Very enjoyable sci-fi thriller about a man trying to save humanity. Made almost super human after a genome attack, Logan Ramsey battles against secret government agencies, his own bosses and eventually his own family to save humans from a dangerous plan to edit the genes of entire world population. This novel is fast paced, thrilling and thought provoking. 5 stars!

Love all books by this author! I'm a science major and I love reading thrillers so anything that Blake Crouch puts out I'll grab without hesitation. This is no different.

With that being said, you don't have to be a science major to follow his books. I know nothing about biology but he explains his science along with the storyline so you never feel like you're missing something.

I think he expertly delivers this book with a good scifi/thriller mystery along with a good relationship storyline, plus a little superhero complex (no, not batman/ironman). Upgrade refers to upgrading your genetics to be the best of humanity - whether or not you want to - which loops into the whole storyline.

I love reading anything from Blake Crouch so my view my be skewed but I can't wait for his next story!

“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.”
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Scientist Miriam Ramsey’s miscalculated experiment caused a mass starvation event, killing millions of people. Years later, out of guilt, Logan— her son— works for the Genetic Protection Agency… hunting down people who are trying to use the science created by his mother. During a raid, Logan is injured during an explosion. At first he seems to be recovering normally, but then he notices his mind is sharper. His genome has been hacked and there is a reason he was the target for this Upgrade.
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I’m not usually a Sci Fi reader… but I’ve heard such great things about Bake Crouch’s work, when I saw Upgrade on Netgalley I jumped at the chance to read it! 🏃‍♀️
Ugghhh welll I should have passed 🫣 this book was not my jam 🍇There were brief parts that caught my attention… but most of the time I just felt like I was reading a science journal 😴
I was a bio major my first year of college and switched FOR A REASON. I started skimming the genetic blah blah blah hoping for something exciting to happen 🫠
I’m sure this book is someone’s cup of tea 🍵 it’s just not mine 🤷🏼‍♀️
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I received a digital copy of this book as an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion. Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group Ballantine and of course author Blake Crouch. All opinions expressed are my own.

I loved Dark Matter so I was so happy to get a @netgalley ARC of Upgrade by Blake Crouch.

I will admit that I liked Dark Matter better than Upgrade, but I still found this book to be so good.

It’s very science & DNA heavy, but Blake Crouch does an amazing job of explaining the science to the reader. Not once did I feel like I didn’t understand what was going on.

Crouch does a great job of keeping the reader engaged because his writing is very realistic. I kept thinking this is such a crazy topic, can you imagine if there was a way to alter your DNA…make you stronger, smarter, faster??

A thoughtful sf thriller. It's like a science-based thriller version of Flowers for Algernon. I also think it would be a great companion piece to Joe Haldemann's Forever Peace because it explores the question of what would it take to get humanity to stop destroying everything.

Upgrade takes place in a future where tinkering with genetics has been outlawed after a devastating good-deed-gone-wrong resulted in worldwide famine. MC Logan feels guilty and responsible because he helped his brilliant biologist mom release the virus she had engineered, which caused the the crop blight. Logan has served his prison time, now has a lovely wife and daughter, and works for the Gene Protection Agency. He's doing a pretty routine assignment, when he is exposed to something strange. I don't think it's a spoiler to say that Logan begins to think he has been given an "upgrade."

All the genetic engineering that Crouch writes about is pretty interesting. In real life, no one actually wants the MTHFR gene that he writes so glowingly about. And the idea of losing your sensory gating sounds like a TOTAL NIGHTMARE to me. But everything is explained very convincingly. The really interesting idea Crouch delves into is whether being more intelligent would lead people to make better and more rational decisions. Or would it just make people think they are better than everyone else, ignore their own trauma, decide that whatever they are already obsessed with is actually the most important issue in the world, and that they should make decisions for everyone else? And is that kind of intelligence really the most important piece of being a good human? I think, wouldn't it be great if cis men in the "science fiction community" and everywhere started pondering this question A LOT? So that is one great thing about this book.

Reading along, I felt that upgraded Logan's ability to set his emotions aside (in a metaphorical Faraday cage) was a mistake. And that greater rational ability would not help without greater compassion and a sense of interdependence and belonging. In the bang-up ending, <SPOILER> it turned out that Blake Crouch had been leading me along by the nose the whole time and this was exactly what he was saying. </spoiler>

This is the third novel by Crouch I have read and I haven't been disappointed by any of them. I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for this honest review.

Upgrade is a story of the near future, a world still very recognizable as our own. Genetic engineering technology has developed with enormous potential to improve the current state of the world, but also with the potential for a terrible cascade of repercussions. Logan Ramsey balances on this razor’s edge as he inadvertently becomes responsible for the future course of humanity. Yet another action packed sci-fi thriller from Blake Crouch.

The scientific explanations bog the story down at times, and some of the details feel too fantastical even for a “upgraded” super human, but any fan of Blake Crouch won’t be disappointed.

