Logan Ramsey works for the Gene Protection Agency (GPA) in a futuristic world where gene alteration is illegal. He is hit during a raid and injected with a DNA modification virus that upgrades his intelligence and physical abilities. He realizes this is related to his past and his family and he must figure out how to stop this from happening on a global scale.

This is my first book by Blake Crouch. This was a really interesting concept for me and I enjoyed the idea of how gene modification could be used for good and bad. I have a biology degree and work in healthcare so I really liked the heavy science in the book. I do think you can follow and understand, as well as enjoy it, even without any background. It is smartly written, faced paced and thought provoking. I’ll definitely read his others.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC for an honest review.

What's it about (in a nutshell):
Upgrade by Blake Crouch is an action-packed thriller about a secretly started Genetics War on humanity. Suppose people are made more intelligent, stronger, and faster. Does that mean they will make better decisions on a global scale, or do the forces behind the human upgrade have it all wrong?

Initial Expectations (before beginning the book):
The cover looks science-like, and the blurb on the back of the book confirms that the story is a sci-fi thriller. I love the premise. I find genetics endlessly fascinating, and it seems like the story will be about upgrading humans on a genetic level.

Actual Reading Experience:
I loved the premise mostly because I love studying genetics and believe that messing with nature always has unintended consequences ranging from mildly undesirable to catastrophic. So, you can see where a story like this would immediately draw me in. And it definitely did – even when the narration became so technical that it went in one ear and out the other (metaphorically speaking). That just added to the authenticity, which in turn added to the scariness of the story.

The pacing was a bit discombobulating for me. It alternated from fast-paced, violent action scenes to almost overwritten in-between periods to a highly technical discussion on genetics. So, sometimes the pages just flew, and other times I got bored with the inaction. Then, I would hit the technical parts. My reading dramatically slowed as I tried to use my most basic genetic knowledge (gleaned from a college class on genetics many moons ago) to grasp what I was being told.

However, I found that the family dynamics/story grabbed my attention even more than the gene manipulation story. The family story is more reflective of the human condition. However, the Gene War tale provided an excellent foil that better shined the spotlight on the missing part of the Upgrade plan.

To Read or Not to Read:
Overall, I found this book endlessly fascinating to read and contemplate. I don't know that I agreed with the main character's conclusion, but it gave me a lot of food for thought about my actual opinions.

I absolutely loved this fast-paced, interesting novel. I want to call it “fun” but can a pre-apocalyptic story be classified as fun? If so, this is it. The plot was scarily plausible, and Logan’s relationships with both his family of origin and the family he created kept the story from being too technical and cold. There was a lot of science in this book, but it wasn’t overwhelming or off-putting at all.

A suspenseful action story that would probably make a great screenplay. As a novel, it didn't always work for me—I thought many of the core events and twists were more obvious than interesting. And I thought the focus on certain types of intelligence as valuable (based on things like IQ scores!) was pretty confusingly and disturbingly pro-eugenics—the core of the novel is the main character basically fighting against a eugenics movement, but there's also a lot of idealization of good genes and certain kinds of brains, and thus a strong sympathy for the idea. In a shorter form (like a movie!) the message would probably be less garbled.

Blake Crouch’s newest fantasy novel, Upgrade, will be unleashed on the public on July 12, 2022.

Sorry I couldn’t help myself.

Logan Ramsay is feeling great! He is able to concentrate better, multitask, read faster, and sleep less. However, Logan’s enhanced well-being isn’t due to diet and exercise. His genome has been hacked!
Here’s the catch: This hack isn’t random. Logan has been targeted for a reason relating to his past and family history. Will Logan be able to stop history from repeating itself? Can he and should he stop the hack from spreading?

ALDH4A1. Just one little gene that I have mutated. But those 7 characters mean everything to me. Because it causes a rare genetic defect (Fun Fact: I am part of the Mayo Clinic Rare Disease Database).

In the past, doctors have generally treated the symptoms of a genetic illness. For example, if you have Wilson’s Disease where you can’t process copper, the doctors will remove the copper from your bloodstream and put you on a low copper diet. However, there is a new technology coming out called CRISPR. Big thanks to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation! It works by cutting out the mutated or “bad” DNA and replaces it with “good” DNA.

Upgrade has such a great discussion of the good uses of DNA and some of the potential pitfalls. Currently, cloning is outlawed, but if CRISPR goes forward, and we can tweak some of our DNA, how far is too far? Could you program your DNA so that you could have the creativity of Walt Disney? The mind of Leonardo DaVinci? Play pro basketball? Have higher cheekbones? Where is the line? And who gets to draw the line? And who enforces the line?

