My favorite Blake Crouch book yet. Mind-blowing and riveting this futuristic story involving genetic engineering is unputdownable with non-stop action and wrapped up with a great ending.

I received an ARC through "NetGalley" and I am voluntarily leaving an honest review.

The story begins with Logan, a GPA agent, attempting a takedown of a suspected location where genes might be edited. When they arrive at the location, they find no one and when Logan goes into the basement with Nadine, another GPA agent, he discovers a box which has started counting down. He tells Nadine to get away and unfortunately he doesn't make it. Luckily it was not a bomb, but instead Logan was hit with ice remnants that contained gene editing material. Logan wound up in the hospital and when he was cleared to get back to work, his supervisor became aware of changes in Logan's gene makeup, he had been upgraded. Because of this is was abducted and GPA began to study him. This went on for a long time when he was rescued by a stranger.

Logan discovered that his sister has also received an upgrade in addition to their learning that their mother had not died as they originally thought. While Logan was examining his new makeup of gebes, he was able to decipher a message that pointed them to a location. When they got to that location, they discovered their mother had died, but she left a parcel for them and inside was a computer with their mother telling them about why the upgrade and that the parcel contained the necessary information to make a difference to homo sapiens. Logan wanted to destroy it, but his sister had other ideas.

Follow the rest of the story and see Logan's attempt to discourage his sister of her plan. Read of the final standoff that Logan and his sister and discover what the outcome was.

The story was great as well as an excellent ending.

"If I didn’t know any better, I’d say someone was trying to turn you into a superhuman."

Upgrade is what I expect the resulting offspring would be, if V.E. Schwab’s Vicious / Vengeful duology had a baby with Gattaca . This sci-fi thriller imagines a world in which eugenics, genetic selection, and gene editing combine to form individuals with extraordinary abilities, and it was (like everything Blake Crouch does) absolutely mind-blowing.

"Whoever did this to me was overwriting nature’s programming and taking control of evolution itself. That was a precarious game."

This book sent me down so many Google / Wikipedia rabbit holes. From gene drives, to the eradication of malaria mosquitoes through genetic manipulation, to virtual torture, to DOJ surveillance measures… I learned about so many concepts that I never dreamed could be real! (But they are.)

"Even the simplest genetic changes carry with them unintended, unforeseeable consequences..."

Upgrade also required a little more suspension of disbelief than I expected. Not for the science or the technology - I believe that much of what Crouch describes there is either possible already, or will be within my lifetime. But how does a guy on the run, using a stolen identity, with no phone and no credit cards, manage to procure a lethal dose of ricin, a portable DNA sequencer for his road trip to Montana, and next-day delivery of high-quality dermal fillers for a total DIY face swap?

"Just happen to have one of those lying around?"

Either Amazon Prime has really upped their game or Crouch is taking some serious liberties with what’s actually possible in the commerce industry. Despite some intense unbelievability at times, the plot is filled with nonstop action and tension that kept me hooked the whole way through.

"We have this moment to right the ship. Either we upgrade our collective intelligence to a level where we can all band together and save ourselves, or the next century will be humanity’s last."

AND HOLY SHIT, THAT ENDING. Just a couple of sentences that I didn’t see coming, and suddenly I don’t want to live in the real world anymore; I want to live in the world that Crouch’s Logan Ramsay has reengineered. Just a fascinating story, filled with fascinating concepts all around. 4.5 stars, rounded up to 5!

——

A huge thank you to Blake Crouch, Ballantine, and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Blake Crouch hits it out of the park with this sci-fi thriller. This is quite the page-turner! The book is full of eye-popping action and yet philosophical and relevant questions are raised about the human dilemma and our quest to save our world.

Logan Ramsey is part of a plan to save humanity set in motion by his mother, the genetic genius Miriam Ramsey. Logan works for the GPA (Gene Protection Agency) and during a raid he is infected by a virus that modified his entire genetic structure. After being pretty sick for a couple of weeks, it seems he has had no effect from the gene editing. Then about a month later he starts to notice various changes. "The truth is, Logan’s genome has been hacked. And there’s a reason he’s been targeted for this upgrade. A reason that goes back decades to the darkest part of his past, and a horrific family legacy. Worse still, what’s happening to him is just the first step in a much larger plan, one that will inflict the same changes on humanity at large—at a terrifying cost." Logan is the only one who can stop what is happening, but in order to do so he has to become something other than himself.

