The more we discover, the scarier things can get. In Upgrade, genetics takes on a world of its own, quite literally, and the effects it has on a Genetics Protection Agency agent is just the tip of the iceberg. A sci-fi thriller with terrifying hints of reality and timeliness, this one is definitely an out of the ordinary and unique read.

This could be an episode of Fringe and that is the highest compliment I can give a sci-fi book. I enjoyed the descriptions that explained the DNA upgrades Ramsey went through while depicting his struggle with losing his old self. It was the perfect combination of science and emotions.

Blake Crouch blew me away with his newest novel, Upgrade! This one is right up there with his previous bestseller, Dark Matter!

Logan Ramsay works for the government, identifying people who are putting the world at risk by messing with genetics. In the middle of a highly dangerous yet super important raid, Logan's life changes.

The hospital cleared him of any damages, and no new genetic matter was found, but, Logan feels different. He's more intuned to his feelings, those around him, and the world as a whole.

Logan has been targeted, and he's set off to see who did this and why it's happening to him. A page-turner from the very beginning, I was so intrigued. This book is so realistic, so fast-paced, and so on point with the world today, I can truly see this happening in our future.

I usually love books by Blake Crouch which is why I assume that I was invited to read this title but it is just not for me, and I don't think I'll be reading any books that have anything to do with viruses any time soon. It's not you it's me.

An addicting read. This is just as good as Dark Matter. This is precisely the kind of science fiction I hope for when I pick a book labeled science fiction. Hard to put down and even harder to forget. So good, I will be recommend this to every reader I know.

I have loved Blake Crouch's writing since I was lucky enough to read his ARC of Dark Matter. Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read Upgrade by Blake Crouch. It was masterful. The story sweeps you in from the first page and then you just have to hold on & ride the wave. A must read!!

After being in the line of fire in an explosion, Logan is beginning to feel a bit off. Come to find out, Logan has been upgraded. His DNA has been altered to make him “better,” and his mom has left him and his sister the answers to upgrade all of human kind. Logan sees the downside to the entire world being upgraded, but he is the only one that can stop it from spreading far and wide.

Blake Crouch does it again….not that I was in any way worried! I feel like I say this with each new book, but this might be my favorite Crouch! As you all know, science fiction isn’t normally my genre, but Blake Crouch is in a genre of his own! His books have your brain all over the place, but in the best way possible. They are also insanely scary to think about if any of these things actually happened in our world! I don’t want to say too much because you just need to read it, but Blake Crouch has the ability to pull me in on page one and hold tight until the very last page is turned. The only downside of finishing this book is that it is over and I will have to wait a while for what Crouch does next!

Book Review: Upgrade by Blake Crouch
Published by Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, July 12, 2022

★★★★☆ (4.25 Stars)
Positive!

In his self-acknowledged "most difficult book of my career", Blake Crouch's latest techno-thriller takes his readers to a pivotal intersection of science and quantum computing, philosophy and morality, and the very ethos of human existence...

-----

I flipped open the latest book of one of my favorite authors with the usual high expectation - to be razzle-dazzled and swallowed in a vortex to an alternate universe, sturm und drang to the rhythm of an off-beat jazz rift.

But instead, I was treated to a night at the Met, the crescendo of a symphonic overture with the thousand movements of a fertile mind right through the novel's momentous final twist.

Blake Crouch creates worlds.

Worlds, as in those we'd have the pleasure to find in "Recursion" (2019), "Dark Matter" (2016), and in the "Wayward Pines Trilogy" (2012-2014), adapted as a television series by 20th Century Fox.

In fact, some would say that in "Summer Frost" (2019), his novella written for Prime Reading's "Forward Collection", the master storyteller creates no less than three worlds in "God-mode".

All above complex, compelling 4 or 5-Star reads.

-----

// "Upgrade" by Blake Crouch (2022) //

The world is in turmoil. Parts of New York City and most of Miami are under water. Rampart illegal genome engineering and manipulation of gene data sets in plants and animals result in a genocidal disaster with over 200 million starved to death, and necessitates the creation of a "Gene Protection Act" enforcement agency.

Heavily researched, Crouch walks us through the various methods of existing (and fictional) gene engineering methods. ZFN (Zinc Finger Nucleases) (real); TALEN (Transcription Activator-Like Effector Nuclease) (real); CRISPR (real); and finally, Scythe (fictional).

The "Scythe" genome alteration is created by the world's leading geneticist and is ultimately directed to an acceleration of human evolution, and - whether intended or not, the creation of a sub-species.

A dominant, superhuman, master race.