All very interesting questions.

Upgrade is my very first Blake Crouch work, but I hope it isn’t the last. The book is incredibly interesting, and it has short sentences and paragraphs which keep the action flowing. It kept me guessing until the end.

In addition to the little problem of the fate of humanity, there is some first-rate family drama! This book really reminded me of Girl One by Sara Flannery Murphy so if you enjoyed Upgrade I highly recommend giving that a go.

*Thanks, NetGalley, for a free copy of this book in exchange for my fair and honest opinion.

Listed as the number one seller on Amazon in ‘Evolution’ 🤣, Blake Crouch has now officially taken the crown from Michael Crichton in creating thrilling page turners with enough techno babble to feel both utterly confusing yet totally legit. In his latest, Logan Ramsey becomes his unwitting hero, an upstart married man who works for a government division called the Gene Protection Agency.
Like all Crouch books I think it’s best to go in blind and let the twists surprise you. And trust me, there are plenty here. Set in an undefined future Crouch alludes at times to the effects of global warming including a Manhattan half submerged under water, but this is merely passing background to what is ultimately a man on the run thrill ride with a slight drizzle of philosophical musing. I really enjoyed this despite feeling that plot overrode character development, but for a book that is the lit equivalent of a summer blockbuster I can accept that. Expect to see this littered across beach bags this summer. Thanks to @randomhouse for the advance copy. #Upgrade comes out on Tuesday

This was a very timely concept considering all the paranoia of the covid vaccine changing one's dna. The story takes place in the future where lower Manhatten is flooded. It raises a lot of ethical questions without preaching. I really enjoyed the ride even though the end is left a little open.

I've been delving into more science fiction recently and I'm so glad I decided on this book. Upgrade by Blake Crouch is a fast paced, exciting, thought provoking story. It questions how to tackle the existing crisis the earth has been hurling towards by the choices humanity is now, and has been, making. Is changing the entire DNA of humans to be smarter, faster, stronger, just about better at everything, an answer, even at the demise of a big percentage of its subjects? This story is big into medical and scientific terminology and while I was worried I wouldn't be able to keep up, it was all really well laid out and explained and I didn't find myself lacking in comprehension. Logan is such a wonderful protagonist and character, struggling to remain his old self full of wonder, understanding and empathy, while being "upgrade" into an evolved species. I really enjoyed this from beginning to end!

Rapidly paced and excellently plotted, Upgrade by Blake Crouch is a masterful science fiction that can help anyone forget about the science fiction we are currently living in. This book was extremely enjoyable and felt at times like watching my favorite dystopian action films from childhood. The nostalgia that this helped unsurfaced was completely marvelous. The world-building was fascinating, and the concept of the gene war really drew me in and held my attention to the last = I was constantly wanting to know and understand more. I am so happy that this is a book of the month pick and that so many people will be led to pick this excellent book up this summer.

Who doesn't think a little upgrade sounds good? A Me 2.0 with better everything -- strength, endurance, cognition, the works. On the down side, you are also better at turning off your emotions and compartmentalizing your empathy. You may know just what needs to happen, but there will be no consideration of the consequences for others. And what if your upgrade thinking is completely in conflict with another's. That is one epic interpersonal conflict that is shaping up. Logan Ramsay has been upgraded. What will he do with that information to help save the planet? He can't just do nothing. Some of the bits that moved the needle from 4-star to 5-star for me were the incorporation of the C.S. Lewis quote from "The Abolition of Man," the Epilogue, and Logan's relationship with his sister.
Do you like your sci fi in relational bites? How about with a hefty dose of adrenaline and a sprinkle of Nicholas Sparks? This is the book for you. With this new release, Blake Crouch has come close to dethroning Dark Matter as my favorite. Close enough to be second place. Sorry, Recursion, you are knocked down to the bronze podium.

Thank you to Random House and NetGalley for a DRC in exchange for an honest review.

Upgrade was my first Blake Crouch reading experience, and what an experience it was! This is a fast-paced, twisty sci-fi thriller that is constantly moving and taking the narrative in new and unexpected directions. It'd be pretty hard to feel bored with this one!

Upgrade is set in the near future when gene editing has become a common and invasive problem, enough so that any gene editing is now illegal. Logan Ramsay works for the GPA, or Genetic Protection Agency, which monitors and arrests those caught gene editing. One day while on a regular mission, Logan receives a non-consensual and illegal genetic upgrade from a virus-laced bomb that changes life for him in some pretty drastic ways–including, but not limited to, imprisonment by his employers because of said genetic upgrade since it is new, and has unknown implications to both Logan and the world. …And also because his mother is known in the genetics world for creating some gene-edits that ended up causing a massive famine around the world that resulted in the starvation of millions of people.

