"After a botched raid, GPA agent Logan Ramsay discovers he's been infected by an unknown virus. A virus that slowly changes his DNA, upgrading his mental and physical prowess and turning him into the kind of anomaly the GPA hunts down. To make matters worse, Logan believes his upgrade wasn't an accident at all."

Let me start by saying I thought I hated Sci-Fi until I "met" Blake Crouch. After I devoured a few of his other books, I was gifted this one. It is so much more than Science Fiction.

Blown away from beginning to end....

While explaining genetics and using enough mathematical equations to make your head spin, you fall in love with Logan and can feel his pain and despair as he searches for answers. There's science mixed with familial relationships, heartache, and action. It was one of the best of 2022 for me.

My heartfelt thanks to Netgalley, the author, and Penguin Random House for allowing me to read this masterpiece as an ARC!

I am a huge Blake Crouch fan, but unfortunately this one was not my favorite. I thought the general idea was really interesting, but it got a bit bogged down in all the science and the story just didn’t develop as much as I would have like. All in all, it was interesting but a bit boring. Thank you netgalley for my free review copy.

Blake Crouch is a phenomenal science fiction author. I appreciate that his characters are well-rounded and well-developed, and the pace kept the plot moving. The themes and messages throughout make you think about the impact science can have on humanity and its future.

Loved this! Action packed from start to finish. This really had my wheels turning and had me thinking. This was a deep one. So complex. He had to do a ton of research. This was so well done and had me so invested in the whole story.

Wow! This was quite a suspenseful book that kept me interested throughout the book. I really appreciate the opportunity to review this book. Thank you so much. Highly recommend!!!

A very different book and I really enjoy it it is about Logan someone who doesn't even understand what happened and why his genome has been Hacked.

This is a story that will take you into many scenarios that you won't see them coming, I really enjoy that this was a completely new subject for me and that I was actually feeling like I was in a sci-fi movie seeing how Longan was lost and didn't know what was happening to him. now Logan has an ability that will help him to move forward with many things nobody could do

Without giving more about this fantastic sci-fi roller coaster, be ready to get immersed in a magnificent story that will succeed your expectations.

Thank you, NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Ballantine Books, for the advanced copy of Upgrade in exchange for my honest review

This was super suspenseful. I really like the scary concept of this particular issue with genomes and biology.

Blake Crouch can do no wrong. It took me a bit to get into this, as his books make me feel a little stupid at time, but I loved it and will keep buying whatever he writes!

Upgrade is an actioned packed book that hit the ground running and never looked back. I think many would call this a “dad book” and as I listened to the audiobook on a family road trip, my family definitely agrees. While I really enjoyed the beginning, I found that as Logan evolved past what we know I started to care less and less about his mission and motivations.

Blake has done it again! A smart mystery that keeps you engaged. A thriller for the science geek in you.

Upgrade is the first sci-fi-ish book I've read in a long time and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The story is set in the near future. The world is reeling from one crisis after another, thanks to man's never-ending quest for more. It is at this point in time that Logan's mad super-scientist mom decides to give her son an upgrade that will "save" humanity. Will it? I would love to see this made into a movie soon.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the arc.

Does Blake Crouch ever miss? I mean, seriously!!! My first ever Blake Crouch was also a NetGalley ARC and I learned from that second forward I would request all books that came from him! He’s brilliant! This book was so exciting and I’ve never read anything like this plot line! SO GOOD; my brain is still reeling from
This one!

I received an eARC of Upgrade by Blake Crouch from the publisher, although I also purchased the audiobook and a BOTM edition. All opinions are my own.

Upgrade is another great sci-fi thriller from Blake Crouch. The author has a great talent for blending what reads like authentic science into his narratives while still creating a suspenseful and engaging story. This one features a dystopian near future in which the study of genetics is highly regulated and gene engineering is outlawed. The protagonist Logan is an agent of the Gene Protection Agency, and embarks on a series of events that will change his life and possibly the world. Compared to Dark Matter, which I read and loved, this one felt a little more technical and the stakes of the plot didn’t have the same urgency in my opinion. With that said, I still really enjoyed it and would recommend it to readers of Crouch, Weir, etc. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I am not a science fiction reader but I always make time for the latest Blake Crouch.

The message in this book is what sells it. Crouch doesn’t shy away from some of life’s biggest questions, such as what does it mean to be human or what costs are worth it to save our species.

Definitely heavy in the science and technical writing, but it doesn’t detract from the book

I love the author's books. Dark Matter and REcursion are a personal favourite.

I went in expecting to be wowed by this one too but it wasn't what I expected. It was more like an action movie that had me engaged throughout but I wanted a little more from the story. There is a lot of chemical, biological and medical terminology which threw me off.
Having said that I will still recommend this book because it's a really creative book making it a really entertaining sci-fi thriller.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for sending a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The premise was interesting, all the sciency data was not.