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review Upgrade.

I liked DARK MATTER and I loved RECURSION, and I would probably rank UPGRADE between those two. Like Crouch's other works, this novel manages to be both fast-paced and quite science-y. It's not a book you can autopilot through, and I struggled at times t get through some of the more technical information and language. The science aspects actually reminded me of PROJECT HAIL MARY, though tonally, they couldn't be more different.

It's a surprisingly thoughtful and - at times - philosophical take on sci-fi, and at times actually reminded me of Ted Chiang (THE THREE-BODY PROBLEM),

Even though Dark Matter and Recursion both sit in my TBR pile, this is the first Blake Crouch novel I’ve read, so I really didn’t know what to expect going in. But it is really good! Lots of action, moving forward in sprints and gallops, with some very unexpected twists. It is also surprisingly thoughtful, even philosophical, for an action novel full of guns and gritty determination. I look forward to reading more of Blake Crouch’s work.

Upgrade was such a wild and fun ride. This book is my new favorite by Blake Crouch. It also reminded me a lot of a short story in Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang where two humans with super-human knowledge and abilities go head-to-head. Upgrade was fast-paced and it had the Michael Crichton feel I’ve come to expect from Blake Crouch. Loved it so much!

In my continued to attempts to read more science fiction, I opted to read another Blake Crouch novel despite some mixed feelings about "Recursion"... and I'm happy that I gave "Upgrade" a chance!

Crouch's latest novel imagines a future world that has pushed the frontier of genetic modification to the point of creation of the Gene Protection Agency (GPA) - the agency where our protagonist, Logan Ramsey, works. When Logan embarks on a raid to reveal a suspected illegal genetics facility, he's caught in an accident that exposes his body to an unknown virus. After recovering and coming to the conclusion that no major harm has been done to him, Logan tries to continue on with life as normal, until he realizes that he's changing. His physical reflexes and strength, his intelligence and awareness, his recovery and repair - they're all improving to superhuman levels, so Logan attempts to figure out what's happened to him. We get to see his childhood, growing up as the son of renowned and disgraced geneticist Miriam Ramsey, and the repercussions of her findings and decisions on her family today.

I found "Upgrade" to be a much more readable novel, blending genres of science fiction, action, and thriller incredibly well. There's a fair amount of genetic terminology that gets utilized throughout, but Crouch does a great job of introducing these concepts at large so they're digestible for the average reader. The writing is consistent throughout, and I appreciated the number of complex characters that are introduced in the storyline. In this novel especially, I think Crouch is able to pull out some overarching themes and questions that we face in different applications - the battle between scientific advancement against quality of life, the importance of qualities that make us weak, but human - that are subtlety layered in.

Any time I read a Blake Crouch book, I know that I will expect my head to spin and that I will be high in adrenaline with all the action that will be packed into the book -this was no exception, it checked off all the boxes.

For those who haven't read his work before, he delves deep into scienc-y terms and that is both exciting to read and can be overwhelming but he makes it work by relating it back to direct human impact.

This was based on altering human genomes - and while that sounds like something from the future....he made it sound scarily real and something that could potentially happen today...and what would that look like?
I loved the doomsday feel coupled with the concept of being "upgraded" - it thrilled me.
It was written well and pretty much could be flipped over into a move in a nano-second. Definitely recommend if you loved his previous work.

In a not-too-distant future gene editing goes off the tracks and precipitates a global disaster. Typical societal overreaction leads to the banning and criminalizing any kind of genetic research. Logan Ramsay is the son of the scientist who engineered the global debacle. He becomes an agent of the Gene Protection Agency who use draconian policing to deter any genetic research.

Logan has his personal demons to fight as he toes the line with his agency. A bust goes awry, and Logan receives the brunt of the problem.

This book does take a hard look at our future and our willingness to put our collective heads in the sand when any uncomfortable societal ills rear their heads.

The author does a masterful job showing that unbridled intellect with no corresponding emotional safeguards can have devastating consequences.

I recommend the book.

Author Blake Crouch is a master at weaving complex, but quick-paced stories that maintain a balance between intellectual and compulsively readable, and <i>Upgrade</i> is no exception. I should say: I am not a fan of hard Sci-Fi, but love grounded, relationship-based SF, and this is sort of on the precipice of those. There are parts I skimmed, as they leaned a bit too heavily into the genetics of it all, but Crouch seems to anticipate this of some of his readers as it's still accessible and compelling even while skipping those details. I could've done with truncating the 55-85% section, but many will enjoy those bigger action pieces-- and those are exactly the moments most people will be excited to see when this is adapted. But the set up, the character work, and the epilogue are *chef's kiss* so good.

Upgrade by Blake Crouch

I am so surprised by this book it held my attention from beginning to the finish. I am not a fan of sci-fy books but this book was written for someone like me who wants to step their toes into reading sci-fy but wanting the book to be not to difficult to follow along. This book fit that bill completely.

