I have enjoyed Blake Crouch's prior works, and this one was no exception. Super fast-paced and engaging, and I really enjoyed the main character.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the free e-copy.

Dark Matter is still by far my favorite Crouch novel but this was still enjoyable. It reminds me more of Recursion where it’s incredibly heavy on the science- this time all about DNA and gene altering. There’s still plenty of action so those who don’t love all the science jargon can still enjoy the story. Most of the DNA/gene info went way over my head (as I assume it will most people) but Crouch still has a way of bringing in massive amounts of humanity and at the base it’s still about love.

Lemme catch my damn breath for a sec. 😮 The pace of this was quickkkkk.

Sci-fi thriller movie vibes right here. If you want to get into sci-fi but it intimidates you or bores you, whatever it is, this would be an incredible one to start with.

The science part was completely understandable. I promise you.

Basically a raid goes bad and Logan is caught in quarantine. However, after he is released things start to get…different. You guessed it. His genome was upgraded. So wtf happens now?!?!

I know this author is super popular but this is my first by him. And eeeesh I loved it so much.

Also maybe this was giving super hero origin story? A little of the crazies? A little alerted carbon?

A downside I found: the chapters are long. 😩

Logan notices something changing. He can do things better, faster. All because he has been targeted to receive a genetic upgrade.

I don’t read science fiction, but Blake Crouch’s blends of sci-fi, thriller, and philosophy draw me in every time. This brilliant book was no exception.

Thank you to Ballantine Books for my NetGalley ARC of Upgrade! I devoured this one on my flight yesterday – it felt like the book upgraded my reading speed, and I couldn’t stop turning the pages!

Pub date: 7/12/22, rumored BOTM July pick
Genre: science fiction
In one sentence: Logan Ramsay knows about the perils of genetic engineering - but then the consequences become real when his genome is hacked.

I work in biotech, and I love a good biological science fiction book. The science behind this story is real - genome modification is a powerful tool - but we know that there are potential consequences the more we try to use it. These are smaller for something like engineering rice to produce vitamin A to reduce blindness, but much larger for directly modifying humans. TL;DR - my biologist self loved that Crouch took a very real dilemma in biology, added some fictional elements, and created a wild ride of a thriller.

I love when science fiction writers create a scientifically sound plot that also doesn’t require you to understand all the science to enjoy the story. I think Crouch did a really great job here with that! This book reminded me a lot of Project Hail Mary in that way. You definitely don’t have to be a scientist to enjoy the story - I think this one will appeal to a wide audience.

I often end up rating books by how quickly I read them because it’s a mark of how engrossed I am in the story. This is one of the fastest I’ve read - so I must give it 5 stars! I think this may overtake Recursion as my fave of his due to the biology focus!

Gifted: Thanks to Random House Ballantine for the copy of this ARC!

Have you ever wondered what the world would look like with widespread human gene editing? Blake Crouch tackles the topic in this sci fi thriller featuring Logan Ramsay, who works for the Gene Protection Agency. Life takes a turn when the concept of being “upgraded” - editing genes to upgrade humans into basically superhumans - hits close to home. I loved seeing things from Logan’s perspective, feeling the adrenaline and chaos from the events of the book as the world is at a tipping point between losing humanity as a whole or performing a mass upgrade. As a biomedical engineer, this topic is very much up my alley and I really enjoyed this book. I’m not a hard sci fi reader, but Blake Crouch’s books have all been wins for me. I think that even if you’re not a sci fi person, if you enjoy thrillers or movies like Contagion, you will absolutely love this read!

I've read and enjoyed many of Crouch's books in the past, but this one hit the mark for me. Perhaps that was due, in part, to the first person POV. The pace was also slower than expected for the genre. Some terminology was a bit cumbersome and could be confusing to some readers. Sadly, parts of this book felt similar to things I've read in his prior books. I did enjoy the message in the epilogue--far more inspiring than I'm accustomed to reading at that stage in a book. While this book way "meh" for me, I'm likely to still check out future books.

When Logan, a special agent for a task force hunting scientists altering genes, finds his genes have been altered for the better and discovers a plot to alter all human’s genes to try to save humanity from itself, he must decide which side of history he wants to be on.

This book had such a cool concept and was executed wonderfully! Logan was a very interesting character and it had the perfect amount of Sci-Fi, Suspense, and Action.

There was SO much technical science and I definitely didn’t understand all of it, but I kind of think that was genius. In the beginning I was able to follow most of the scientific explanations, but as Logan progressed in his upgrade, his thinking, reasoning, and explanations became so intricate and advance that they became almost impossible to understand, which is exactly how that would be! I think that was so smart of the Author and even though I couldn’t follow all the scientific reasonings I very much appreciated the choice.

