Thanks to Netgalley and Random House Ballantine for providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I love Blake Crouch. His Wayward Pines trilogy was a massive yes for me, and I really enjoyed both Excursion and Dark Matter. Unfortunately, this one fell a little flat for me.

I really enjoyed the concept and most of the execution, but I think what really pulled me out of the story was the constant reminder that Logan had been upgraded. I understand that's the point, but after a while, knowing what his heart rate was and how it had changed from the prior paragraph got to be distracting for me.

His moral of the story was on point though - we as humans fail epically at empathy for humankind as a whole, and we're driving ourselves to the point of extinction and refusing to sacrifice for change.

I liked this one, but didn't love it, so I gave it 3.5 stars. I rounded up to 4.

Would I recommend it? Yes, it's still a fantastic story... just go in knowing there's some info-dumping that might pull you out of the tale for a bit.

So... I was never into science throughout school and have never been into science fiction books.

Blake Crouch has changed my mind!

This book is very science heavy - specifically, genomes/gene editing. Some of this stuff I haven’t even thought of since biology many years ago. That being said, I thoroughly enjoyed how Crouch introduced the information. It did NOT read like a textbook you’d be forced to learn from in school. Yes, it provided the same information but in an interesting way. I have never wanted to learn more about genes than I do now after reading Upgrade!

I always try to guess the ending when starting a book. I was not able to do so with Upgrade. The book reads between a slow burn and a fast read.

Pre-upgrade, the main character (Logan) is likable and an average American family man.
Post-upgrade, Logan is a badass fighting to protect those he loves and the rest of humanity.

If you aren’t super into sci-fi but love a good thriller, try Upgrade!

Blake Crouch never disappoints. Fast paced with some sci fi. I might even rank this one above Drake Matter & Recursion, they all 3 are so great!

I loved this new e arc book of his! Thank you netgalley and publisher.

Summary: "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. Because of his new abilities, Logan’s the one person in the world capable of stopping what’s been set in motion. But to have a chance at winning this war, he’ll have to become something other than himself...Maybe even something other than human...what if humanity’s only hope for a future really does lie in engineering our own evolution?... lightning-fast tale that charts one man’s thrilling transformation, even as it asks us to ponder the limits of our humanity—and our boundless potential."

Highly recommend ... 5*. Read in 1 day.

First let me thanks Netgalley, and Ballantine Books for the privilege of this ARC of Upgrade.
I have read many of Blake Crouch’s books and thoroughly enjoyed them all. I have come to expect a particular style in his works. However, Upgrade was a real surprise in both style and story. Crouch spread his literary wing and moved past expectation to my delight. First going into this book, I started to feel that this is heavy SciFi. Well, that is true, but it is so very much more.

I found the level of work, and research the author clearly put into this book nothing short of astounding. To be able to craft his work around, and encompasses details of virology, and genetics yet make it enjoyable and sound as if it were his life’s work, amazing.

Exploring the nature of man, what drives him, and man’s failure to action in preservation of the species, coupled with the arrogance of the individual, I feel is the cornerstone of the story. A story right for the times we are living in.

One of the best works I have read from Blake Crouch.

Blake Couch's newest book is a Dystopian thriller. The plot is about genetic engineering during a time when Earth is a dying victim of climate change. I loved the explanation of stranger indifference, apathy and neglect of our planet. Although sci-fi is not my genre, I thought Upgrade was excellent. Blake Couch even made the science of genetic manipulation understandable. The story was very suspenseful and the protagonist was so authentic that it was easy to care about him and his deep love for his family. I can't give this book more than 5 stars or I would. Excellent writing and stay up all night reading with some new science knowledge. Thanks @Netgalley, @Randomhouse and Ballantine Books for the opportunity to read this amazing ARC. My review will appear on Amazon and Goodreads.

Enjoyed the book, started with a very strong start with a interesting premise ...kind of took downturn along the way but ended with a satisfying ending

What if the human being was capable of much more? What if we could solve physics equations in merely a second. What if we could solve multiple? What if we could climb a 10-story building without breaking a sweat? What if we could save the world?

