"Upgrade" by Blake Crouch offers a mind-bending exploration of technological advancement and its ethical implications. Crouch's signature blend of science fiction and thrilling storytelling is on full display as characters grapple with the consequences of pushing the boundaries of human capability, leaving readers questioning the fine line between progress and peril.

Upgrade is my first foray into a Blake Crouch novel, having only read a short story of his from one of those random Amazon collections. What do I think for my first? In short, it's fine.

The short of it is that this book was very much written to be turned into a movie or series at some point. It reads in that specific way where you can envision every scene, moment and how it would all play out on the big screen. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it does take away and potential for nuance and subtlety. Well, as much as there could be in an action, sci-fi thriller.

Logan is your no-fluff, action protagonist that has a wife and daughter who love him and whom he loves, with one sibling and only one parent. It's all cliche. He's good at what he does but as soon as he gets that DNA upgrade, he's better in every way and that's about it.

Prepare for lots of insight and observational text on people and objects and things that you would anticipate with someone whose brain and being is now galaxy level. It does become exhausting after a while. You only need a few of those instances, but once again, you're practically reading a movie.

This isn't a bad story by any means but you know exactly what will happen, beat for beat, before it even happens. Hell, we nearly get the climactic rooftop battle with the "antagonist" at the end before it just kinda ends in a very anticlimactic fashion.

Overall, I'm glad I read this but I'm hoping my next venture into Blake Crouch territory will be an improvement.

Apologies to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for taking 1.5 years to get around to reading Upgrade and posting my review. I appreciate the advance copy!

Why did I wait so long to read this? I LOVED this book so much. Blake Crouch consistently writes captivating books. It really makes you wonder what our capabilities would be like and the societal impacts if we could tap into more of our brain functions. Like his other books, it has just the right amount of romance elements but I did thoroughly enjoy the family dynamics the main character copes with. Pick this up if you haven't already! You won't regret it.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an advance copy of this title in exchange for honest feedback.

This was a fast-paced sci-fi thriller, though I don't think it was as riveting or gripped me quite as much as the author's past releases. I'll still gladly read whatever he publishes next.

I am thankful that the gene editing technology described in the book does not exist. The upgrades that the main character, Logan, experiences would be highly beneficial in a number of ways. Being able to heighten intelligence and suppress emotion would help solve a number of problems, as people could act rationally and avoid the complications that emotional thinking brings. However, we need some degree of emotion/conscience so that we don’t go overboard and treat lives as mere numbers, sacrificing large numbers of people because more people will benefit. Moreover, as amazing as it would be to be able to manipulate the genome to the extent described in the story, the potential for harm (accidental or intentional) would likely outweigh the potential benefit given human nature.

One thing I particularly liked about the book is the level of detail the author included, especially when describing the gene modifications and the ramifications of those modifications, as well as the heightened awareness that Logan experiences as a result of his “upgrade.”

I appreciate the idea and the level of research behind this story, but sadly it failed to grab me like the other two books I've read by this author, Dark Matter and Recursion.

The beginning was really strong and seemed promising, but at some point the story took a direction I didn't anticipate and, what's more important, wasn't comfortable with. The rest of the storyline didn't work so well for me, nor the resolution at the end.

The middle part was slow and at times it seemed like nothing was happening. The story is very science-heavy, but more in a way that felt info-dumpy to me. It didn't help that I found Logan hard to connect with and, as the story progressed, quite unlikable.

After an accident on the job where Logan Ramsey is exposed to contaminants, he begins to notice slightly changes happening within himself. This is how every superhero story starts. Is Logan becoming his very own superhero?!

This is a fast paced action sci-fi thriller that is heavy in the sciencey stuff. It keep me at the edge of my seat the entire time.

I would put this in third place behind Dark Matter and Recursion.

I haven't read anything by this author before and I'm not sure if that is why, although I liked the MC, I didn't love this. But I did like it! It seemed a little repetitive but well-researched; that kinda means it comes off at times more about the research than the story. I would read more by Mr. Crouch. 3.5 stars.