There aren’t too many things I can say specifically about the plot or Logan’s journey because it would be way too easy to give away spoilers, so I’ll try to keep things a bit more general while still giving a thorough review. I really loved getting to read about Logan’s upgrade and to see how it affected his daily life in so many different ways, especially the small things like the change in “sensory gating” and how it sometimes felt like he was getting overwhelmed with all of the new information he was able to take in constantly. Crouch was very thorough in exploring what this type of upgrade would be like, and I found that one of the most fascinating aspects of Logan’s gene edit. At the same time, I sometimes felt like this gene edit really made him a super man with almost no weaknesses and then I just started expecting him to understand or figure everything out easily, which then led to a slight decrease in tension in some scenes. This issue does level out a bit as the story progresses, but I can’t really say how or why so I’ll just leave that thought there.

Crouch’s prose is very accessible and avoids any overuse of excessive description or flowery prose, which I think fits well with the tone and content of this book. He tackles a lot of really complex and multi-faceted ideas and concepts in this book and does it all with ease. It's a very big topic to take on, and despite the many science lessons (which I'll discuss later) I think Crouch was able to successfully tell this story in a way that is fairly easy to follow and makes for a quicker read.

I found Upgrade to be a fast-paced read, but at the same a read that felt somewhat slow moving at times as well in regards to plot, and I understand how confusing that sounds. This book has a lot of thriller aspects in the sense that the plot is always twisting and turning and Logan seems to always be on the move and uncovering something new and momentous, which creates the fast-paced feeling of never really slowing down. That being said, the overall plot felt like somewhat of a slow burn at times. I felt as though it sometimes took a long time to really get to the point or understand where something was going with the story. There were so many diversions along the way that I occasionally lost track of what the greater picture was, almost as if there was a meandering quality to the plot.

Blake Crouch goes pretty hard with the science explanations in this book, something that I both appreciated and felt went over my head a couple times, but it fit well and added a great deal of legitimacy to the narrative. It did feel a bit like Crouch would stop the story to give a small science lesson and although I found some of these interesting, I will say that they interrupted the pacing and flow of the story quite a bit, and I often found myself getting more distracted or having to slog through it occasionally.

All of the above being said, the highlight and strong point of this novel for me was the discussion of ethics and morals around scientific advancements, human potential, and where the limit should be placed on the lengths people should go to save the future of humanity. Crouch excels in exploring these topics through his characters and the actions they undertake, and I think this is the part of the story that he executed best.

Overall, I’ve given Upgrade 3.75 stars! This is a very solid sci-fi thriller that I think any fans of Blake Crouch and the genre will love. From what I hear, his previous books like Dark Matter and Recursion seem slightly stronger so I will definitely be checking those out (hopefully) in the near future because I really enjoyed what I read in Upgrade!

Wow! Another page turning gripping story from Blake Crouch! This one grabbed me, similarly to Run, and didn’t let go until the end. As with his other novels, Crouch has a message for humanity to relay and this one had tears running down my face. If only some of what Crouch imagined could be real, our world might heal. This book contains a lot of scientific information, so science nerds will love that part. I think this would be an amazing movie to help all the terminology make sense through visuals. Thank you Netgalley, Random House Publishing-Ballantine and the author for this eARC in exchange for my honest review. This book will be available for purchase on July 12, 2022.

Blake Crouch's novels Dark Matter, Recursion, and now Upgrade deal with urgent questions about the dangers of tampering with things best left alone. Upgrade is a near future story where things on earth have gone from bad to worse and our very existence is in imminent danger.

After a gene editing backfire caused The Great Starvation gene editing became federal crime but still goes on in rogue labs. Of course you can't put the genie back in the bottle. Some upgrades seem benign or even beneficial but in reality all have the potential to change the course of existence in unknown or catastrophic ways. Consider engineered pathogens or weaponized species. Who gets to decide what is good or bad when potential outcomes are unknowable. And what if there's no choice? It's an exciting ride.

With Upgrade, Blake Crouch has written another action packed, edge of your seat science fiction thriller that doesn't disappoint. I highly recommend you pick up Upgrade when it goes on sale next week, July 12th.

More good news, Amblin Partners have acquired the movie rights to Upgrade and Netflix will be producing its version of Recursion!

Thank you to Random House/Ballentine Books for a complimentary drc via Netgalley.