In a world where gene-editing is illegal, Logan finds his body and mind changing after a mysterious accident at work. Changing to become superhuman. Who's the person responsible for these upgrades, and to what end? What follows is a well-paced thriller that raises interesting questions about what it means to be human, and what it means to be 'more'. Set against the backdrop of a world on the brink of eventual extinction, the book deals with themes of survival, offering up characters with differing viewpoints on whether the ends justify the means when it comes to the fate of a species. The good thing is the author doesn't slant the arguments, leading to an interesting conundrum that seemingly has no right or wrong answer. I found myself engaged with the debate, and frequently changing my mind on who is more right, the antagonist or the protagonist, in line with every conversation they had.

Having really enjoyed Blake Crouch's Dark Matter, and finding his novel Recursion a decent read, I would rank this book in between the two. The story doesn't become too convoluted the follow, as I found it did with Recursion, but isn't as original in its premise as the other two books are. The World-building that 'Upgrade' does is done wonderfully and is very fascinating. The character's personalities can mostly feel a bit flat, but there are moments where our protagonist Logan shows a lot of humanity as he struggles with the burden of his mission.

Without getting too spoilery, my biggest criticism about the book comes with its 'epilogue' chapter, which I felt like ended the story on a much more less interesting note than if it had been left out entirely.

I would give this book a 7/10.

It's a future that's not so far off the mark. In Blake Crouch's stunning novel about genetic manipulation, Logan Ramsay works for the government tracking down and imprisoning those who participate in illegal genetic tampering. Society is in a downward spiral, and all attempts to hack genetic coding have been outlawed.

But after a raid gone wrong, Logan is injured. He finally starts to recover and realizes he's feeling much better than he should. Than he did years ago. His faculties are sharper, his memory and ability to process off the charts. Whatever happened during the raid might have impacted him on a level beyond the surface--into his very DNA.

And then he learns just what happened during that raid, and who was behind it. And what it will mean if what happened to him starts happening to others who aren't prepared for or able to handle the fall-out.

UPGRADE is a masterful tale of what could go wrong if humans start interfering with our own evolution. The characters are deftly drawn, the science more than intriguing. It's a fast-paced story that will leave you on the edge of your seat, turning the pages to see what happens next. Motivations and actions skew the perspective on who is the villain and what responsibilities we all have to make the world a better place. I absolutely LOVED this book and couldn't put it down.

A Recommended Read!.

A Sci fi thriller / speculative fiction about genetic engineering. I really loved the beginning, then felt the middle lagged, then picked up again at the end. I felt some parts were unbelievable, even by the rules/standards set by the book. Overall I enjoyed it very much, but not as much as Dark Matter and Recursion.

I always recommend this author’s books (even to folks who don’t read SciFi) and this one did not disappoint. Upgrade is about a crumbling world and a misguided attempt to save it. It’s about what someone is willing to live with to make humanity better and what they’re willing to leave behind. It answers a question of whether increased intellect is enough to save us or if it’s something more. I just loved this one so much.

I was excited to get Blake Crouch's new novel Upgrade, because I'd enjoyed both Dark Matter and Recursion. This is another science fiction adventure, based on a thoughtful, futuristic what-if.

I wasn't into Upgrade in the beginning, mostly because Average Guy Who Gets Superstrength has been done and done and done. Logan has a Peter Parker transformation, where he's just a little quicker, a little stronger, and everything is just a little easier for him. If this feels like extremely well-covered ground, don't worry, that's just the opening, and the novel develops this character in new directions and asks interesting new questions next.

First, we quickly discover that Logan's not a random guy.  There's an important reason our Logan is the one who received this upgrade, and it starts to lead to a wider world of Logan's family secrets and the world's scientific past. I bought the worldbuilding from the start, because it's a near-future that's not so far from our own world.

Logan's not the only one who's gotten the genetic boost, either, but he and his sister have opposite ideas about what to do with their new abilities.  There's a layered exploration of what these genetic boosts could do for humanity, to improve or destroy lives. A lot of the enjoyment in this novel is watching Logan figure out what he can do and how he's going to use that. I can't add much detail to that isn't a spoiler, though.

I enjoyed watching fast-paced scifi adventure unfold, around the futuristic philosophy question, just like in Crouch's other novels.