The twists in this book were wonderful! I was surprised by most of them and yet looking back after the fact you could see the trail leading to them.

I would definitely recommend this book to any Sci-Fi lover or even someone who just loves a good mystery/suspense novel.

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and statements are my own.

Following a string of hard-hitting action thrillers by some of the genre’s best authors, I have given my mind a break and took on a new style thriller that I typically don’t read. I chose Upgrade by Black Crouch in what I thought was a techno-futuristic thriller, but what I came away with was much more than that. If you have never heard of Crouch, he’s the author of the Wayward Pines Trilogy that was adapted for television on Fox in recent years. Along with that, his more recent Dark Matter is being turned into an Apple+ streaming series soon.
Logan Ramsay has an extremely demoralizing past, but he has atoned for it by joining the Gene Protection Agency (GPA) and removing gene editing criminals from the streets. Logan Ramsay is the son of one of the world’s most notorious criminals. She was an incidental criminal though, as she engineered an insect to combat a crop infection, she ended up creating the world’s worst famine. After killing over 200 million people, the son of Miriam Ramsay has a bit of a past that follows him everywhere.
After a simple arrest in Denver, CO, the team from the GPA goes on a door kicking adventure, where Logans life changes forever. What Logan thought he knew about life is changing, inside of his head, and in the world in front of him. The people that he thought he knew are no longer the same. His mind begins to change as he becomes aware of what happened on a fateful night in Denver. Along with his mind changing, physical attributes are starting to be a cause of concern.
The life that Logan lives changes as the fight for humanity starts to rest on his shoulders. The human evolution over decades and centuries that Earth is accustomed to is about to get trashed by gene altering infusion and for the world to survive Logan Ramsay must let go of the past and the future. The legacy that he thought his mother left changes, the family he has is left behind, and the family that left him behind is out to kill him. Logan is on a path that he can’t break away from because is he does, humanity might just end. Lies and deception are just the beginning as the family that caused the world to hurt is about to make history again.
Crouch delivers a science project on steroids that will leave you gasping for breath. This was an extremely fun and well-organized thriller that has plenty of action, great characters, and one of the most refreshing storylines I’ve read in a while. Logan Ramsay isn’t the hero that you want him to be, but he is the hero that most of the world needs him to be at just the right moment.

I haven't yet read a Blake Crouch book, and I'm not huge into ScFi, but I liked this book and would definitely recommend to fellow readers.

What a creepy book for the times we are in. I was nervous going into this one because I am not a big sci fi reader. I know that this author comes very highly recommended so I figured if anyone could peak my interest, it would be him. I felt like I was in the midst of an action movie during the entire book. I did have to skim through all of the science lingo because it’s just not for me. However, Crouch somehow made me interested and not confused throughout the entire read!

“The future was here, and it was a fucking mess.”

In the near future, Logan Ramsay is the son of the most hated woman in America. His mother, a brilliant scientist, was responsible for the Shenzhen Famine. She attempted to use gene editing to save crops in China. Instead of saving the crops, she inadvertently contaminated a necessary food source, causing the unintended starvation of millions of people. As a result of her horrific failure, gene editing is now illegal.

Presently, Logan works for the Genetic Protection Agency (GPA), arresting ordinary citizens for manipulating DNA. When out on a raid, he is blasted with DNA modifying particles that enhance his memory, concentration, pattern recognition, and intelligence.

In other words, he is upgraded.

Who targeted him? What do they want?

“Sometimes you have to cause suffering to end suffering.”

I am a huge fan of Blake Crouch. I devoured the Wayward Pines series and enjoyed Dark Matter and Recursion. I am not a hard core science fiction fan, however, I always make an exception for Blake Crouch because his books are clever, inventive and original. He also has an exceptional ability to provide the most layman reader a way to comprehend the most complex scientific concepts without becoming overwhelmed or frustrated.

Unfortunately, Upgrade is my least favorite of all of Crouch’s thrillers. It relies heavily on a first person narrative structure, explores a familiar plot, and is a very slow burn.

This book was a three star read until the very end, when I increased my rating by half a star due to the inspiring message in the Epilogue. Usually, epilogues don’t work for me, but this one helped to really vocalize this book’s important warning message about humanity.

“We don’t have an intelligence problem. We have a compassion problem. That, more than any other single factor, is what’s driving us toward extinction.”

Overall, I am still a fan of Crouch and look forward to his next thriller.

