I would not call myself much of a science fiction reader, but thanks to Book of the Month, I picked up Blake Crouch’s previous two books – Dark Matter and Recursion. I adored both books for their incorporation of science and their underlying questions about humanity. Upgrade did not disappoint and returned to these themes.

Upgrade is a story that takes place in a semi-dystopian future and follows Logan Ramsay, the son of an infamous scientist who had a huge impact on the world. To repent and appease his guilt about the past, Logan works for the Gene Protection Agency, apprehending anyone who might be involved in gene editing or unapproved genetics research. But of course, something happens and everything goes awry. I do not want to spoil anything, so I will leave it at that.

Crouch’s writing was engrossing and enjoyable. I felt for Logan and grew frustrated at obstacles he encountered. I found Upgrade to be action-packed and fast-paced. Even if I did not feel immediately immersed in the story, which I did, I would have kept quickly flipping the pages simply based upon the action and mystery. I also loved the Crouch slipped in some sly critiques of current companies. It made my heart happy to see some shade throw at Zuck.

I found Upgrade to be more science heavy compared to what I remember of his two previous books. You can still understand what is happening without a life science or biochemistry background as Crouch does a great job simplifying and explaining complex terms and ideas. However, you will definitely more fully comprehend and appreciate the story if you understand basic genetics. I do not want that to dissuade anyone from reading! I think if you have read Crouch’s previous books and had no comprehension problems, you will be able to follow Upgrade as well.

Upgrade did not mess with my mind like Recursion, but this book definitely made me think and I continue to ponder its questions. I cannot emphasize enough how thought-provoking this book is. It is definitely the perfect buddy read!

My only real critique of the book is that I wish it was slowed down just a bit to absorb everything. However, this may just be a result of the pace at which I read Upgrade. Ultimately, it makes me excited to read it again.

For me the mark of a great book is one that makes me both think and feel. Without a doubt, Blake Crouch accomplished both with Upgrade. I highly recommend it and hope a ton of people will read and think about the questions asked. But if you believe that GMOs are bad, you probably want to avoid this book. IYKYK

Another excellent, smart thriller from Mr. Crouch. Strongly recommended across a wide variety of audiences.

You can always count on Blake Crouch to deliver an interesting, heart-stopping sci-fi thriller… and this is no exception! I loved this one. Fast pace and FASCINATING. The premise of Upgrade is actually kind of terrifying in its plausibility, which gives this book a very “near future dystopian” feel.

Blake Crouch continues to shine as a modern Michael Crichton, blending heady sci-fi with a genre action storytelling. Though slightly derivate of the (also titled Upgrade) film by Leigh Whannell, Crouch's story is timely and compelling and is a great page turner or beach read for those middle summer months. This will be a blockbuster novel that you won't want to put down. 5 stars.

Blake Crouch is truly a genius at writing sci-fi! Despite it not being a genre I generally reach for, he writes in such an accessible way that I’m always willing to give his books a chance. Upgrade was no exception to that. This is easily his best book yet! The semi-dystopian setting was so eerie, and the way gene altering was explained made it feel like it was not such a farfetched concept. The pacing was quick, and Crouch didn’t let the writing get bogged down with scientific terms and ideas that the average reader won’t grasp. Some of the action scenes felt a little too lengthy for me, but it was easy enough just to skim by a bit. But definitely don’t skip the epilogue, which rounds out the story perfectly. A fantastic book to let yourself be whisked away to another world!

In order to understand this whole book, you need to be upgraded. I get that this is a science fiction book but a lot of the science jargon went over my head. The plot was complicated yet fascinating. It was interesting to see Logan's character evolve during his upgrade experience. It was captivating to the see the way he processed his thoughts and sights. The book was fast-paced and action-packed.

Thank you to NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine and Blake Crouch for a copy of "Upgrade" in exchange of an honest review.

