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.

For me, here’s the secret to enjoying a @blakecrouch1 novel—don’t try to understand the science. Is genome hacking possible? No idea. Is it possible given THIS methodology? Beats me! What I can tell you is that Blake Crouch makes it *feel* real. If you start reading Upgrade and pause to watch a SciShow episode every time you read about a scientific concept that you don’t understand…you’ll drive yourself crazy. But if you can suspend reality long enough to get on the bus with Crouch…you’re in for one heck of a ride.
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Overall, I think I’d classify Upgrade as a thriller with surprising depth. There were twists. There were turns. There were deeper questions about ethics and global warming and whether it’s possible to save humanity from itself. I really, really enjoyed it, and plan to purchase a hard copy for myself. And my house is 1,000 sq ft, so if I’m buying a hard copy of a book I already have digitally…that’s a good sign! Upgrade comes out July 12, 2022 and I highly recommend it for summer reading!
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⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨ (4.5 out of 5 stars)

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to review this book.

I love Blake Crouch but one of the issues with his books is that you can’t review them because you will spoil everything. I am not a Sci Fi reader, but somehow he gets me every time. This book leaned a little more sci fi heavy for me, and I wish it was little more thriller. This was not as good as Dark Matter, but better than Recursion. Also, I was unable to put it down.

Now I need to think about whether I would go for genetical upgrade if given a chance? And also if there are people out there who think they get to decide if everybody needs an upgrade. Gosh, this sounds so scary!!

Upgrade follows the story of Logan who ends up with an upgrade that kind of makes him good at almost everything but the government becomes aware of this upgrade and wants to research as expected. Then it turns into a fast-paced sci-fi thriller with an intense cat and mouse game between intelligence forces and Logan. It is very much like the sci-fi movies that I have enjoyed watching but is also the kind that leaves the readers weighing the pros and cons of an upgrade and consequently our future. The whole plot could be in very near future makes it very interesting as the viruses have turned our lives upside down and made us understand that anything can happen, any minute and anywhere.

To all the fans of Blake Crouch - absolutely pick this one and you will definitely enjoy it!

I had read the synopsis of Upgrade quite some time ago and then through a book community that I am a part of, I found out how to get an ARC of the book, so I had quite a bit of hype leading up to reading this book. I guess without trying to spoil anything, the premise of Upgrade is a question that has been asked throughout history and that is "just because I can change something, should I?"
Upgrade follows the life of Logan Ramsay, an agent for the Gene Protection Agency, who is injured in a raid on a suspected Bio-Lab. After he is exposed to the substance, he notices changes in the way that he thinks, feels and interacts with things, but he isn't the only one noticing these changes!
Upgrade is a roller coaster ride with plenty of action mixed in with the science, so you'll never get bored and being so fast-paced the book is an exceptional fast read. There are twists and turns and betrayals throughout that will leave you guessing as to who is actually helping Logan and who is out to get him.
I would thoroughly recommend this book to anyone who likes Science Fiction and anyone that has ever dreamt of being more because this book will give you an idea of what it might look like and the cost that it incurs.

Logan Ramsey works for a government agency that controls and tries to limit gene change. Humanity, as we know it, is disintegrating and not expected to survive another century. His mother, Miriam Ramsey, a brilliant scientist developed gene changes that lead to upgrades in the intelligence of some and mass deaths in others. Collateral damage that was of little or no import. Logan is taken in by his agency and kept prisoner in a black ops hideaway. He is also upgraded. His sister, who has a military background, rescues him and attempts to get him to help her continue their mother’s work. The plot is that of a thriller, but also SciFi and so very believable. I won’t go further into the plot because of spoilers, but will say it is engrossing and captivating, just a really well done thriller that will have you thinking about it long after you finished it. Thanks to Net Galley and Ballantine Books (Random House) for an ARC for an honest review.