Logan Ramsay carries a famous last name, and not for good reasons. Logan and his mother, after a crop experiment using genetically modified locusts, caused the Great Hunger that killed 200 million people. After being released from jail, Logan goes to work for the GPA, making sure that gene editing never occurs again. But after an explosion in which he is targeted, Logan begins to change. He is stronger, faster, and much, much smarter. He can remember in detail everything he’s ever read. He can learn languages quickly. It appears his genome has been hacked. Suddenly the GPA is after him.

This is an intriguing sci-fi/medical thriller. In the first half of the book, it is fascinating to watch Logan change and learn what he can do next. When the GPA turns on him, Logan goes on the run with an unexpected companion, and their adventure is compelling and a definite nailbiter. The ways that they evade their pursuers and the things they discover are fascinating. At home, the effect on Logan’s family is heartbreaking. The book began to slow down for me at about 70%, and it got a bit bogged down in “DNA upgrades.” It is still a very compelling story with a dynamic and heart-stopping conclusion.

I received a free copy of this book from Random House via Netgalley. My review is voluntary and my opinions are my own.

WOW. I was already a fan of the scientific, thoughtful plots that Blake always seems to nail, but this one is even more impactful in the backdrop of today's society. The events take place in an unspecific future that doesn't feel so far out of reach, and the action that plays out feels like it could show up in the next blockbuster movie. I'll be thinking about this novel for a while. Thank you to #NetGalley for my copy!

Thanks to @netgalley for a copy of this to read and review. Upgrade comes out on Tuesday (it was also a #bookofthemonth choice). I loved the other two Blake Crouch books that I read a few years ago.

Logan is present during a bio explosion during his work at the Gene Protection Agency. He ends up in isolation while he heals to make sure he hasn’t caught any sort of contagious disease. Soon he is cleared from the hospital and sent home, but Logan notices things start to feel sharper. Logan’s genome has been hacked and upgrade, to make test a new better human race. Soon he is the only one that can stop this from happening to everyone.

This book was a little different from the other books that I read as that it has more of a genetic engineering focus. It was wonderfully written and I couldn’t put it down. It was different from other books that I have read. Be warned it was a very heavy read. It definitely lives up to the hype and my love of Dark Matter and Recursion.

4.25 stars!

Thank you to Netgalley and Ballantine Books for an e-arc in exchange for a review. I don't read a lot of sci-fi, but give me a Blake Crouch book and I'm there.

Upgrade follows Logan Ramsey, a man who works for the Gene Protection Agency - a job he takes mostly out of guilt - when he is targeted with an upgrade that completely changes his DNA.

Although at times I felt very disconnected to Logan (à la how I felt about Paul in Dune), the general themes and message in this novel really hit home for me. As a BME student, I really ate up the science aspect. Although the middle made me a little bored, overall I was definitely engaged and felt very emotionally connected to the ending and epilogue. I also did end up reading this in one sitting so I definitely liked it!

This was my first Blake Crouch novel and while I found it very entertaining and interesting, sci-fi is just not really for me. I also found the science parts to be so overly confusing and not dumbed down enough for the average reader. I"m not dumb by any means but I found myself skipping whole sections about genes that I didn't understand that seemed to only be a flex of knowledge. The story itself was entertaining, and a quick read.

Blake Crouch's newest noel has improved upon his raft in every single form.

While Crouch is most known for his exploration of interesting (sometimes questionably aurate) scientific concepts my one complaint of his works has often been the development of his characters. Logan is his most realied character yet grappling with trauma, humanity, and familial love throughout the novel in a way that can't help but invoke emotions in the reader. This has definitely made Crouch one of my auto-read if not an auto-buy author. I can't wait to see what he puts out next.

This was such an exciting, thought-provoking book. I really enjoyed it, thanks to @netgalley and @randomhouse for the early copy!
*
Synopsis: Logan Ramsay works for the Gene Protection Agency, investigating and raiding illegal gene modification labs. Until one raid, he's caught in a viral IED, and within weeks is noticing differences in his physical, mental, and cognitive abilities. He's been "upgraded", but who did it to him and why? *
I flew through this in two days. I found it to be very accessible for someone who often gets lost in sci-fi books, with great characters and a really exciting plot. It was also thought-provoking in terms of thinking about moral relativity, and what sacrifices can be accepted for the greater good.
*
My only negative was the epilogue. I really liked how the majority of the book operated in this moral gray area, where you can see an argument for both sides. But the epilogue chose a side, and I think that could have been left a bit more open-ended. My own preference, others may disagree. But that didn't take away from my enjoyment of the book and I would definitely recommend!