All well and good, until one of the "Upgrades", the son of Scythe's creator, decides that the human race and humanity needs more of a radically different kind of upgrade.

Which alters the entire equation...

Excerpt:
// "...Another sensory artifact that I was now blindingly aware was simply the serotonin (5-HT) and catecholamine neurotransmitters in my serotonergic neurons, intestinal myenteric plexus, enterochromaffin cells in the mucosa of the gastrointestinal tract, and blood platelets
--- telling me to eat..."

- Logan Ramsay, protagonist, an "upgraded" human, expresses how he's hungry, "Upgrade" (2022) by Blake Crouch //

Whew! A man of a few word Logan Ramsay isn't.

-----

Epic in scale, multi-dimensional, non-linear, thought-provoking, and compelling. Also, verbose, uber-technical, and perplexing at times, but in a good way.

A must-read for techno-thriller fans - and fans-to-be!

Review based on an advanced reading copy courtesy of Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, and NetGalley.

The hype for this one is really impressive, but it felt really formulaic when compared to his previous books. The premise for this one made me IMMEDIATELY want to read it. And while I did read it pretty quickly as it wasn't a difficult read, it didn't feel super different from some of his other books. I was hoping for something wildly different, but got much the same. I really appreciate his research and all the background information he gives to make this topic a lot more palatable to the DNA/genetics novice, but was really hoping for something more. I'll give him another shot in the future, but I'll make sure to keep my expectations tempered.

Y’all Blake did it again, I’m not a big ‘read books by men’ person but he is worth it! I could not put this book down it is so bingeable!!

Likes:
-The science in this book was wild, I was googling things left and right trying to figure out if these genes actually all existed that had been upgraded in the MC. I work in a genetics clinic so I was THRIVING. I thought it was really accessible for how difficult a topic it was
-This book SPIRALED- I was expecting a story about a man but we got a journey instead. Years go by, things change, and we get to see the long term effects of what is happening.
-Too much hit too close to home in this book and I hope it’s a bit of a wake up for sci fi readers- how close we are to a dystopia we read about. Lake Mead in this book dried up leaving Las Vegas mostly stranded and that’s already sort of happening right now.
-Not gonna lie I didn’t know who to root for half the time, like I was all in for the villain for half the book I was kind of annoyed to follow the goody two shoes guy but at the end I was like yeah ok fine he’s right
-The ending, I had tears in my eyes and it was sweet but also why can’t our main men in Blake’s book ever get a HEA?!

Things that made me🤔
-TWs lots of gore and murder and death, mention of starvation, POW camps
🫠 Some people will probably say this ‘falls flat’ because there is so much intense science in this book and that’s not everyone’s cup of tea. But it mine🫡

Overall, this falls into second place for me after DARK MATTER and before RECURSION. I think it’ll be really well received by Blake fans and will fit perfectly for those looking for more science in their sci fi books! I can’t wait for my science friends to get their hands on this one✨
Pub Day: July 12th

Thank you @netgalley and @penguinrandomhouse for my copy!

*Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. Pub date: July 12, 2022

SO excited to read this new one from one of my favs, Blake Crouch (if you’re into sci-fi you need to put his books Dark Matter and Incursion on your TBR, stat)!

Interesting and intense from the start, I was already holding my breath by the end of chapter one. This book was very science heavy (yet in a very accessible way), with a bit of societal doom & gloom, but ultimately it takes you on one hell of a ride!

I am not a huge sci fi reader but Blake Crouch had me sold on his books! A few years ago I picked up Dark Matter and could not put it down! I have since had my husband and brother read his books and they love them too. I was beyond excited when I received an eARC for Upgrade from NetGalley.
This book seemed a little bit more science-y than Dark Matter and Recursion to me and did make me feel a little lost at times. However, one of my favorite parts of Crouch’s books is that he will get deep into the science but then back up and explain it in context in a way that is easier for me to understand. His characters are also so real and flawed that it’s hard to not become attached to them. I was not disappointed with Upgrade, and I did even find myself tearing up a little at the end.

Blake Crouch has done it again! His ability to balance high sci fi concepts and thrilling action is unmatched! This one follows a man separated from his family by an incident tied to his work (this seems to be a reoccurring theme in Crouch’s writing). He gets involved in a larger conspiracy with earth shattering stakes. The story is so captivating I couldn’t put it down! The one flaw I could find in this book was that the main character becomes pretty hard to connect to toward the end of the book, but I think it ties into the larger themes of the book.