3.5/5 stars rounded down

Expected publication date: 7/12/22

Thank you to NetGalley andBallantine Books for the ARC of Upgrade in exchange for an honest review.

I would not call myself much of a science fiction reader, but thanks to Book of the Month, I picked up Blake Crouch’s previous two books – Dark Matter and Recursion. I adored both books for their incorporation of science and their underlying questions about humanity. Upgrade did not disappoint and returned to these themes.

Upgrade is a story that takes place in a semi-dystopian future and follows Logan Ramsay, the son of an infamous scientist who had a huge impact on the world. To repent and appease his guilt about the past, Logan works for the Gene Protection Agency, apprehending anyone who might be involved in gene editing or unapproved genetics research. But of course, something happens and everything goes awry. I do not want to spoil anything, so I will leave it at that.

Crouch’s writing was engrossing and enjoyable. I felt for Logan and grew frustrated at obstacles he encountered. I found Upgrade to be action-packed and fast-paced. Even if I did not feel immediately immersed in the story, which I did, I would have kept quickly flipping the pages simply based upon the action and mystery. I also loved the Crouch slipped in some sly critiques of current companies. It made my heart happy to see some shade throw at Zuck.

I found Upgrade to be more science heavy compared to what I remember of his two previous books. You can still understand what is happening without a life science or biochemistry background as Crouch does a great job simplifying and explaining complex terms and ideas. However, you will definitely more fully comprehend and appreciate the story if you understand basic genetics. I do not want that to dissuade anyone from reading! I think if you have read Crouch’s previous books and had no comprehension problems, you will be able to follow Upgrade as well.

Upgrade did not mess with my mind like Recursion, but this book definitely made me think and I continue to ponder its questions. I cannot emphasize enough how thought-provoking this book is. It is definitely the perfect buddy read!

My only real critique of the book is that I wish it was slowed down just a bit to absorb everything. However, this may just be a result of the pace at which I read Upgrade. Ultimately, it makes me excited to read it again.

For me the mark of a great book is one that makes me both think and feel. Without a doubt, Blake Crouch accomplished both with Upgrade. I highly recommend it and hope a ton of people will read and think about the questions asked. But if you believe that GMOs are bad, you probably want to avoid this book. IYKYK

Another excellent, smart thriller from Mr. Crouch. Strongly recommended across a wide variety of audiences.

You can always count on Blake Crouch to deliver an interesting, heart-stopping sci-fi thriller… and this is no exception! I loved this one. Fast pace and FASCINATING. The premise of Upgrade is actually kind of terrifying in its plausibility, which gives this book a very “near future dystopian” feel.

Blake Crouch continues to shine as a modern Michael Crichton, blending heady sci-fi with a genre action storytelling. Though slightly derivate of the (also titled Upgrade) film by Leigh Whannell, Crouch's story is timely and compelling and is a great page turner or beach read for those middle summer months. This will be a blockbuster novel that you won't want to put down. 5 stars.

Blake Crouch is truly a genius at writing sci-fi! Despite it not being a genre I generally reach for, he writes in such an accessible way that I’m always willing to give his books a chance. Upgrade was no exception to that. This is easily his best book yet! The semi-dystopian setting was so eerie, and the way gene altering was explained made it feel like it was not such a farfetched concept. The pacing was quick, and Crouch didn’t let the writing get bogged down with scientific terms and ideas that the average reader won’t grasp. Some of the action scenes felt a little too lengthy for me, but it was easy enough just to skim by a bit. But definitely don’t skip the epilogue, which rounds out the story perfectly. A fantastic book to let yourself be whisked away to another world!

In order to understand this whole book, you need to be upgraded. I get that this is a science fiction book but a lot of the science jargon went over my head. The plot was complicated yet fascinating. It was interesting to see Logan's character evolve during his upgrade experience. It was captivating to the see the way he processed his thoughts and sights. The book was fast-paced and action-packed.

Thank you to NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine and Blake Crouch for a copy of "Upgrade" in exchange of an honest review.

This was my first Blake Crouch and I can understand why a lot of people have been anxious for his newest releases. I really enjoyed the first half of the book and thought the action sequences were well thought out and heart pumping. My only real problem came from the pacing of this novel. I got to the halfway point and it was very hard to continue on and I found myself putting it aside for months. I think it's definitely a book you should try to read in one sitting because otherwise it can be very hard to finish it.

Thank you to the publisher for a copy of Upgrade. Crouch is the king of intense page turner sci-if!! It caught my attention from the first page to the last. I enjoyed seeing Logan's transformation with his DNA upgrades. I wanted more back story with his relationship with sister.