Let me be the first to say I am not a sci-fi fan, but this book intrigued me. It’s a doomsday scenario. Lower Manhattan is under water due to rising seas. Food is scarce. The planet is dying. In an attempt to improve human adaptation, a botched genetic experiment results in the spread of a virus killing millions of people around the globe. But, can failure sometimes lead to success? Should we keep trying? Maybe those deaths were worth it. Could genetic mutation create a generation of brainiacs who could survive, thrive, and make life worth living again? In continuing to experiment, how many more deaths would result? Do we care? A moral dilemma.

The story is told through the son of the scientist who created the deadly virus. He is kidnapped and injected with gene enhancing materials by which he develops super human strength and intelligence. He is made aware of the fact that his dead mother is still behind the scenes influencing more genetic experiments behind black ops doors. His gut says he should stop them before they cost more human lives. The government can’t be trusted either. There’s a lot of intrigue, violence, being chased and chasing. In other words, a movie in the making.

And, even though there was a ton of scientific mumbo jumbo, of which I had absolutely no comprehension, somehow it didn’t bother me. I mean, even with that, the writer totally kept my interest. And I loved the epilogue. A twist that gave me food for thought.

This is my first experience reading this author. Apparently, his other books have been well received. All I can say is if you like exciting spy thrillers with a dash of dystopia, this might be your bag. It’s not really mine, but a good writer can make anything work. I was very impressed.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for letting me read and review this book.

In such a great way that pulls you into the story from the beginning, the author does a fantastic job of laying out the story. This is a frightening concept that makes you wonder how much has actually happened already in real life. I highly recommend this book. Blake Crouch does not disappoint.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with this eArc in exchange for an honest review.

Blake Crouch is one of my desert island authors. I had high expectations for this book, and he absolutely smashed all of them. Upgrade is fast paced, but most importantly brilliantly written.

I love Blake Crouch novels so when I was able to get abs ARC of this book, I eagerly took advantage. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for this.
This book was a nice near future sci-fi novel. I like the first person narration the author uses. There was a lot of research done to make the genetics in the book accurate abs it shows. The book has a nice conclusion which is so often lacking in sci-fi books.
That being said, it wasn’t a page turner to the extent good last novel was. The stakes were high and the action was there but I didn’t find myself as invested as usual in the authors novels.

“Upgrade” takes place in somewhat future semi-dystopian time, one far enough distant that climate change has flooded parts of major coastal cities, but not so far that a reference to the Coronavirus pandemic was expected to be understood. It is also a time in which genetic modification has advanced to a point only dreamt of today by scientists and science fiction authors. Miriam Ramsay is a geneticist whose attempt to solve an agricultural problem with genetics led instead to a global famine and millions of deaths. Her failure in turn led to global bans on genetic work enforced by omnipotent agencies, for whom her son, Logan, is an agent as the book begins.

Logan’s interrogation of a suspected genetic criminal takes him to a house believed to house a lab, but instead is booby-trapped deliberately to “infect” Logan with an upgraded version of human potential, including both physical and intellectual attributes. As these changes occurred while Logan was recovering from the explosion, his agency locks him in a totally isolated environment while they try to analyze the changes. In a deus ex machina sequence, Logan is rescued by his estranged (and also upgraded) sister, Kara, and learns that his mother, thought by all to be dead, was responsible for the upgrades.

Logan, working first with, and then against, his sister, tries to stop the attempt by his mother to spread the upgrade globally, given the mishaps from Miriam’s earlier attempts to use her genetic skills. The plot takes Logan all around the country and eventually pits him in direct conflict with his sister in flooded lower Manhattan.

The book is well written with just the right amount of suspense, failures, and successes. My major objection is with the use of an epilogue to resolve the plot. As much as I dislike the tendency of many current writers to add chapters to keep the plot going, this ending, while wrapping up the loose ends, left me wondering how Logan got there. Will this be the basis for a sequel?

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

First off, if you're exhausted by COVID or world current events, I'd probably steer clear of this one as it is very clearly inspired by COVID and extrapolates to the near future of the implications of COVID and genetic engineering. The main premise of this is "what if COVID, but it makes you stronger, better, faster, stronger?" Also can be a bit of a downer about the path we're headed down as a species, which is fine, but if you're looking for an escape might not be the best way to do that.

Crouch writes a good thriller and it's easy to read and get through a bunch of chapters in no time, this would make for a good beach read that challenges your thinking a little bit but not too much.

Some of the ideas here are interesting but feel a little rushed and they definitely needed more room to breathe and more page time to get more connected to the characters and dig into the ideas a bit deeper.

It was definitely enjoyable to read, but I'll probably forget about it pretty quickly. It all does feel a bit too familiar of a movie you've seen before but with more of a COVID and current events angle that never feels completely believable in the way that Crichton books can feel.

Would recommend this book to anyone who wants a quick read with a lot of action that does a decent job of creating a near future world and asks some interesting questions about genetic engineering and what it means to be human. Didn't blow me away but I enjoyed my time with it.

