Upgrade by Blake Crouch was received directly from the publisher and I chose to review it. I am very familiar with this author so I gladly accepted the offer to read this book as an ARC. The book, written about a bleak future, was well written and did not bog down in inane dialogue as many authors seem to do in this day and age. I am familiar with the National Capitol Region of the USA so many places mentioned were familiar to me, though I am familiar with Jeff Strand not as a doctor. As always, I will not go into plot details, however if you or someone you buy books for is interested in a book about DNA procedures, terrorism, and quite possibly a new superhero, give this book a read.

4 Stars

Loved it! Very fast paced and completely addicting, I didn't want to put it down! While there were some complex topics I found it easy to follow along and enjoyed the concept very much. I will continue to read Crouch's books!

Part 1 - 5 stars
Part 2 - 4 stars
Part 3 - 5 stars

Logan Ramsay lives in a time when DNA enhancements are commonplace. He is a devoted genome cop, investigating unethical hacks to human DNA. One day, when during an investigation, he is infected with a hack to his genome. He did not know what was happening at first. Then he started noticing that his thinking was clearer and deeper. He also begins feeling stronger and less vulnerable, physically, too. What does all of this mean? As he tries to investigate the truth of what is happening to him, he fights to stop further hacks.

In this book, the reader is taken on a unique adventure by Crouch’s realistic characters. The main character, Logan, is so human and real, that the reader experiences heartfelt sympathy and compassion for him and his dilemma. He inspires the reader to consider what her feelings and actions would be if she were put into the same futuristic situation.

This storyline is quick-paced and exciting.

Once again I find Blake Crouch to write an amazing book. He’s an auto-buy author for me. Writing good sci-fi suspense is an art and Blake Crouch is an artist.

Upgrade is intelligent, fast paced, and action packed. I would recommend to anyone looking for a thought provoking suspense. There's so many ways that this plot could have gone the wrong way, but Blake Crouch does a fantastic job of balancing reality, science, fantasy, and morality in a way that captures the essence of what it means to be human. Not to mention a lovable protagonist and a glimpse at what awaits us in the near future.

I was a HUGE fan of Dark Matter and Recursion so I had high hopes for this one. It ended up falling a little flat to be honest. The premise of the story is incredible and I definitely enjoyed the intrigue behind what was going to happen next but I didn't care about the characters. There was nothing that made me feel like I should care about them, which was disappointing.

The beginning 2/3 of the book moved really slow and then SO much was packed into the last 1/3 that I felt overwhelmed.

“You are the next step in human evolution.”

Logan Ramsay works for the Gene Police. They shut down unscrupulous gene-editing labs so what happened with Logan’s mother, never happens again. While Logan spent a little time in prison for what happened, his mother chose to drive off a cliff.

During a raid gone bad, Logan is infected with something. When he wakes up he feels different. More aware. And has a deep ache in his bones. When his boss finds out, he is put in isolation. Lockdown really. But he keeps evolving. Getting stronger, needing less sleep, able to give his full attention to more than one thing at a time. His genome has been hacked.

This isn’t a random attack. This goes way back. But is it even possible? His mother died, right? Unable to do much but answer questions and submit to tests, his abilities just get stronger. Until someone breaks him out. And that someone is his sister. He hasn’t seen her in a while but apparently, she got the upgrade as well. And now she wants to continue her mother’s work. Logan does not. With an uneasy truce between them, they head off to find their mother and the truth.

What she will set in motion could kill millions of people and maybe save the planet. But is the cost too high? Logan thinks it is.

I am not a SciFi reader, except when it comes to this author. I have no idea how he comes up with this stuff, but I can tell you why I fully immerse myself in each book. I felt every change. The tension and heartbreak he carries from leaving his family for the good of the world. You are right there with him. Urging him on and wondering if I would do the same thing.

His books are so good because there is a real possibility that this could happen. And that is scary. Maybe we will all have to evolve into something more to ensure our species survives. And now I can’t stop thinking about that.

NetGalley/ July 12th, 2022 by Ballantine Books

Blake Crouch has a talent of taking the most interesting intellectual and philosophical quandaries of our modern society and blending them into a fast-paced thriller. I loved the ideas in this one and I literally could not put this down. Loved it!! I will definitely buy both a print and ebook copy for my library.

