm hoping my next venture into Blake Crouch territory will be an improvement.

Apologies to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for taking 1.5 years to get around to reading Upgrade and posting my review. I appreciate the advance copy!

Why did I wait so long to read this? I LOVED this book so much. Blake Crouch consistently writes captivating books. It really makes you wonder what our capabilities would be like and the societal impacts if we could tap into more of our brain functions. Like his other books, it has just the right amount of romance elements but I did thoroughly enjoy the family dynamics the main character copes with. Pick this up if you haven't already! You won't regret it.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an advance copy of this title in exchange for honest feedback.

This was a fast-paced sci-fi thriller, though I don't think it was as riveting or gripped me quite as much as the author's past releases. I'll still gladly read whatever he publishes next.

I am thankful that the gene editing technology described in the book does not exist. The upgrades that the main character, Logan, experiences would be highly beneficial in a number of ways. Being able to heighten intelligence and suppress emotion would help solve a number of problems, as people could act rationally and avoid the complications that emotional thinking brings. However, we need some degree of emotion/conscience so that we don’t go overboard and treat lives as mere numbers, sacrificing large numbers of people because more people will benefit. Moreover, as amazing as it would be to be able to manipulate the genome to the extent described in the story, the potential for harm (accidental or intentional) would likely outweigh the potential benefit given human nature.

One thing I particularly liked about the book is the level of detail the author included, especially when describing the gene modifications and the ramifications of those modifications, as well as the heightened awareness that Logan experiences as a result of his “upgrade.”