Another thought provoking book from Blake Crouch. Upgrade brings into focus what humanity is capable of in destroying itself. Perfect timing especially with A.I. coming more into the forefront, this book delves more into the DNA and gene motification. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC in return for my thoughts.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for my review. Blake Crouch is one of my all-time favorite authors. I have always looked forward to his work, but his last several books have been phenomenol. I expected more of the same with this one and was slightly disappointed.

This was still a great read with a lot of action and scenarios that are scarily uncomforably due to being just outside of our currently known reality. However, I found it lacking in comparison to some of his other work and feeling a bit rushed. I didn't feel that I connected with this novel or the characters as much as I had with his previous works. I did enjoy the nod to the X-men with the character's name and the extra abilities, plus the back story was engaging.

I had originally given this 4 stars, but I have settled on five stars. I'm extremely late with my review and the story has stuck with me more than I expected it would, so that is indicative of a great read to me.

Blake Crouch never fails to blow my mind with his books! This book was no different and if you like his other works, I know you'll love this as well!

I want to start by saying I do not give one star reviews lightly. It takes a lot and usually I only give those if I am unable to finish a book and in this case, that is what happen. I wanted to like this book and I gave it multiple chances by putting it down repeatedly and coming back to it at a different time, in a different mindset to see if it would intrigue me enough to finish. I tried this over and over again.

Right from the start I knew I was going to struggle with this book. Now, let me make this clear, it is not because its a bad book. I honestly can’t tell you that. I didn’t complete it, so maybe it gets really good at the end. Unfortunately for me, I could not bring myself to read past about twenty percent in the book. That may seem like a small amount, and usually I force myself to thirty percent, but in this case I just could not do it. I couldn’t get hooked. At times I felt like I was eavesdropping on a conversation I had no idea what was happening in because I just couldn’t follow the story.

To be clear, I strongly encourage those who are huge fans of science fiction stories or futuristic stories to check this book out. Something tells me this is the perfect novel for a sci-fi lover and based on other feedback I think you will truly enjoy it. It just wasn’t for me. I’d be willing to try again with another Blake Crouch novel though. You never know what will grab you!

Crouch is such a master of tension and plot twist! I can't say that this book quite nailed it for me the way that Dark Matter and Recursion did, but I still found this to be compulsively readable and engaging. The science is interesting and the characters are vivid.

My thanks to Netgalley, the author and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for the opportunity to read and review this novel.

I confess, I am very late to the party. I received this e-ARC last year and as I've never been a fan of sci-fi, I kept choosing to read other e-ARC's ahead of this one. Finally, my conscience having got the better of me, I started it last Saturday. After pretty much not being able to put down the novel down (and encouraging my husband to check out the book out of our local library) I finished the novel Wednesday night.

Set in the not too distant future, Logan lives in the shadow of his infamous mother Miriam Ramsey. A brilliant geneticist, her failed attempt to save rice paddies in China had calamatous effects for the globe. Logan works for a shadowy government agency who raids illegal genetics labs, shutting them down. During one raid the location is booby trapped with the blast penetrating his bio hazard suit.

Waking up in hospital, Logan starts to experience weird symptoms, which set him on a course to change the world...

What can I say that hasn't already been said by the scores of excellent reviews on Amazon and other sites? Although sci-fi isn't my genre, I was sufficiently absorbed to stay up late every night wanting to know what happens next. Although there's a lot of information around genes and genome I did not find this dull and boring and for that I give the author credit.

Overall I would recommend. Bravo!

My review is voluntary and my opinion is my own.

“What do you call a heart that is simultaneously full and breaking? Maybe there's no word for it, but for some reason, it makes me think of rain falling through sunlight.”

Reading Blake Crouch’s books are always such a delight and right after finishing I always tell myself that I neeeed to be reading more sci-fi!

