Upgrade follows the basic structure of a Crichton-esque techno-thriller (technology brings progress but technology is bad) and moves swiftly with that structure. But unlique Crouch's other books along this vein Upgrade felt like it skipped any of the character work. Despite a good start with a little world building and character background, I felt I knew nothing of the characters or their worlds as the book went on. It didn't explore the cause and effect of the story world's recent history, I only got stock understanding of characters relationships to other characters, and plot just felt like going through the motions. The first Crouch novel I've been disappointed in, but I will return to him in the future. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free copy of this ebook in exchange for an unbiased review.

If you liked Blake’s other books and weren’t too overwhelmed by the detailed sciency bits of Andy Weir’s Project Hail Mary, then you’ll love this one when it comes out in July!

Upgrade is set in a not too distant future where climate change has dramatically impacted the earth. Scientists are researching further into the genome to see how they can make adjustments to help humanity survive.

After the great famine, where millions died from starvation due to an accidental gene manipulation, the Gene Protection Agency has been established to ensure genes aren’t being adjusted inappropriately. Logan is a GPA specialist on a lab raid when everything goes wrong.

He wakes up after the raid to find he has heightened intelligence, can mentally process things at warp speed, and remembers every detail from every moment of his life plus more. Who has illegally changed his genes and why? The race is on to find out before Logan is captured and becomes a lab rat for others to study his upgraded genome or worse.

There’s TONS about genes and DNA and how it all works, which can get a bit overwhelming but is fascinating. There’s also the moral/what would I do question threaded through. As with Blake’s other books, the love of family is a major driving theme. My best read of the year so far!

(Instagram review will be posted closer to pub date)

This was a solid Blake Crouch novel. I personally didn't think it delivered as much of a punch as Dark Matter or Recursion. I got a little lost in the DNA details, however I think that was part of the point - it was a heavy science-based book. That is the only reason I am not giving this one 5*.

For fans of Sci-Fi, you need to read this! It's equal parts nerdy and futuristic, and kind of funny too. Buckle up and enjoy the ride that is "Upgrade"!

Thank you to the author, publisher, and Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A great story! This book is full of twists and turns. Much of the story has to do with DNA and genetics the author did a great job explaining how it all worked without making the reader feel like he was “dumbing it down” for us, at least I didn’t feel that way. This book has it all, science, mystery, family drama, a romance of sorts, and a few skirmishes to round it all out. I am not a huge fan of the science fiction genre, but I truly enjoyed this book.

I really enjoy the way that Blake Crouch writes. I have been captivated by his books in the past, and although Upgrade was good it didn't hold my interest as well as his previous books had. I found it to drag through most of the middle of the book and really only picked up for me toward the end. The back story of the main character, with his aloof mother and mistakes that he had made in the past was a good place to start, but it fell flat afterwards. Upgrade has a good moral lesson in the demise of mankind if we don't start caring for the planet and caring about each other. The ending ties it all together and redeems the slow moving middle part of the book. I thank NetGalley for the opportunity to read an ARC copy and wish great success for Blake Crouch's newest novel.

Really enjoyed this book! Fast paced, interesting topic. A bit too many technical details for me -- but I would pick up other books by this author.

I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley.

I was so excited to receive this arc after reading both Dark Matter and Recursion in respective single sittings. Those two books were not only unique in their premise but also well thought-out and researched. Upgrade was a significant step down. The idea was generic and the execution was lacking nuance and detail. I'd read more Blake Crouch because his other 2 books were so awesome, but this one was not great.

Like all Blake Crouch’s books this was a quick read. A mix of Science Fiction and thriller. I did not find it as engaging or mind blowing as his previous books.

In another fantastic Blake Crouch novel. An excellent but very terrifying story. I am still questioning everything. I feel like throughout the book there was this line about everything and I was bouncing back and forth on how i felt. I know in the grand scheme of things you pull for Logan and want to think the best in humanity, but long story short, Logan still had to "fix" society in the end. So in actuality humanity failed us. which is just super depressing. Either way, i loved the story, and can't wait for the next one.

Thank you to NetGalley, Blake Crouch, and Ballantine Books for providing me with an advanced reading copy.