This was my first Blake Crouch and I can understand why a lot of people have been anxious for his newest releases. I really enjoyed the first half of the book and thought the action sequences were well thought out and heart pumping. My only real problem came from the pacing of this novel. I got to the halfway point and it was very hard to continue on and I found myself putting it aside for months. I think it's definitely a book you should try to read in one sitting because otherwise it can be very hard to finish it.

Thank you to the publisher for a copy of Upgrade. Crouch is the king of intense page turner sci-if!! It caught my attention from the first page to the last. I enjoyed seeing Logan's transformation with his DNA upgrades. I wanted more back story with his relationship with sister.

I always enjoy books with a heavy science piece that makes me wonder if, one day, “could this happen?” This book was fun and exciting from the first page all the way through to the end.

Fans of Blake Crouch will not be disappointed in this book. He does sci-fi thrillers in such an interesting and exciting way.

We follow Logan after he gets a gene modification that makes him more intelligent. He was targeted for this modification for a specific reason, and he needs to choose whether to help or stop what has been set into motion.

This was a fun, fast paced sci-fi thriller. I still prefer Recursion because it was more emotionally impactful. However, I feel like Upgrade is equal to Dark Matter in enjoyment. The epilogue was my favorite part of the book, and I’m still thinking about it almost five months later.

If you really like sci-fi and genetic things, and little thrill mixed in, this a book for you. It was bit slow for me I usually like some sci-fi but couldn't understand the story very well. Some of the terminology was hard to understand and kind of hard to follow story . I will try to read other books by him because he gets highly recommend. Thanks to ballantine books, netgalley, and the author in exchange for a review.
Publishing date : July 12th, 2022.

Blake Crouch’s science fiction novels bring complicated science quandaries to the masses, and Upgrade is yet another fantastic “what if” sci-fi story.

What if you could be smarter? Stronger? Faster? More intuitive? More cunning? Better at multitasking? Better at everything? Logan Ramsay wakes up after a harrowing fever and aches that reach into his bones to find he is “better” all of the sudden. He has unintentionally been upgraded while out on a raid for the Genome Protection Agency, and he has a sneaking suspicion his newly hacked genome is no accident.

The Ramsay name is notorious in the near future as one who killed millions in the name of science. Logan suspects his family is behind his upgrade and he is likely not the only target. Logan’s own boss at the GPA wants to know what exactly has been altered in his genome and will do whatever it takes to find out. Not knowing who to trust, Logan spends the majority of this novel on the run doing what he can to not only save himself, but to literally save humanity.

Upgrade is a novel for everyone. Even if you are not into science fiction, this story—one ultimately about choices and their consequences—is worth reading. Logan Ramsay is an imperfect hero whose choices will help restore your faith in humanity.

Thank you to NetGalley, Ballantine Books, and of course Blake Crouch for the advanced copy. Upgrade will be available on July 12th. All opinions are my own.

📚Book 23 of 2022: Upgrade by Blake Crouch

💬Reader’s digest version: What if you had the power to upgrade your genes and become superhuman? What if that causes you to lose connection with the people you love the most. Would you still do it? And more importantly, if this upgrade could potentially save humanity but at the cost of billions of human lives…would you want to give it to everyone against their will? Logan finds himself in a precarious physical and moral situation when a genetic upgrade is forced upon him...completely smashing his old self into pieces.

🏃🏻‍♀️My Take: Blake Crouch can do no wrong. I haven’t read recursion but I read dark matter and loved it. This book is part sci-fi, part thriller, and part literary fiction.

At times it reminded me of an action movie but with far more substance. The one drawback for me was all of the scientific jargon..it pulled me out of the story, but I always got sucked right back in.

More importantly this book made me think about the power of human compassion, and how truly undervalued and powerful it is. Couldn’t we all live a little longer if we took better care of one another?

🙏🏻Big thank you to @netgalley and @ballantines for the e-arc

⭐️My rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Set in the near future, Upgrade follows Logan, an enforcer of the Genetic Protection agency. The field of genetics has become outlawed after Miriam Ramsey caused a mass starvation event and the business of genetics is now a black market dealing involving anything from illegal mutations to curated diseases.