This had A LOT of sci-fi elements and while I enjoyed reading about it during the 1 half I got so tired of it in the 2nd half.

But I really enjoyed the concept of this and I feel like it would make an amazing movie coz it was filled with action and fight scenes left, right and center.

It was interesting to see how Logan had become somewhat of a super human and it brought up so many interesting questions like what if Logan’s Upgraded DNA was introduced to everyone, can the planet be saved? Is it up to us to be in charge of smthg like this ? . It def gives you a lot to think about and I feel like you can learn a lot from this.

The twists in this were a bit predictable but I enjoyed reading them.

Def gonna be picking up his other books Dark Matter and Recursion!

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

I was thrilled to receive an advanced release copy of Blake Crouch’s Upgrade. He’s become a favorite writer of mine.

Upgrade imagines a world where people can edit their genes to make themselves more intelligent, run faster, heal quicker, and become more dangerous.

Logan works for the Gene Protection Agency, shutting down labs and stopping geneticists from abusing the technology. He gets exposed to an unknown virus and starts to notices some changes in himself. And finds that he may be the one person who can stop this virus from from being released worldwide.

I enjoyed this one! It hits the stands on July 12th.

#blakecrouch #upgrade #advancedreleasecopy #bookstagram #netgalley #stlbookstagram

Much in the same vein as Recursion and Dark Matter (the latter of which remains my favorite of these three), Crouch takes a plausible premise of something currently starting now (gene editing) and follows it out to it's possible uses and misuses in the not to distant future. The book is action packed and is a quick read. I blew through it in about three days. While some characterization wasn't the smoothest and a bit heavy handed,I thought it was interesting and the epilogue was awesome. I really like where he took it. So I recommend checking this out when it's released in July especially if you like to imagine hypothetical futures kr enjoy action packed reads.

Blake Crouch has a very compelling writing style that has always been one of my favorites. Upgrade didn’t completely live up to the memory of his works for me. I really liked the concept of banning genetic modifications in a near future world and the consequences of illegal modifications, however, I didn’t completely enjoy the execution. This could be because I’m a scientist by day, but there were soooo many explanations for all the scientific terms and they felt unnecessary sometimes for a relatively short read. It causes a break in the story and it was really distracting for me. On the other hand, as a scientist, I loved reading about all these things that I work with and deeply understand. It was a fun bit of representation. The book also felt preachy in a lot of parts and I felt like the same message could’ve been delivered in a more palatable way, as I’ve seen in other recent reads of mine.

4 chilling futuristic stars

I am the first to admit that I just dabble in science fiction, so the science in this one is over my head for the most part. I don’t feel like I had to understand it to enjoy the story though. It was so engrossing that I read it in one day! My first from this author but it won’t be my last.

We meet Logan Ramsey; he works for the GPA – Gene Protection Agency – making sure the world is safe from genetic manipulation. During a raid in Denver, there is an explosion and Logan is exposed to something.

It takes a while, but soon Logan is starting to notice changes in his body and in his brain power. He’s stronger, can read quickly and remember all of it, and he can make complex calculations in his head. Is this an upgrade?

Soon the reader is on a thrill ride with Logan, trying to figure out his upgrade, complications from his past, and what this means for the future of mankind.

This one made me ponder the science of gene therapy in both the negative and positive. Could it save our species? Or could it be our downfall? I raced to finish this one, but I know it will stay with me.

Like this author a lot. Read "Dark Matter" and really got into it. Also read "Recursion" and liked it as well. So, I was hoping I would like "Upgrade". And I did.
Although we know that the main character is being "upgraded" (no spoiler there), the twists and turns that follow kept me interested.
I highly recommend!

Upgrade by Blake Crouch

Meet some mad scientists from the future. Since they think they are right and you are disposable, as collateral damage of their experiments, maybe you won't meet them or you will meet them in the most unfortunate of ways. There is no end to what they will do to achieve what they want, just try to stop them and you will die. Or course, you may die anyway.

Logan Ramsey works for the GPA - Gene Protection Agency. He wanted to be a brilliant scientist but when put beside his mom's brilliance, he knew he couldn't make the cut. But he did work for her, with devastating results. Now he tries to apprehend anyone who might be involved in gene editing. But on his last job, there is an explosion, Logan is injured, and then Logan notices his body and mind changing. Everything about him is improving at a mind boggling rate. Now his own agency wants to study him and use him in their war against those who would tamper with genes.