I was blown away by another Blake Crouch trip into the believable/unbelievable. What starts out as scientists manipulating genetics in the hopes of eliminating a harvest plague turns into so much more. This is an epic tale of the logic of science versus the ethics of humanity, pitting members of one family against each other. “Upgrade” kept me up late at night because I just had to know the ending.

(3.2/5)

I am slightly more positive about this book after a few days of reflecting, but there are many things holding this back from being a 'great' book.

Crouch's writing style is just so very sparse. I read Dark Matter and Recursion on audio and do not remember feeling the same way on the audio medium, but with Upgrade, I found myself often irked at the simplicity. There would be long passages where Crouch describes the actions of the narrator in the simplest way possible including many 2 word abrupt sentences. When Crouch does get descriptive about the environment, he often just lists things out with an adjective of choice. For some people, this is not an issue, but for me, such a writing style will reduce my enjoyment.

The world Crouch places the narrator in is the near future. It is quite depressing and Crouch makes sure to let us know this. Unfortunately, the world-building is done in an, er... abrupt way. There is one particular good flashback of the past, but often we get a picture of the future in a way that just lists things out. It also seems Crouch pulls modern-day events he saw on the news and extrapolated them into lore in this book, which seemed a bit uninspired to me. The overall depiction of this future world is morbidly possible though, so props to Crouch.

Regardless, this was a fast-paced thriller and I never grew bored throughout, even if I was also irked at the usage of some thriller tropes and predictable twists.

The topic of the book is not very original. I've seen something similar done in Crichton's Terminal Man from the 70's and the movie Limitless. Upgrade does have its own spin on these concepts and you've got to give Crouch some credit for that. Particularly, Crouch's commentary on genetics and human nature is direct and to the point, letting us know the importance of thinking about these things today. I cannot recall this particular message being portrayed in such a mainstream way before and I hope Upgrade gets some people thinking about them, and I suspect for many readers, these concepts will be brand new. Currently, human genetic modification is considered immoral, but this book makes you question, should it really be? Unfortunately, I must say the execution of the themes fell flatter than it otherwise would have it Crouch could have been a bit more articulate and less abrupt in his prose.

I see no reason to not continue reading new Crouch books as they release. The books are just so easy to read and usually give a lot to think about.

Not my favorite Blake Crouch novel yet, but still an extremely enjoyable ride! Mr. Crouch certainly knows how to write a page-turner, and I couldn't put this down from the moment I started.

3.5-3.75
*netgalley copy*

Another enjoyable book from this author. While I didn’t enjoy it quite as much as Dark Matter or Recursion it was still a great read. If you’ve enjoyed his other books you’ll likely enjoy this one too. There were a few times that I found myself skimming over some sections just to get to the action again but overall I’d still recommend it to fans.

Upgrade, by Blake Crouch, is a brilliant dystopian look at what genetics engineering can bring. Our hero’s mother caused hundreds of millions to die when her GMO rice mutated and destroyed the ability to grow rice. Now the genetics agency, which her son works for, controls any attempts at genetic modification. But it seems his supposedly dead mother is now trying to provide genetic upgrades to human capabilities. His sister was also drawn into this, and the enhanced twosome are at odds over what is best for humanity. It’s written as an excellent thriller which kept me glued to it, and has a wonderfully thought through ending.

Upgrade is the 16th novel by Blake Crouch. I started to read one of his early novels 8 years ago, but I gave up part way through the story. The good news is that this book kept me on the edge of my seat until the end. This is a sci-fi novel set about 25-30 years in the future. In the course of this story, millions of people die as the result of untested genetic manipulations are attempted, and if a certain plan to “upgrade” human physical and mental powers works, “only” one billion in the world’s population of ten billion will die.

The story is connected to the worldwide experience of the novel coronavirus (which has similarities to the last book I reviewed, Reap3r, which I gave a raving review). In this story, Agent Logan Ramsay was working for the Gene Protection Agency. It had become illegal to do self-editing of genes, and prior to his time with the government agency, Logan had been in prison for several years as the result of the suspicion that he had done just that. Logan was the daughter of a famous geneticist, Miriam Ramsay, who had allegedly died just as she was about to be arrested for such offenses, herself. Miriam thought the human race was doomed as the result of its timely failure to manage global warming. There was no doubt the world was changing and becoming much less habitable than it had been before. Logan also had an older sister who was a vital player in this story. She was the brighter one of the two siblings, and she and Logan often did not see eye to eye about their mother’s legacy.