I’ve always been fascinated with genetics so a book about genetic engineering was right up my ally. Crouch’s sci-fi thrillers are super fast paced which helped keep my attention even through all the science-y bits (which I loved but I know it can be a lot!) This book answers the question of what humans would be like if they reached their full potential, and what it’ll take to get there.

Upgrade

A Novel

By: Blake Crouch

Publish Date: 12 July 2022

Publishers: Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine, Ballantine Books

General Fiction (Adult)

#Upgrade#NetGalley

100 Book ReviewsProfessional Reader

I would like to thank both NetGalley and Random house for allowing me to read and review this book.

Good Reads Synopsis:

Logan Ramsay is about to get the brain he always dreamed of. But will he be transformed into something more than human… or something less?

When the SWAT team gives the all-clear and Logan Ramsay steps into the basement, he has no idea that everything’s about to change.

Then there’s the hiss of aerosol. The explosion. The shrapnel that punctures his hazmat gear. Logan wakes up to find himself in a hospital bed, attended by doctors in their own hazmat suits, his wife and daughter looking on from behind the glass.

The doctors say he’s been infected by a virus – one designed not to make him sick, but to modify his very genetic structure. In a world where the next-generation gene-editing tool known as Scythe is widely available – and has already reaped disastrous consequences – the possibilities are too many and terrifying to count.

Except that after the fever, the pain, the fear… the virus is gone. And according to his government bosses, Logan’s got a clean bill of health.

But the truth is that with each day that passes, Logan’s getting smarter. Seeing things more clearly. He’s realizing that he’s been upgraded in ways that go beyond even Scythe’s capabilities – and that he’s been given these abilities for a reason.

Because a holy grail of genetic engineering – one that could change our very definitions of humanity – has just been unearthed. And now it’s up to him to stop it from falling into the wrong hands.

Logan’s becoming something more. Something better. Even with the whole world hunting for him, he might be able to outthink his opponents and win the war that’s coming.

But what if it’s at the cost of being himself?

Book Review:

This will be a short review of this book. This book was not for me. I sadly only gave this book 1 star and didn’t finish it. This book was a little too out there for me and had a lot of scientific words that confused me. I got 27 % into the book and realized this book was over my head. This book has an interesting concept, and I was hoping it would be easier to read and understand. From what I read I enjoyed the family and friendships that was portrayed. Since this book is already out and the synopsis from good reads gives you a lot of what the book is about. I don’t want to go too much into it just in case you haven’t read it. Beware of a lot of scientific abbreviations.

This book definitely gets mixed reviews from Blake Crouch fans, and I can see why. It doesn't explode your brain the way that Dark Matter does and in a lot of ways it's like reading a summer blockbuster action movie.

Honestly, that's what I enjoyed about it. Writing-wise, it's not nearly as good as Dark Matter, but it is a good bit of mindless fun if you just let yourself go along for the ride and if "action movie in book form" sounds like fun to you.

I also give an extra star because despite how low-brow the sci-fi in this book was, it introduced me to some actual scientific concepts that were really interesting, so I appreciate it for that.

Logan is the son of an infamous genealogist who’s experiment to improve agricultural production went horribly wrong. To atone for his familial involvement in an event that made history books, he works as a federal agent for a new agency that prosecutes gene-mutation and disruption related crimes. On a raid he was injected with a mutation that has turned him into a more efficient version of himself — and the injection was not by accident. As he tries to make sense of his new body & mind, he is also left with a large responsibility — should other humans be injected with the same upgrade?

The ending of this book was so good I re-read it three times. Fast-paced, thought provoking and so good! This would make a great movie so hoping we get one soon!

Thank you NetGalley and Ballantine Books for the e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was my first sci-fi thriller read and first book by Blake Crouch. I loved the action, suspense, drama, and all the scientific references. Logan was a complex and compelling character. The overall message of this book was impactful. I will definitely read Dark Matter next!