While on a sting, Logan is infected with the volatile SCYTHE virus which promptly begins changing his genomes. The threat of SCYTHE becomes a race for Logan to preserve humanity. There is plenty of action, making this feel like an action-packed sci-fi thriller as long as the science parts of the story are extricated from the plot.

Unfortunately, there's a little too much science and DNA talk in the story. While the first third of the novel starts out thrilling and develops a truly terrifying threat, the middle of the novel takes a weary drop. Logan becomes a touch annoying, and the exposition on DNA matters, how it and viruses work, becomes tedious. Crouch's writing gets in the way and the plot falls by the wayside while he tries to give science lessons instead of narrating a fictional novel.

This is my first Blake Crouch novel. Based on reviews of previous books, I jumped at the chance to read this latest book. While well written, and an interesting plot, not sure his writing style is for me.

I had a hard time engaging with the main character, Logan. He seemed, less than. Not sympathetic and yet not unlikable. Just, so NOT very interesting. The story was fascinating, at first. Changing someone's DNA to 'upgrade' their intelligence and abilities, and how that would affect an individual and, eventually, mankind. But it started to bog down for me when the author went in the most minute detail about all things scientific. I wanted to read an entertaining tale, not a textbook.

For example, here is one paragraph/sentence from the book:
"My hunger - another sensory artifact that I was not blindingly aware was simply the serotonin (5-HT) and catecholamine neurotransmitters in my serotonergic neurons, intestinal myenteric plexus, enterochromaffin cells in the mucosa of the gastrointestinal tract, and blood platelets - telling me to eat."

Again, a perfectly fine and capable writer, but I want to be told a story, not lectured on the medical makeup of the human body.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
I thought this was great. So well written, and kept me absolutely hooked from beginning to end.
Logan Ramsay has been trying to get out from under the dark shadow of his mother’s past for years when something suddenly drags him right into her world and changes his life forever. When faced with incredible changes within himself and fear of what could happen across humanity as a whole, he may be the only person in the world capable of changing the course of impending doom. But, can he do it in time…
This is a thought- provoking, enthralling, fast-paced read that kept me turning the pages.
Definitely check this one out on July 12th!
Thanks @Netgalley !

I’m not typically into science fiction, but I really enjoyed this one! It was the first book I ever read by Blake Crouch, and I’m definitely going to read his others now. The book reads like an action movie, kind of like a biologists’ James Bond haha! The plot components were paced really nicely, with the perfect amounts of character development sprinkled in. Climate change topics such as sea level rise are introduced in pieces of this book without being overwhelmingly dystopian. COVID-19 is mentioned in the past tense of course, which is something I’ve had to adjust to reading about in a few other books as well. Overall, this was a super enjoyable read!

This book was fantastic! Loved getting to read before publishing date and will be recommending on Instagram, goodreads, and Amazon.

Don't read this book if you're already planning for the end of earth. It will hurt you.

I did not follow any of the science in this book, but the story pulled me along, and the last 4 pages of this book affected me in a way that very few books have in recent years.

I give you fair warning: you will be inundated with science, and then find yourself crying.

Wow, where to start? I’m not a huge Sci fi reader but Blake Crouch makes the is genre so accessible. The book is set in a dystopian future where gene modification takes over our main characters life and body. He begins the process of an “upgrade” to his mind and body. He’s stronger, faster, smarter, more intuitive. And now he has to figure out why? I think this is a good one to go in blind to post that description. I really enjoyed the characters- Logan, our hero, his sister; some friends he encounters but the real focus is on the fast paced nail biting action. This is a story ripe for a movie and it’s hard not to try casting as you read (I’m going with matt damon). I’ve seen some people say they felt the ending was not well resolved but I really liked the afterword. In any event, non sci fi folks need to give this a whirl. It’s a lot of fun and thought provoking at the same times
4.25 stars.