Ultimately, this is a story about the lack of ability to control unforeseen outcomes, as well as the impact of selfishness/narcissism versus compassion. It’s a novel worth reading. Thanks to Random House for an advanced copy. The book is expected to be published in early 7/22.

4/4.5 stars!
This was another winner from Blake Crouch in my opinion!

Logan Ramsay, makes for an interesting main character.
In the beginning of the book, I felt an emotional connection to him and then again at the end.
In the middle of the book, I did not connect to him as much, but I feel like that’s the entire point in the book.

Without giving too much away, I love how Crouch shows us the benefits of DNA adaption and upgrades, but also shows how the upgrade will cause us to lose our humanness and feelings for people and memories.

When Logan gets targeted with an upgrade to his DNA composition, he becomes more conscious, hyper focused and driven in his decisions. But with this upgrade, he also becomes less emotional about his actions, thoughts, and the important people in his life.

The pacing in Upgrade lags a bit in the middle but the ending and epilogue brings up the emotional enjoyment for me. In fact, I was a bit emotional with how Crouch ends the book and wraps things up for Logan Ramsay.

Overall, the DNA dumping and science information was a bit much, but it does not take away from the overall plot and emotional connection that I felt for the characters.

I really love how Couch shows us the benefits of how to save humankind and earth with this new sci-fi thriller!

Definitely get to this one if you love sci-fi themed books along with books that look at the bigger picture when it comes to saving the world!

Once again I am enthralled with the writing of Blake Crouch. His newest book Upgrade is to Earth what the Martian by Andy Weir was to Mars. Even though I couldn't wrap my head around some of the biological stuff going on, I COULD NOT put it down. It was fast paced, believable and timely. 5 ***** stars!!!

A futuristic thriller with the moral dilemma of, if you could upgrade your mind and your body with enhanced physical powers, brain improvement for memory and foresight, would you do it? Two enhanced siblings are at odds with what is right and wrong after their bio-scientist mother leaves them with such powers and the formulas that could be injected into the population of the world.

While my eyes glazed over at all the scientific biological detail, this thriller was a fast read I had to be in the mood for to pick up. Intense and often alarming, I'd compare it with clone technology and nonfiction DNA study. I do admire the author's meticulous research.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the early opportunity to read and review.

Mark your calendars for July 12, 2022 as Crouch's next sci-fi thriller releases!

3.5 stars! I loved Crouch's first two books of Dark Matter and Recursion so when I saw the email that was I was pre-approved to read his next book, excited was an understatement.

Crouch has an amazing way to entertain his readers while explaining the science in a way that most can understand. I usually feel like I need to don my glasses when I finish one of his books. This book started the same way but the science this time involves our DNA and amazing changes that can be done to it (good or bad).

Part One of the story sucked me and I saw that I was flying through the book. However, Part Two and Three felt like a screeching halt. The plot seemed to stall and I was reading pages on pages about Logan's amazing abilities. I wish Crouch had kept it down to a minimum so that it still felt fast paced.

When I finished, I felt bummed and unsatisified compared to his two previous books that I read. However, Crouch is still an auto-buy author for me so I'm hoping this is just a fluke with his story.

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House/Ballantine for an arc in exchange for my honest review.

8/10

Little did I know, when I picked up this book, that Blake Crouch was already an internationally best-selling author. As it turns out, Upgrade should be another international bestseller for him - especially after the movie is released (yes, this book was optioned by Spielberg’s Amblin Entertainment)

Upgrade is a cross between Jack Reacher and Walter Isaacson’s “Codebreakers”.

It takes place at some point in the not so distant future, after the world was decimated by gene editing mistakes. The Gene Protection Agency was started to stop all rogue gene editing efforts.

Before I continue on here, let me say that this concept is not so far fetched since some of what is described in the book can already be done by CRISPR technology. Read “Codebreakers”.

This book is a fast-paced suspense novel that locks you in around page five and doesn’t let go.

Any fan of suspense novels will drink this up. I’m not sure I’d call it Sci Fi, but those fans will love it too. It’s fun, it’s compelling and it’s a frighteningly scary look at a potential future for our planet.

#netgalley #upgrade