I was blown away by another Blake Crouch trip into the believable/unbelievable. What starts out as scientists manipulating genetics in the hopes of eliminating a harvest plague turns into so much more. This is an epic tale of the logic of science versus the ethics of humanity, pitting members of one family against each other. “Upgrade” kept me up late at night because I just had to know the ending.

(3.2/5)

I am slightly more positive about this book after a few days of reflecting, but there are many things holding this back from being a 'great' book.

Crouch's writing style is just so very sparse. I read Dark Matter and Recursion on audio and do not remember feeling the same way on the audio medium, but with Upgrade, I found myself often irked at the simplicity. There would be long passages where Crouch describes the actions of the narrator in the simplest way possible including many 2 word abrupt sentences. When Crouch does get descriptive about the environment, he often just lists things out with an adjective of choice. For some people, this is not an issue, but for me, such a writing style will reduce my enjoyment.

The world Crouch places the narrator in is the near future. It is quite depressing and Crouch makes sure to let us know this. Unfortunately, the world-building is done in an, er... abrupt way. There is one particular good flashback of the past, but often we get a picture of the future in a way that just lists things out. It also seems Crouch pulls modern-day events he saw on the news and extrapolated them into lore in this book, which seemed a bit uninspired to me. The overall depiction of this future world is morbidly possible though, so props to Crouch.

Regardless, this was a fast-paced thriller and I never grew bored throughout, even if I was also irked at the usage of some thriller tropes and predictable twists.

The topic of the book is not very original. I've seen something similar done in Crichton's Terminal Man from the 70's and the movie Limitless. Upgrade does have its own spin on these concepts and you've got to give Crouch some credit for that. Particularly, Crouch's commentary on genetics and human nature is direct and to the point, letting us know the importance of thinking about these things today. I cannot recall this particular message being portrayed in such a mainstream way before and I hope Upgrade gets some people thinking about them, and I suspect for many readers, these concepts will be brand new. Currently, human genetic modification is considered immoral, but this book makes you question, should it really be? Unfortunately, I must say the execution of the themes fell flatter than it otherwise would have it Crouch could have been a bit more articulate and less abrupt in his prose.

I see no reason to not continue reading new Crouch books as they release. The books are just so easy to read and usually give a lot to think about.

Not my favorite Blake Crouch novel yet, but still an extremely enjoyable ride! Mr. Crouch certainly knows how to write a page-turner, and I couldn't put this down from the moment I started.

3.5-3.75
*netgalley copy*

Another enjoyable book from this author. While I didn’t enjoy it quite as much as Dark Matter or Recursion it was still a great read. If you’ve enjoyed his other books you’ll likely enjoy this one too. There were a few times that I found myself skimming over some sections just to get to the action again but overall I’d still recommend it to fans.

Upgrade, by Blake Crouch, is a brilliant dystopian look at what genetics engineering can bring. Our hero’s mother caused hundreds of millions to die when her GMO rice mutated and destroyed the ability to grow rice. Now the genetics agency, which her son works for, controls any attempts at genetic modification. But it seems his supposedly dead mother is now trying to provide genetic upgrades to human capabilities. His sister was also drawn into this, and the enhanced twosome are at odds over what is best for humanity. It’s written as an excellent thriller which kept me glued to it, and has a wonderfully thought through ending.

Upgrade is the 16th novel by Blake Crouch. I started to read one of his early novels 8 years ago, but I gave up part way through the story. The good news is that this book kept me on the edge of my seat until the end. This is a sci-fi novel set about 25-30 years in the future. In the course of this story, millions of people die as the result of untested genetic manipulations are attempted, and if a certain plan to “upgrade” human physical and mental powers works, “only” one billion in the world’s population of ten billion will die.

The story is connected to the worldwide experience of the novel coronavirus (which has similarities to the last book I reviewed, Reap3r, which I gave a raving review). In this story, Agent Logan Ramsay was working for the Gene Protection Agency. It had become illegal to do self-editing of genes, and prior to his time with the government agency, Logan had been in prison for several years as the result of the suspicion that he had done just that. Logan was the daughter of a famous geneticist, Miriam Ramsay, who had allegedly died just as she was about to be arrested for such offenses, herself. Miriam thought the human race was doomed as the result of its timely failure to manage global warming. There was no doubt the world was changing and becoming much less habitable than it had been before. Logan also had an older sister who was a vital player in this story. She was the brighter one of the two siblings, and she and Logan often did not see eye to eye about their mother’s legacy.

Ultimately, this is a story about the lack of ability to control unforeseen outcomes, as well as the impact of selfishness/narcissism versus compassion. It’s a novel worth reading. Thanks to Random House for an advanced copy. The book is expected to be published in early 7/22.

4/4.5 stars!
This was another winner from Blake Crouch in my opinion!