While Logan is gaining so much when it comes to his body and mind, he loses everything else that is important. But there is no time to mourn losses, he's the only one who can stop widespread destruction for the gains that rogue scientists want for humanity, even if what makes one human is wiped with their artificial means of evolution. Even though I don't understand most of the science, this story is easy to understand on other levels. It's both a thinking man's story and an action thriller and hits too close to home with some of the subjects it broaches. Once again, Crouch has written a story that will have me pondering it for a long time to come.

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine and NetGalley for this ARC.

Another fun one by Blake Crouch! While I did feel that he was trying a bit too hard with the messaging of this book (you don't need to club us over the head with the points you're trying to make, your readers are smarter than that), I did find this mind-bender enjoyable. It bears all the hallmarks of a good Blake Crouch--it's a fast-paced read that will make your brain hurt in a good way.

Spoilers: Fast paced and easily readable. Fairly decent story with lots of science thrown in for good measure. Once again Blake Crouch has built a situation where the main characters spouse ends up with someone else and the main character is forced to observe from the outside. Why is this such a recurring theme? The story here could have been so much better without the Beth and Ava parts or with them not just immediately ending up with a new family member. I mean it wasn’t even that long ago that her husband was reported dead! Beth did not waste any time.

The sibling side of the story was sad and kind of trite. Expected and predictable. Still a fun read overall.

GPA = Gene Protection Agency

"I didn't want to become someone's lab rat."

Logan has been targeted with an "upgrade." He could feel his neurons firing, his IQ shot up to at least two hundred, his memory seemed to be preternatural.

"What am I. What am I becoming."

I was really into the fast action on steriods, and could feel Logan's tension as he wondered what he had been infected with and if his genetics were altered. He is having wild dreams, new emotions about the changes he is experiencing. He is filled with ecstasy, euphoria, horror, terror and joy all at once. Can Logan save humanity? Does it all come down to him?

Expect the usual mad science, genre blending, tense, and wild "think outside the box" read that Crouch does so well! The pace does plod a bit in the second half with all the genetic lingo, BUT still a roller coaster story, a little frightening (especially after the real life pandemic), but well worth the read. Go Logan!!

Phew that was intense and crazy!!! From the beginning all the way to the end, this was such a fast, exciting, and insane thrill ride!!!! Having read a few of Blake Crouch’s other books, I was expecting something great and I was thankfully not disappointed.

Logan is our main character and he’s just your average Joe, having medium intelligence and just about everything else. Then the upgrade happens and it gets really intense, really quickly. I don’t want to give too much away, but basically this is a world where genetic engineering is possible in some super wild ways. Apparently our very dna is editable as adults, which is just so crazy to think about. Who knows, maybe we’ll really get there someday.

Anyway, so next thing we know, everyone is after Logan, he’s basically trying to save the world, and his sister thinks she’s saving the world too. Seriously, there are mind blowing realizations one after the other in this book. Like they just keep coming after they start. You will not want to put this book down!!! The characters are interesting, they seem like they could be real, and the plot drags you in all the way!

I can’t say much more without giving it away, but I highly recommend this, especially if you’ve read and loved Crouch’s other books.

Thanks so much to NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, and Blake Crouch for the opportunity to read this for my honest and unbiased opinion. I love every minute of it!!!

✨ BOOK REVIEW: Upgrade by Blake Crouch ✨

Thank you so much to Blake Crouch @blakecrouch1 , Random House Publishing Group @randomhouse , and NetGalley @netgalley for this e-ARC!

Sci-Fi is something I've found myself enjoying more and more every time I read it, and this book only strengthened that enjoyment for me! I was never really a science-y person growing up (even though the subject in and of itself is super interesting), but Crouch does such an amazing job with catering to the general population, regardless of how much or how little they understand the technicalities of it.

The main character's voice was so unique and continued to evolve throughout the book, giving readers an inside perspective to a changing mind. I breezed through this book because I was just intrigued by how this was all going to resolve itself. While part of the resolution felt anti-climactic (especially after some action-packed scenes), the end of it was worth it -- and was one I strongly resonated with.

This is one to keep an eye out for when it comes out this summer!

Overall rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5