This is a thought-provoking book that deals with morality and what it is to be human. The consequences of having power and wielding it. The subject matter is well-researched and genetic engineering is definitely a difficult concept and had to be hard to make it readable. Terrific plot and great suspense made for a great thriller. Highly recommended!

Thanks to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine through Netgalley for an advance copy. This book will be published on July 12, 2022.

Black Crouch is an auto-buy author for me. I love, love, love his books because while they are super fun to read, I always learn a ton of stuff about very complicated scientific principles. I am by no means a scientist, and in fact, I am way better with words than numbers. But Blake Crouch has an immeasurable talent for taking extremely complicated, dry concepts and explaining them clearly enough for someone like me to understand and even thoroughly enjoy reading about. In his previous books, Mr. Crouch educated me about the multiverse and time travel. This time, I learned all about genes and gene editing, all while having an amazing time.

Even beyond trying to explain complicated scientific principles to the general public, this book also examines the ethical conundrums scientific advancements in gene isolating and editing can bring about, in much the same way as one of my favorite shows, Black Mirror. This book really makes you think about what could happen if certain developments are made, what kind of pandora's box could possibly be opened, and whether some things should just be left as they are.

I don't want to give away much more than that about the story for fear of spoilers so I'll stop there with the explanation. The bottom line is that Mr. Crouch will continue to be on my auto-buy author list and I will share this book with all of my book friends, whether they be good with numbers, or not. Read this book ASAP!!

**Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book in exchange for this honest review!**

A too-familiar action movie/card game trope is the question “what would you do if you could do anything?.” From movies like Limitless to books like Flowers for Algernon, one of creatives’ favorite pastimes is pondering this question whose answer seems to be similar across the board. Turns out Blake Crouch is no different.

Crouch has given us mind-blowing, far-fetched (in a good way) thrillers like Dark Matter and Recursion, but his latest, Upgrade, feels like a stale idea he tried to run with. And while he added his own familiar sci-fi flair, including lots of in-depth biological descriptions and explanations, I grew quickly bored with the premise.

The plot centers around Logan Ramsey, an employee of the Gene Protection Agency who works to bring scientists/criminals practicing gene editing to justice. The story takes place in the near future and everything feels fairly plausible, like Crouch’s other books, but when Logan’s genome is “upgraded” inexplicably and he begins to show signs of heightened intelligence, things take a turn for the worse.

If you’re a reader who likes books that would serve better as Bradley-Cooper-action-movie plots, be my guest, but if you’ve preferred Crouch’s other titles I’d advise you to skip this one.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Another Crouch book, another time I didn’t think I’d read Sci-fi but here I am. Crouch is the only sci-fi author that is an automatic for me, and once again, I’m not disappointed. I’m not sure where this would rank for me Crouch books wise, because they’re all so different yet following a similar structure.

I was very impressed with this story because so much genetic research had to be done. And although Crouch did all the scientific research, the science jargon was overwhelming yet easy to follow. He was able to allow our main character, Logan, to explain science in a very reader friendly way. Because of said science, it’s both smart and engaging. I mean, how does Crouch come up with this stuff!?

In a way, it’s kind of scary how close we are to this kind of reality. Because if you think about it and as Logan asked many times, what is our ultimate destiny as a species? With everything happening in the world, we’re our own worst enemies and this story is no different. Crouch is absolutely right about one thing: we can’t do nothing.

The only thing I’d change is part three. Compared to part one and two, it was a bit clunkier and sped up. Crouch’s imagery is generally amazing but I felt like I was more so being told rather than shown.

If you liked previous books by Crouch, I’m sure you’ll like this one too.

Big thank you to Ballantine Books and Netgalley for the ARC!