As a big fan of some of Crouch's previous work, was really looking forward to diving into this one. Upgrade follows a world where gene editing is common and heavily regulated. Logan Ramsey is a member of the Gene Protection Agency (GPA) who gets infected with a virus while on an investigation. What's first expected as an act of biological warfare, ends up being a sort of gene editing upgrade. Logan starts to connect the dots with his mother, a famed geneticist who has a bad reputation for a failed experiment that led to a major world catastrophe, and tries to figure out whose behind it all.

The story feels a bit heavier on the science compared to some of his previous books, but isn't overwhelming and is helpful in setting the scene. There are some very interesting questions asked in the novel around the future of humanity and what's the most moral way to future success. I also enjoyed the transition that Logan went through as the "Upgrade" began to take hold.

Overall, it's a fun sci-fi story that provides a unique, consumable take on the future of genetic engineering. Highly recommend.

Another huge win for Blake Crouch. I have been reading his books for years and have inhaled each one. He disguises an amazing story about family, forgiveness, acceptance and regret as a thrilling sci-fi dystopian thriller. There is so much depth to his characters. Also the concept is really unique. What is so compelling about this story is that there is so much truth behind it that you almost think that this could be possible. And this is what makes it scary. All of his books are just realistic enough while still being totally out there so you get that feeling in your gut. A great action packed thriller from start to finish!
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for sharing this book with me!

Hands down, this is the best sci-fi book of the year. What I love about Blake Crouch is the trajectory he is on as an author. The Wayward Pines trilogy was great. Dark Matter and Recursion are on my all time favorites list. It seems like novel after novel Blake just keeps getting better and Upgrade is proof of that.

I was fascinated by this concept of gene upgrading, which is basically gene hacking, right? Gene upgrading that gives people Matrix-like abilities, plus a superb story full of twist and turns. Seriously, I could never get a step ahead. This is why I love reading Blake Crouch novels. His stories are so deep and unpredictable. It's an edge of your seat ride from beginning to end! I'm excited that this is my favorite book of the year and I'm also a little bummed out since I have to wait patiently until the next Blake Crouch exciting sci-fi adventure comes by to turn my world upside down.

I want to thank Blake Crouch, Random House Publishing Group, Ballantine Books and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I loved this new novel from Blake Crouch! It's an amazing, almost meditative novel about human nature and the the levels of empathy that we're capable of extending to people we don't know. That simple concept is explored through a complex novel where our main character is dealing with gene editing technology and navigating above-human levels of intelligence.

I think fans of Blake Crouch will really enjoy this, and it's definitely one for readers to keep on their radar this summer.

Thank you so much to NetGalley, Penguin Random House, and Ballantine for this incredible ARC.

In the not so far future, a method of hacking a living entity’s genetic code has been developed, and after an implementation goes terribly wrong, this gene hacking becomes illegal. Agent Logan Ramsay, working for the GPA, an agency that finds these illegal gene hackers, is caught off-guard in a raid during which he is infected by an unknown gene modification virus. Soon, he gains upgraded abilities and is sucked into a larger plan to change humanity at large, and he must figure out how to stop it all.

I’m so impressed by Blake Crouch’s imagination in coming up with a story that ties together a common technological fear with very human emotions to create a unique stories that are equal parts warning and entertainment. He manages to tie in very technical sounding science with human emotions that make you care about the characters deeply. One of my biggest pet peeve in books about the perils of technological innovation is when they don’t delve into specifics about how the technology works in the world of their book. Blake Crouch is one of the best at coming up with this realistic sounding pseudo-science. Upgrade progresses at a great pace, with plenty of action, making sure that the reader is never bored and always wondering what is going to happen next, albeit with a slightly underwhelming climax and conclusion. The build up was just so good, I was expecting more out of the ending. Compared to Recursion, the other Blake Crouch novel I’ve read, this one seemed not quite as flushed out of a concept, and not as many relatable characters. However, it was still a great, relatively quick read, with the added bonus of tidbits of information about the present news being relaid in the book as past events (such as referring to the self driving, electric car as the Google and referencing searching for someone’s Meta profile as opposed to Facebook or Instagram) which I always find amusing. The overarching promotion of conservationism and compassion toward our fellow humans was much appreciated too, especially in the current climate.