I like this writer and went looking for more of his books. Solid story, good science too. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

There's this new trend I've noticed lately in sci-fi books that I'm not enjoying, and this book falls prey to it. The main character is plunged into a situation and spends the entire book being introspective without the book really going much of anywhere. This book felt like it wanted to be a Tom Clancy novel with even less soul.

Our hero is genetically upgraded without his permission, which causes him to become intellectually and physically superior to other humans in every way. He encounters another person with the same upgrade, but they're at odds about whether to find a way to upgrade all of humanity to become better people and thus save the planet from our climate change woes and extinction or not. Much introspection and chasing each other ensues. And I don't agree with our hero's stance on the issue.

The final 10% of the book is nearly unreadable as our hero climbs the stairs of a tall building in search of his foe, cocks his gun a lot, pretends to be a Tom Clancy hero, and lists off the floors as he searches. 10. 12. 13. Nobody on 14. 15...

I've been a fan of Blake Crouch for a while and was extremely excited to read his latest book as an early reviewer, but this thing needs to go back to the editing table. Heck. It needs a complete reboot. There are some interesting concepts here, but it feels like it was lacking the right vehicle to carry them. I'd honestly rather see the results of a genetically upgraded humanity than follow this storyline.

Reading this was a chore. Yes, I'll buy the next Blake Crouch book, but I can't recommend this one at all.

4/4.5 ⭐️
Upgrade is set in the future where genetic modifications are outlawed. Logan, an agent for the Gene Protection Agency, is infected by a virus in an explosion during a raid. The virus upgrades his intelligence and analytical abilities. Soon, he is on the run and in the middle of a cross country chase to save himself and world. The genetics/ DNA explanations were well done. The epilogue tied the story together well.
Upgrade made me think about the impact and ethics of genetic modification.
I highly recommend this fast paced, science based, dystopian adventure!
I also loved Dark Matter and Recursion.


Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this early release ARC.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4521111133

The message is right on target. Great story and thrilling ending.

Should garner some votes as best book of 2022

Thank you NetGalley for providing and early copy to review.

The author has done an amazing job laying out the story in such a great way to pull you in from the beginning. A scary concept that makes you wonder how much has actually already taken place in real life. I enjoyed reading this book very much.

This book is great! Would definitely recommend. Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

This sci-fi thriller was a hit for me! It is fast-paced and centered around changing DNA to "upgrade" humans. There is family drama and high stakes for the future of humanity which keeps the action going. Lots to enjoy here so I highly recommend it.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for a digital ARC.

This book started out a little slow, but quickly took off. It does have some technical jargon but I was not overwhelmed or made to feel stupid. I enjoyed the ending. Just wish it was possible to happen in this age of hate around the world.

Easy five stars for the new one by Blake Crouch. this guy keeps getting better and his ideas are great. this one has alot of science in it, but told in a way thats easy to understand. Very fast paced and right to the point. loved it.

Wow! Blake Crouch did it again. This was a wonderful, deeply scientific novel that causes the reader to ask deep questions and think about the meaning of life. I blew through this novel very quickly, and I really enjoyed reading it. I’m a little disappointed in the ending, it definitely left me wanting more and feeling like the story was incomplete. Still, a very enjoyable read that I will purchase for my library and recommend to my science loving readers. Thank you so much for the opportunity to read this arc and provide an honest review.

Upgrade by Blake Crouch is one of the best books I've read in the last 10 years. Given the current state of the world, it is not hard to believe in the least. The characters are well developed, with heroes and villains who are perfectly flawed, usually likable, and definitely easy to identify with. The plot is interesting, exciting, and entirely plausible. But the best part is the end where are all of the ethical conundrums are resolved thoughtfully, and, I believe, correctly. This book is one about which I will ponder for quite some time. I would love to see it as a TV series or a movie. My only regret is that I can't give it more than five stars!

I admit that I'm not a huge fan of sci-fi books, but I have read many that I've enjoyed. This was not one of them. While the premise is intriguing, the story is slow and there are way to many passages that are just scientific explanation. Clearly the author is knowledgeable and the details give credibility to the plot, but there are just too many lengthy passages that read like a biology book. I realize there's a need for some "science" in science fiction, but I don't want the science to overwhelm the story. The story needs to be captivating enough that the science is just an afterthought. I'm sure others will love this book. The scientific explanations are clear enough to make the story scarily real -- I'm sure someone is working on "upgrades" to human DNA as we speak. I just found myself skipping pages just to get to the plot.

I would almost call this book science fiction which is a genre I would not normally choose. That being said I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It held my attention from start to finish. At lot of times when I read a book with these type of details which are way over my skill set I would skip right past but I found myself reading every word. I think it was complex but yet easy enough for everyone to understand. I admit I rarely if ever guessed where the story was going next. I would recommend this book.

Another excellent sci-fi novel by Blake Crouch. I raced through this book. The plot, characters, pacing, setting, everything was soo good. I did not know much about the science behind DNA and genes, but I didn't need to, to enjoy this book. All of Crouch's books are so visual, it feel like your watching a movie. I will recommend to sci-fi and thriller fans. Excellent book!