Content warnings: gun violence, hostage, pandemic, death, gore, grief, car accident

I think everyone feels like they could use an upgrade after reading this one! This was my first Black Crouch novel and I was not disappointed. I don't read much sci-fi so I felt this one was a good mix of that, in addition to the pacing of a thriller -- even when complex, scientific terms were necessary to the story, Crouch managed to provide everything in layman's terms for my non-scientific brain.

Set in the not-so-distant future, the devastation on the world and the increased technology was absolutely believable, even with the manipulation of human DNA. I found myself riveted from the first chapter, all the way to the very end. Had I not been a working individual, there is no doubt this book would have been read in one sitting. Crouch's writing ebbs and flows without hiccup creating a tense story from beginning to end. It was an action-packed, a massive thrill ride with some twists and turns along the way, some you see coming but never diminishing with how it plays out. It would not surprise me if this one gets turned into a motion picture.

Read if you like:
Sci-Fi
Thrillers
Action-packed
Dystopian
Science
Human Evolution

Ultimately, this one came down to what it means to be human and how we can save our humanity. I'll certainly be reading Crouch's backlog.

Thank you to Random House Ballantine, Netgalley and the author for an advanced copy of this book!

Another amazing story from Blake Crouch! I seriously love his writing style and his plots. This book did NOT disappoint. He sets the bar very high and keeps delivering. I am a HUGE Blake Crouch fan!

An ordinary man gets an unwelcome upgrade to superhuman status in Crouch’s
latest techno-thriller. Logan Ramsay already paid his debt to society for his role in the
Great Starvation, a global catastrophe caused by his renegade scientist mother. Now, years
later, the world is a mess. He dislikes serving the Gene Protection Agency, but his adored
wife and daughter make it worth it. But on a routine raid for the GPA, Logan contracts
a virus designed to slowly turn him superhuman. He soon realizes another terrifying
catastrophe is looming, one with devastating connections to his past, and that he’s
uniquely qualified to intervene before it’s too late—even though the cost is unbearable.
An engrossing and cinematic blend of hard science and thrilling action, and a thoughtful
and ultimately hopeful exploration of what makes us human—and what we stand to lose
if we don’t get our relationship with our vast technological power right.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for this early read!

One kind of thriller I like to read is the techno-thriller - I don’t pretend to understand all of the techy stuff, but I like the high-stakes and often futuristic nature of these stories. Upgrade is set sometime in the future, where the science of gene editing is advanced and is considered a federal crime. The main character is Logan Ramsey, and he works for the Gene Protection Agency. At the opening, he and his team are following a lead to secret gene editing lab, but when they get there it becomes clear it is a trap. Logan is exposed to a virus that almost kills him. But it doesn’t. The opposite in fact – he is getting stronger, smarter, more intuitive every day. He is taken into custody by his own agency, suspected of altering his own genes. With some unexpected help, he escapes and discovers that this is just the first step in a much larger, and darker, plan. And because of his “upgrade”, Logan may just be the only person who can stop it. Logan is a great character. His family history, his predicament, the choices he has to make – you really want to root for him. There is lots of action, but also lots to think about with the plausible science in this fictional world. And I am still thinking about the ending, which really hit home, especially in our current environment. If you haven’t tried a techno-thriller, this might be a good one with which to start.

5 stars

Did Blake Crouch just make me a sci-fi fan? It might be too soon to tell for sure, but I feel like reading Upgrade may have converted me to the genre through a story full of twists, full of action, and ultimately full of heart.

Upgrade starts out with a bang - literally! - when our protagonist Logan is hit by an explosion that upgrades his DNA to make him stronger, smarter, and more perceptive. What follows is a story that centers the question of what does it mean to be human and how our humanity can be weaponized for good or for evil. Crouch's prose is quick and I truly appreciate his ability to present the science in this book in terms that I, as an incredibly un-scientific human being, can understand. I was utterly riveted throughout the story and even found myself shedding a few tears during the epilogue. I will definitely be picking up some of Crouch's backlist in my new quest to see where my reading taste fit within the sci-fi landscape.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for an ARC of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review!

Mr. Crouch, I'm not sure why I keep reading your books and expecting a different outcome.

Your books are what they are: not for me. Sure, they're entertaining and will make passable movies one day, but I can't overlook how dumb this "smart" book is supposed to be.