Thanks to @netgalley and @randomhouse Ballantine Books for the eARC for review!

I have found out two things about Blake Crouch - I am not science savvy enough to understand all aspects of his books but I love them just the same. This book is very heavy on DNA science. I have some basic understanding there and was able to figure out the gist of what he meant based on that. Did I completely understand all of the sequencing and gene info, no, but I don't think it impacted my understanding of the book. Honestly, Crouch does a great job of making the science accessible to pretty much anyone who has taken high school biology, and then using it to stupefy the reader into wondering just how close we are to this becoming a reality
This one was very fast paced, almost a little too fast paced. I wish there had been a little more about his life before the upgrade to really show the changes. But I also really liked the way the fast pace showed the speed with which he could live his life after the upgrade.
When it comes down to it, as a sci fi book, it did all the things it should: used hard science to show a pretty chilling prediction of what we might be looking at in the future, kept you interested with action, but also had the human element to tie in if a person isn't into the science part of it as much.

This was one of my most anticipated books of the year and I am so sad I didn’t like it more. The first maybe 1/3 to 1/2 I was totally invested and excited to see where the story would go. But once Kara was introduced and Logan had been upgraded any and all connection I had to the story somehow disappeared. Upgraded Logan was irritating and the typical Blake Crouch writing style of short choppy sentences got more and more pronounced to a wildly irritating level. I don’t like the direction the story went in at all, and felt like all we got in the 2nd half was action sequence after action sequence. Any heart in the story was gone and the epilogue did little to dissuade me from my feeling this. Super bummed because the setup and idea is fantastic, I just don’t like how it played out. I’m sure there will be an audience to love this, it just wasn’t me.

eARC received via Netgalley from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

After a biological attack at work leaves him hospitalized, Logan Ramsay, thinks he has survived the worst of it but he soon he realizes the worst is yet to come. Logan begins to feel different...more focused, smarter, a more improved version of himself. He soon discovers his genome is being "upgraded" to something more evolved. A plan to unleash a virus that may save or end humanity as we know it is in the hands of the one man who may be able to stop it but as Logan continues to transform he finds himself losing his humanity.

Upgrade is the new action-packed, sci-fi, thrill ride by author Blake Crouch. The novel follows a seemingly normal guy, Logan, who we soon discover hides a tragic family secret. While investigating a genetic threat for work he gets caught in a mishap that exposes him to a genetic altering virus. As Logan begins to transform he must flee to safety where he can try to figure out what is happening to him. Although there was quite a bit of technical sci-fi lingo involved, I found this novel quite fascinating and the action scenes were a nice transition between the more scientific expositions of the novel. I had a hard time putting this one down and I really enjoyed seeing Logan's character struggle with his humanity and the changes that were occurring against his will...a must read for 2022!

Wow. Just, wow. This is the kind of science fiction that I love. It's a real "what if" of a possible future.
Logan Ramsey is a member of the GPA, the Gene Protection Agency. They stop genetic research, especially the sort that results in changes to the genes in any living entity, including plants and insects. The agency was a result of a genetic mutation in an attempt to bolster one strain of rice's resistance to blight. The mutations infected other food crops causing them to fail and starve millions of people. That was to never happen again, so genetic research was forbidden.
You can't stop an idea. You can make it illegal and lock up anybody that has that idea and works on it. But you can't kill it. Somewhere, sometime, somebody is thinking about it. That somebody will eventually try to make that idea physical.
Logan is also the son of a brilliant genetic researcher. She was involved with the famine the rice project caused and was believed dead. What if she wasn't dead? What if she was working in secret on "improving" human intelligence? What if she succeeded? Would making people smarter avert the coming destruction of the human race? Is intelligence what we need? Is the lack of genius what is leading us toward oblivion?
Lots of questions in that last paragraph, aren't there? That why I like this type of science fiction. Oh, the book is a rip roaring thriller with plots and plans and people chasing each other. There is plenty of science and plenty of scientific gobbledygook (all of which is very likely real but it won't mean much to the average reader) to make the story plausible. The real gem, at least for me, is Logan's final discovery and decision. I read this on in a very short time. I will be thinking about it for a while.
Just because you can, doesn't mean you should.
I read the copy of the book for this review from Netgalley.