Upgrade was one of my favorite books of 2022. Today, we're injecting fillers into our faces, freezing fat, and tattooing on our eyebrows. Blake Crouch explores a not-so-distant future when the technology is available to modify ourselves from the inside out. The government shut down any genetic modification after a horrific accident caused a worldwide family, and Logan Ramsay is on the task force assigned to find geneticists going against government orders. It's in one of those raids when Logan is hit by shrapnel and ends up in the hospital. At first, the doctors think it was just the flu and send him home. But within weeks, he notices subtle changes— his ability to multitask, his incredible reading speed, and the fact that he doesn't need much sleep. Soon, it's clear that Logan has been upgraded. But by who? And why?

Upgrade

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Blake Crouch has books that are fast paced and so entertaining. I’m not a huge sci-fi person but his are so full of plot and the sci-fi stuff just naturally comes along.

This one starts in a post covid world where humans can be genetically modified. The book centers around Logan’s genetic upgrade and the surrounding people who intend to spread it everywhere.

If you’re looking for a fast paced thriller or sci-fi book, check this one out! Thanks to @netgalley for this ARC of Upgrade.

My first Blake Crouch - but not my last! This is the definition of a summer beach read….fast-paced, twisting and turning with a plot that is believable enough to freak you out. From the first few pages, this novel takes off and doesn’t let go until the very end. Highly recommend. Thanks to Ballantine for the advanced copy and for introducing me to this author that I had heard so much about for years and had never read.

I finished this one a few days ago and have been struggling to figure out what I want to say.

Was this an entertaining read? Sure. It was fast-paced with short chapters and easy to read sentence structures. I finished the book quickly and was reasonably entertained. I could see this easily becoming a typical action movie -- one you'll enjoy in the moment but ultimately forget a few days later.

This book follows Logan, a scientist turned government Gene Protection Agency worker who is infected with a virus that gives him a serious genetic upgrade including things like increased endurance and mental processing capacity. When he realizes there is a larger plan afoot that could threaten humanity, Logan goes on the offense to try to stop it.

I genuinely enjoyed the first portion of this book. I felt it was entertaining and fast-paced. I love how Crouch's books are easily accessible to all readers and not just sci-fi enthusiasts. I thought much of the science seemed well explained in simple terms, though I think most audiences could've done without the mentioning of specific genes for each trait that was changed.

The latter half of the book started to lose me. The overall plot relies on an assumption that I had difficulty buying into. That and the antagonist's actions and motives felt a bit unbelievable. The ending was very anti-climatic. Some plot points felt like they needed to be fleshed out more while others felt overdone. I'm being vague to avoid spoilers. Overall, I felt like the plot was very linear with a single motive and lacked Crouch's complex structure and twists and turns that I have experienced in some of his other novels.

So, this one was a bit of a miss for me, but that's OK. I have enjoyed other books by Blake Crouch, and I will continue to pick up his books in the future.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Question, what's the worst mess your parents left you to clean up? For me it was 30 year old parts for technology that doesn't exist anymore. Still waaaaaay better than what Logan Ramsay has to deal with in Blake Crouch's "Upgrade."

Basic premise, genetics are hackable in the future. But then a bad thing happens and now it is super illegal. But the MC works for the government hunting down illegal genelabs... And then gets his genome diddled with. And now he is "better" in some ways. Except he isn't the only target of this plan that would alter the course of human life and evolution.

OK this story hit me really hard from the jump by mentioning extinctions of animals I've worked with. First of all, rude. Second, damn it's probably likely unless folks listen to the people who traumatized themselves learning to be experts about conservation, climate change, and you know science in general. But they do need to be tempered with ethics. (Subtle self hype because of my Animal Welfare Science, Ethics, and Law MSc)

Reasons to read:
-The tone and word choice of the protagonist alters as his intelligence changes. This was a slow alteration, but if you look at the beginning and the ending of the story its noticeable
-The author double checked with scientists to make sure things he was righting were accurate, aside from future technology things that a a bit outside our scope right now.
-Scientific theories that I had to learn about being present or as an answer to things!
-Didn't see that heel turn
-Big fan of destroyed urban sprawls being reclaimed by nature

Cons:
-How dare you with the animal extinctions...

Blake Crouch is a favorite author of mine. His books are always well written, totally engrossing and original. Upgrade was no exception. The characters suck you in. He has another blockbuster on his hands with this book. I enjoyed every page. I'm off now to preorder a signed copy.

Although this was exciting, with action, great characters and relationships, and edge of your seat moments, it wasn’t quite as good as Recursion and Dark Matter. Still a good sci-fi thriller though! I'm not sure if maybe the premise/plot wasn't as interesting to me as his others, but I found myself not as invested as I was with his earlier novels. Still worth a read, and Crouch has a way of writing that is concise yet poetic!