I couldn't help but feel this book defined intelligence as a dumb person would: read and remember a lot = smart. Intelligence is about abstracting pattern recognition, original thought, and knowing how to make new discoveries. It's not memorizing shit other people have done. All the plot points were about memorization or perfect memory recall. There are people who have this ability today and they're not geniuses. The only pattern recognition utilized in this book is in deciphering people's microexpressions, which is then utilized as a lazy plot device.

The whole plot hinges on one HUGE assumption: intelligent people make better choices that will save all humankind and stop global warming. This assumption is obviously wrong. See Dr. Josef Mengele as an example.

The antagonist's emotional relationship with the protagonist is missing. It's hinted at but never shown. No groundwork is laid. The tension is added soooo late in the game. If this missing element was present, I'd rate this book 4 stars. It's as if the author was consumed with showing off all the neat sci-fi "human improvements" that he forgot to establish any character motivations or tension between the protagonist and antagonist. How boring would The Matrix be if Neo didn't know why he had to fight Mr. Smith? Or if Mr. Smith didn't show up until the end of the movie? That's what we have here. Limitless minus the tension of any downward spiral.

I received this book from Netgalley and the Publisher for an honest review.

Another winner from Blake Crouch!

I thought the concept of this book was absolutely fascinating -- it really made me ponder how myself and/or the world around me would change if I was in a similar situation. Despite the significant imaginative nature of this book, you could tell that Crouch put a lot of thought and research into it. It seems particularly difficult to really conjure how someone would alter through such significant changes in intelligence, but I thought that Crouch did a great job at making these changes in our main character, Logan, seem plausible. Overall this was a very enjoyable, fast-paced story that kept me engaged from beginning to end (though I will say that I found the beginning half of the book to be more propulsive and interesting vs the second half). Highly recommend!

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the advance copy of Blake Crouch’s upcoming summer release Upgrade in exchange for my honest review.

I honestly love the complexity with which Crouch develops these stories - are they sci-fi? Maybe. Thrillers? Kind of. It’s really hard to give it a particular genre, but with the science, it’s okay if this isn’t your forte, you can still follow along.

That being said, this one is my least favorite title of Crouch’s three major works (Dark Matter, Recursion) - I felt like this one had a strange plot, and I didn’t connect with Logan as easily as some of the other protagonists. I’m still rating it very high and definitely think you should check it out if you enjoyed his other titles. Thank you again NetGalley and the publishers for granting me this advance copy for one of my most anticipating of the summer!

Thank you Netgalley and Ballantine Books for this arc.

I did not know what to expect when I went into this book. I know a lot of people love Blake Crouch’s books but I was not sure if his books were for me so I had zero expectations and as soon as I started reading Upgrade I was gladly surprised by it.

The story takes place in a not so distant future where science has evolved enough to allow alterations, or manipulation, of people’s DNAs. In this story, Logan Ramsay is an employee of the Gene Protection Agency. Manipulating genomes is illegal in this world. His mother, a brilliant scientist, was unintentionally responsible for the “Great Starvation” after attempting to improve the resistance of a rice plant to a particular virus but resulted in a global rice crisis, causing the death of two hundred million people.

Logan served his time in prison for his role in the catastrophe and is currently working for the GPA, investigating people who try to change the human genome. In one of his raids, Logan is exposed to a virus and he soon realizes he is changing. His senses, his memory, his strength, vision, have been altered. He comes to the realization that he has been upgraded.

He starts his journey then, trying to understand exactly what happened to him, why he was targeted, and who has done this to him. I liked the fact that the parts in which Crouch goes deeper in the specifics of science and of the human DNA were not impossible to understand. I thought I would read this book and not understand anything. To me the scientific details were very informative in this novel.

The story is very fast-paced, I felt I was watching a movie with a lot of action. I would not be surprise if this book is adapted into a film or series. It was an enjoyable read and it made me curious to read more from this author. Upgrade is also an emotional novel and presents some ethical questions, perfect for a greater discussion.

Upgrade by Blake Crouch is a fantastic sci-if read! It hooks the reader from the start and has enough turns to keep it entertaining. A great summer read!