Logan Ramsay, makes for an interesting main character.
In the beginning of the book, I felt an emotional connection to him and then again at the end.
In the middle of the book, I did not connect to him as much, but I feel like that’s the entire point in the book.

Without giving too much away, I love how Crouch shows us the benefits of DNA adaption and upgrades, but also shows how the upgrade will cause us to lose our humanness and feelings for people and memories.

When Logan gets targeted with an upgrade to his DNA composition, he becomes more conscious, hyper focused and driven in his decisions. But with this upgrade, he also becomes less emotional about his actions, thoughts, and the important people in his life.

The pacing in Upgrade lags a bit in the middle but the ending and epilogue brings up the emotional enjoyment for me. In fact, I was a bit emotional with how Crouch ends the book and wraps things up for Logan Ramsay.

Overall, the DNA dumping and science information was a bit much, but it does not take away from the overall plot and emotional connection that I felt for the characters.

I really love how Couch shows us the benefits of how to save humankind and earth with this new sci-fi thriller!

Definitely get to this one if you love sci-fi themed books along with books that look at the bigger picture when it comes to saving the world!

Once again I am enthralled with the writing of Blake Crouch. His newest book Upgrade is to Earth what the Martian by Andy Weir was to Mars. Even though I couldn't wrap my head around some of the biological stuff going on, I COULD NOT put it down. It was fast paced, believable and timely. 5 ***** stars!!!

A futuristic thriller with the moral dilemma of, if you could upgrade your mind and your body with enhanced physical powers, brain improvement for memory and foresight, would you do it? Two enhanced siblings are at odds with what is right and wrong after their bio-scientist mother leaves them with such powers and the formulas that could be injected into the population of the world.

While my eyes glazed over at all the scientific biological detail, this thriller was a fast read I had to be in the mood for to pick up. Intense and often alarming, I'd compare it with clone technology and nonfiction DNA study. I do admire the author's meticulous research.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the early opportunity to read and review.

Mark your calendars for July 12, 2022 as Crouch's next sci-fi thriller releases!

3.5 stars! I loved Crouch's first two books of Dark Matter and Recursion so when I saw the email that was I was pre-approved to read his next book, excited was an understatement.

Crouch has an amazing way to entertain his readers while explaining the science in a way that most can understand. I usually feel like I need to don my glasses when I finish one of his books. This book started the same way but the science this time involves our DNA and amazing changes that can be done to it (good or bad).

Part One of the story sucked me and I saw that I was flying through the book. However, Part Two and Three felt like a screeching halt. The plot seemed to stall and I was reading pages on pages about Logan's amazing abilities. I wish Crouch had kept it down to a minimum so that it still felt fast paced.

When I finished, I felt bummed and unsatisified compared to his two previous books that I read. However, Crouch is still an auto-buy author for me so I'm hoping this is just a fluke with his story.

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House/Ballantine for an arc in exchange for my honest review.

8/10

Little did I know, when I picked up this book, that Blake Crouch was already an internationally best-selling author. As it turns out, Upgrade should be another international bestseller for him - especially after the movie is released (yes, this book was optioned by Spielberg’s Amblin Entertainment)

Upgrade is a cross between Jack Reacher and Walter Isaacson’s “Codebreakers”.

It takes place at some point in the not so distant future, after the world was decimated by gene editing mistakes. The Gene Protection Agency was started to stop all rogue gene editing efforts.

Before I continue on here, let me say that this concept is not so far fetched since some of what is described in the book can already be done by CRISPR technology. Read “Codebreakers”.

This book is a fast-paced suspense novel that locks you in around page five and doesn’t let go.

Any fan of suspense novels will drink this up. I’m not sure I’d call it Sci Fi, but those fans will love it too. It’s fun, it’s compelling and it’s a frighteningly scary look at a potential future for our planet.

#netgalley #upgrade

Very good science fiction thriller from author Blake Crouch that dabbles in gene-altering scheme and outcomes reminiscent of early Stephen King and Michael Crichton books. UPGRADE is best when it veers away from classic science fiction tropes and creates tension with scenarios eerily prescient of our current world. Our pandemic world offers a lot to work with for the enterprising author ready to shock readers and Crouch almost pulls it off. This is a good book and worth reading; I just wanted something extra from an author I have come to love. I received my copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Logan Ramsay, a perfectly ordinary agent, now works for the GPA- the Gene Protection Agency. After a raid where an aerosol explosion occurred, Logan is feeling different. At first he felt sick, but months later, he is feeling better than ever. He can remember the smallest details of his life, read multiple books in a day, perform better physically, and experience his senses at a new level. When his employers find out he has been upgraded, they take him into custody. When he finds out who did this to him, he is terrified. After breaking out of custody, he finds out that the person who did this has plans to upgrade all of humanity. But Logan is worried this will affect the population in an extremely detrimental way. He makes it his mission to stop this upgrade from going any further.