Logan works for the GPA which monitors scientists after laws changed for gene development. Logan is an interesting character he goes through so much throughout the book. Which he seems to deal with and withstand all the things he faces.

This book was like a speed rush to the end. Logan was a very likeable character who had to stuff his emotions to get the job done which is saving all of mankind from a virus that can change everything.

Blake Crouch knows how to write a sci-fy book that engages people who normal don't read the genre he does it in a way that helps the reader to understand what is going on. His writing is simple to understand even when technical terms are being used. The story felt believable.

I would recommend this book to anyone who loves sci-fy but also to someone who wants to try reading sci-fy it was that good. My heart was racing as the pages where turning and that makes for a great read. I plan on reading more from this author. He might have made me into a sci-fy fan with this book.

I want to thank Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group- Ballantine for a free copy of the book for an honest review. I cannot say enough about this book.

Upgrade
Blake Crouch
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨
Out July 12th, 2022!

To be honest, I will read anything that Blake Crouch writes, at this point. I have yet to make time to read his backlist of books, but have kept up with his releases since the MIND BLOWING Dark Matter released.

In Upgrade, Crouch continues tackling complex scientific concepts and making them digestible to the less than savvy reader (aka ME). This story deals with the aftermath of the scientific breakthrough of DNA editing and the tragedy that followed. Crouch ventures into some deeper, darker, and more emotional territory in this novel, and I was impressed by the moves he made.

While perhaps not as mind-boggling as his previous novels, Upgrade does a good job of fully fleshing out the ideas that come into play, and it gives the reader lots to think about but also a lot to be thrilled by.

As I mentioned earlier, this book goes to emotional places that Dark Matter and Recursion never came close to. There are some very complex relationships at the heart of this book, and I loved the way that they changed as the characters did. There were some truly bittersweet moments in this story as well, and I found myself quite moved throughout.

The moral dilemma at the center of the plot (which I won’t get into because spoilers) is a significantly complicated one. It’s hard to say that there is a simply black and white to the sides of the story, as the motivations of the protagonists and antagonists have some positive motivation buried within. I found this to be well-executed, as well!

So, what didn’t I like? The beginning of this story is pretty heavy on exposition, and that bothered me, but I won’t say that it was unnecessary. More of the important details could have been revealed through dialogue and would have felt more natural. But, this didn’t take away too much from the story. There were also a couple of loose ends I would have liked to have seen resolved, but I can’t argue that the ending was still mostly satisfying.

Long story short, if you like fun sci-fi, thrillers, or Blake Crouch books, DON’T MISS THIS! It is better than Recursion, but not quite as good as Dark Matter, in my opinion. 😄

Oh my goodness! I don’t even know where to start with a review! This was a mind blowing story! Logan is a scientist who works for the GPA, Gene Protection Agency, which fights against gene editing. Logan’s mother was a brilliant scientist who miscalculated an experiment that cost millions of lives. But she manages to give Logan an upgrade which messes with his genes. Just fascinating!
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Upgrade is about a man who works for the government, the GPA division. The GPA's primary focus is to stop unlawful gene editing in humans. Then there is an accident. He starts to notice his mind and body are beginning to change. He is being upgraded.

This book is HARD sci-fi. I am not a science-oriented person, yet this story's core is very human. How we can idolize and want validation from our (sometimes flawed) parents and our need to protect our family and loved ones.

I loved Dark Matter, and this did not disappoint! Upgrade is a "fast-paced sci-fi thriller" that gad me invested even when I didn't fully understand the science. I cared what he was doing and why.

Part The Six Million Dollar Man and part Jurassic Park (but for humans), this book is an unputdownable thrill ride.

Logan Ramsay has spent his life paying for the mistake of helping his mother, renowned geneticist Miriam Ramsay, unwittingly cause the Great Starvation. After his release from prison, he worked with the Gene Protection Agency to prevent the now-illegal gene altering. He is “upgraded” by a virus he contracted in a botched raid, and from there, Logan’s life changes forever, in good, bad, and unbelievable ways.

I never thought he’d be able to top Wayward Pines series, but this book is just as good, racing toward a satisfying ending.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

I really enjoyed the premise of this story. It made me pause and consider what I'd do if I suddenly got better physically and mentally almost overnight due to gene editing. The first few chapters gripped me, but then it went in a direction that maybe I just wasn't expecting. The story felt a little shallow at that point and lost tension for me. I also simply wasn't invested in the characters enough and that caused the relationships in the book to fall flat for me. In the end this one just wasn't for me.

Blake Crouch's books always make me think. I love how he incorporates science into a thriller. This book was a bit hard for me to read though. Sometimes I felt like there was just too many technical scientific terms and I had to stop and figure out what I was reading which too away from the flow of the story.