I really enjoyed the author's former books, Dark Matter and The Pines series, both of which I do not think he could possibly best. Enter, The Upgrade! There have suspense, dystopian, and sci-fi books about the human genome before, but nothing like this!!! I was hooked from the first few pages. There are some truly scary twists in this book that can make you think about humans in the future. This book definitely gave me the chills in a good way!

Highly recommended and I am getting this at publishing!

Thanks to NetGalley, Blake Crouch, and Random House Publishing Group Ballantine Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Available: 7/12/22

UPGRADE by
Blake Crouch

Logan suddenly starts feeling sharper, thinking quicker his memory is much better. His body is stronger he notices he moves quicker and has more energy than before. There is a reason for all of this.He has received a DNA "upgrade" from his famous but dangerous mother who tried this out on his sister and himself.

I loved Blake Crouch books Dark Matter and Recursion and gave then both an easy 5 star review. This book Upgrade i wavered back and forth how to rate it. I loved the idea of the DNA manipulation and wanting to stop using it for evil ...great idea.He wrote a very fast pace exciting page turner but I noticed as I reached towards the end it was all about Chasing the sister .. I felt the book could have had more to it. However the book was redeemed for me by the ending . I loved the insight he gave about people's apathy towards the world and why we are that way. I also loved how it ended.
4 stars.
Thanks to Netgalley and RandomHouse and Ballantine Books for this advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

To quote Woody Allen, “I got a 98 in algebra but only by adding up the scores of my tests.” So let’s see if this ratio makes sense. If Dark Matter is to The Martian then Upgrade is Limitless. Right?

In the 2011 movie Limitless, Eddie Morra (Bradley Cooper) is exposed to an experimental drug that increases his brain capacity to the nth degree. Of course he uses that newfound knowledge to bet on stocks and then the bad guys show up and hilarity ensues. The movie got good reviews and a spinoff tv show. So all-in-all, not bad.

Novelist Blake Crouch plays with a similar idea. He adds in a dark sci-fi spin yet still provides an ample buffer for his legion of mainstream fans. The end result is Upgrade, a totally enjoyable read – but maybe not quite as memorable as the movie. With Upgrade, Logan Ramsey is an agent with the GPA – which is the FBI in the near-future that covers illegal gene manipulation. Fox Mulder woulda loved it. Like Eddie Mora before him, Agent Ramsey is exposed to a radical DNA rewrite that enhances not only his brain capacity but also improves muscle and bone density. He essentially becomes Captain America with Tony Stark’s intelligence for those playing today’s pop-culture game. Logan then goes on a quest to not only find out how he changed and why – but to prevent gene manipulation on a global scale.

Upgrade is a fun, fast read with just enough DNA geekspeak to give the text weight. The climatic action sequence is made-for-a-movie ready. However, even though Logan Ramsey might have Cap’s endurance and Iron Man’s intelligence, there one trait that DNA manipulation could not enhance: Logan Ramsey is one boring as hell character.

Other than playing chess with his daughter, Logan does not possess a single interest nor have any significant characteristics that make him relatable to the reader. He is not interested in cars nor does he collect film noir posters. He is not a fan of the Caps or the Avs or the Nats or the Rockies. He does not take delight in making the perfect bowl of basmati rice nor in sipping special blend Irish whisky. You know what Logan Ramsey is?

Boring.

And man, reading about boring characters don’t make those pages move fast – no matter how fun some of the shoot ‘em up action gets.

Logan Ramsey is a good man. He tries to do the right thing and is driven in his task. Yet, pop-culture is full of other intelligent, driven characters that have provided intense enjoyment over the decades because of their interesting, often-flawed, character makeup. Batman, Sherlock Holmes, Mr. Spock are three quick hits. And yes, perhaps what makes those three memorable are those close-orbiting advocates that keep such drives in check. Ramsey, sadly, does not have that amenity. His humanity is his love for his family, which is admirable and tragic and also - in this grand wide world of anything-can-happen literature – boring.

Upgrade is pure Crouch: fast, inventive, and makes for a great conversation piece. The scifi is believable and relatable… even if the main character is not.


Many thanks to Penguin Random House for the upgrade in sending me the advance read.