I did like the MC Logan Ramsey, and how he was forced to come to terms with how the actions of his mother affected him.

The first part of the book was action-packed and the twists happened pretty quickly. Unfortunately, it is just the set up for the rest of Logan's journey, which is pretty linear and predictable.

Science plays a very prominent part of the story, but the author kills us with it. He rattles off large chunks of DNA sequences and genetic info, and it was so boring and distracting from the actual story. Like, I would have totally just believed that Logan figured out a problem, I did not need to follow his exact thought process to get there.

The epilogue saved the ending for me, but it still wasn't too surprising. Overall, this was a 3.5 stars for me, it was interesting, and I did like the morality issues Logan had to deal with, but the book was made too long by the laborious explanations of all the science.

Blake Crouch is SUCH a story teller.
His books are such a ride. I have never been bored by one of his books and this was no exception.
He had such a way with taking way out there crazy concepts and making them into such a realistic, heartbreaking, relatable human story,
Great character, great pacing. All around sold read, equal party’s terrifying and emotional. Definitely read this.

Thank you NetGalley for giving me an ARC of this book. Unfortunately, I got to this WAAAYYY too late, but better late than never I suppose. Let me start of by saying that this was my introduction to Blake Crouch. I feel like maybe my expectations were a bit skewed since I've heard nothing but good things about Recursion and Dark Matter and I went into Upgrade blindly. This book just maybe wasn't the right starting point for me personally, or just maybe the topic of this one didn't work as well as I may have hoped.

For these kinds of stories, I think it benefits the reader to go in with as little information as possible to avoid any spoilers, so for that reason, I am going to skip discussing the synopsis. If that's something you're interested in, feel free to check the back of the book or Goodreads, but for my own experience, I opted not to.

I will say that at times I felt like this book was entirely too smart for me and often paragraphs went right over my head. I found myself skimming through sections on DNA and parts to do with Logan's "upgrade" and what had been affected inside his body. I can't even begin to pronounce half of the words used, so I certainly wasn't understanding them. I did find that most of this information didn't take away from the plot and didn't leave holes where I couldn't follow along with what was going on.

I think the concept of the story was unique and interesting, and I found myself invested in Logan as he changed, his family and his sister. These parts of the story really drew me in and captured my attention, even if how much I liked Logan as a character lessened the more time we spent with him. In all honesty, I think I enjoyed the first chapter though the most because it was more action packed and did a great job of drawing me in and making me want to continue, even if the middle slowed down a lot and didn't hold my attention as completely. I also REALLY enjoyed the last chapter. I thought it was a fitting ending even if it wasn't entirely what I wanted or would have expected.

So all in all, I think that I will check out the other Blake Crouch books that I have picked up already even if this one wasn't really for me.

Although science fiction is not typically my genre, I decided to give this one a chance and I am certainly glad I did. It got me out of my element in an enjoyable way. I felt like there were enough elements of suspense and action that Blake Crouch's approach to science fiction is one that can be appreciated by many!

Upgrade was no exception to that rule. Full of suspense and twists, this was engaging throughout. All while being immersed in a world with technology so well described and built by Crouch that I could really imagine it while reading. I felt like I could get lost in it, with writing that kept me wanting to read more.

Again, not my usual style but so well done that I really would not let that deter you if science fiction is not your thing! this book has so much more.

Thank you to Ballantine Books and NetGalley for my eARC in exchange for an honest review!

🧬 I don’t know if this author’s books make me feel like a genius or a dummy! This dude writes complex, technological stories! You cannot skim this book lightly! Like his previous books, this requires your complete attention!

🧬 While I loved Dark Matter and Recursion by this author, Upgrade didn’t quite reach the same level for me (although I still really liked it). To me, this book felt more like a lecture in advanced genetics than a sci-fi thriller and all the technological explanations got a little tedious. Yes, me, the STEM advocate and engineer got bored with all the technical information! I don’t get it either, but it is true.

🧬 I did think the ethics of “upgrading” people was interesting. Just because we can do something, doesn’t always mean we should.

🧬 I also appreciated the human aspect of the story – particularly regarding the main character and his wife/daughter.

🧬 Oh, and I loved the Missouri references – particularly Arthur Bryant’s Barbeque in Kansas City! Such a great restaurant!

🧬 Overall, this is a superhero book. A hero who saves the world - wrapped up in a very technical genetics course with a decent number of thrills and emotions sprinkled in for excitement and humanity.

Thank you @netgalley and @randomhouse #Ballantine for an eARC of this book, which I have read and reviewed honestly and voluntarily.