I am not usually a big fan of sci fi, but this book was fantastic! Blake Crouch writes incredibly developed characters and breathtaking stories. This book was full of science and out of this world things, but it’s also a love story. I think it’s really beautiful that he can do both simultaneously. While there is a lot of gene science explained in the book, I didn’t feel like it was too descriptive or that the complex information was necessary to understand the storyline. It was a very clever idea and kind of terrifying that science could possibly advance to that level. I look forward to reading Blake Crouch’s other books!

Another gripping, thought provoking and fast read book from B. Crouch.
I have been a big fan of his work since reading Dark Matter. Each novel is hard scifi based and unique in its own storyline that also depicts the what ifs, the can bes and the capacity of the human mind to go further.
As with this book, it deals with current events of global warning and human's impending doom if we don't take steps towards solving climate change (as one of the growing issues of our world today in the book). Tied into this is a world where genetic engineering has taken center stage with the ability to design, manipulate and redefine our DNA code both used for good and evil. Herein lies the dilemma of how far one would go to save the world if there is such a discovery where it can save humankind.
The story is lead by Logan, who is a son of a renowned geneticist who has discovered a way to save the world through opening the mind to become more self aware, stronger, smarter. And through this assumption, people with the like mindedness of being knowledgeable would be able to save the world. However, such as the case of being omnipotent that you lose one's sense of compassion to replace logic and rationality. Thus, brings the story to Logan fighting between heart and mind and realizing that to save humanity, one has to have both in order for people to unite on a common goal of self preservation.

A great read! Thought provoking and scary - as even though this is fiction, it still hold some truth of where we are at now. There is good action that kept me reading as well as learning the scientific details of DNA, DNA altering which he explains well. I recommend this book!

This was so propulsive with such a great ending. I loved reading about all of the genetics, and it gave me lots of food for thought. Blake Crouch hasn’t let me down, and this is my new favorite of his books. This one in particular made me think about humanity and compassion in a world of advancing technology.

In a reckless world barreling toward possible human extinction, what would you be willing to do to ensure a viable future? Which is the right path to take?

Fast-tracking a major scientific breakthrough seems like the only hope, except there are no guarantees in the genetic lottery. Who will ultimately make these hard choices . . . and the sacrifice?

I finished this book in two days and what a fun read it was . . . a great blend of action, adventure, and science!  With so much to consider and talk about, this will be an exciting book club pick.

I'd like to thank NetGalley and Ballantine for an advanced copy of Upgrade for my unbiased evaluation.  5 stars

I was sucked into “Upgrade” from the first chapter! The world Blake Crouch created in this novel is spine-chilling and yet eerily realistic. Like his previous novel’s “Dark Matter” and “Recursion,” the author clearly researched scientific threats to bringing a sense of realism to his text. Living in a post-pandemic world, this tactic forces me as a reader to ponder what existence would be like with an “upgrade.” I felt Blake’s novel had the right level of suspense and a plot deep enough to make me root for the main character all while interrogating his surroundings. What I love most about Blake’s sci-fi writing (especially in Upgrade) is that nothing seems written without purpose… I hung onto every word. All in all, this was a well-crafted page turner that any thrill-seeking reader is sure to enjoy!

I really enjoyed this book. The science was interesting. It was fast paced and character driven.. Futuristic, but believable.. The ending was excellent - it doesn't take brains and brawn to be the good guy - compassion wins out,

Upgrade hits a little too close to home during a pandemic, but I still give Blake Crouch's latest mainstream sci-fi novel 4 out of 5 stars. I read Dark Matter in almost a day; I was thrilled when I was allowed to read Crouch's latest book early.

I received an advanced copy of Upgrade from Netgalley and Ballantine Books in exchange for this honest review.

Logan Ramsey is an agent of a new government agency in the future GPA: Gene Protection Agency. In this future, designer babies were only the beginning. The human genome has been cracked and can be hacked to unlock humanity's potential. But Logan isn't just an agent; he's also the son of the woman who caused the world's greatest tragedy due to gene modification. Her intentions weren't nefarious, but still, billions died at her hand.

One day after an accident in the field, Logan's life is forever changed when he falls ill with a mysterious illness following an explosion. It starts with chess, but he soon realizes that physical and cognitive abilities have been enhanced. Logan has received an upgrade.

A little bit Limitless, and a little bit Jack Reacher, Upgrade explores what it might mean to upgrade the human race and take us to the next stage of evolution. This book is a page-turner you won't want to put down.

I've always been a sucker for the hyper-competence micro-genre, and Upgrade is the best example of this category in recent memory.

Hyper-competence is difficult to write well, primarily because readers are unforgiving of mistakes made by hyper-competent characters. Blake Crouch clearly spent time polishing this novel, because there wasn't much that broke my suspension of disbelief – a huge deal in this type of work.

If you're into hyper-competence, gene tech, big questions about the future of humanity, and fast-paced action, this book will be right up your alley.