In Upgrade, Blake Crouch has written a page-turning, scientific thriller that is also a morality tale.

In the near future, we meet Logan Ramsay, whose mother was the most brilliant geneticist ever born. She brings on a global famine by releasing genetically-modified insects that were meant to cure a rice blight. Logan, just out of college, was working for her at the time and ended up going to jail for it. His mother wasn’t held accountable: she drove her car off the highest cliff on the California coast.

We meet Logan some 20 years on, working for a government agency established to police genetics. On a raid, he gets hit with the shrapnel from a bomb and contracts a horrible fever. It turns out that he was not a random casualty but the target, and the virus he was infected with is changing his DNA.

The changes are the “upgrade,” making him stronger and smarter. He discovers he is part of a rogue plan to upgrade all of humanity in this way, in order to stave off the extinction of the human race. The problem is, being smarter doesn’t make anyone more likely to work together.

Logan must give up his old life and self and make his own choices. Can he save the world?

As enticing as it might sound to be able to tweak the human genome, I think the ideas in this book are fantasy. From what I understand, there are no precise genetic markers for qualities like intelligence. In addition, the changes that happen in Logan’s brain are based on a faulty understanding of memory and perception.

I do appreciate where the book ends up, with the idea that it’s not intelligence we need to expand in people, but compassion. If this book can be a vehicle to get just a few people who don’t normally think about such things to consider how we might combat climate change with compassion, it will have been worth it.

I thought this book was great. It was fast paced and the premise while somewhat unrealistic still held some kernels of what our future holds that made it feel not impossible. I like the original plot and all the action. Would make a great movie.

I was so excited when I saw that I could get a Netgalley arc of Upgrade by Blake Crouch. I adore his newer works, and he has become an auto-buy author for me.

Unfortunately, Upgrade was a miss for me.

The Wayward Pines series, Dark Matter, and Resurgence were well written, but they also had a hook that held you until the end. When I attempted to read Crouch’s books prior to Wayward Pines I found I did not enjoy them. They were not as well written thrillers without the satisfying plots.

Upgrade was more reminiscent of Crouch’s earlier works. At its core Upgrade is a thriller. Layered over the thriller is A LOT of scientific jargon. I am not a neurologist, but I have grad school level neuropsychology training. I love learning about the brain and how genetics shape us. I will read genetic non-fiction books for fun, and the science in this book bored me to tears.

I kept hoping that there was something that would redeem this novel at the end. I kept reading because it is Blake Crouch and I respect him so much as a writer. And I finally found it. My favorite part of the book was the prologue. If that could have been the book then I think I would have loved it. But if you start this book and are not enjoying it, it isn’t worth sticking around. Just skip to the prologue and call it a night.

I have seen so many positive reviews for Upgrade, don’t let mine sway you from picking it up if it interests you. I will say it is a fast read - and you can gloss over all the science. But if you have never read Crouch before then let me guide you over to his book Dark Matter.

First, full disclosure. This book doesn't fall within the universe of my normal reading or the kind of books I would say I enjoy. I don't read sci-fi, ever, and I don't really like set-in-a-dystopian-future stuff regardless of the advertised genre.

Now second, I loved every page of UPGRADE. It's the kind of book that breathes new life into the cliche 'page turner.' It transcends genre and becomes simply a hugely compelling narrative that you simply MUST follow to the end. And it was more fun to read than any other book I can remember for years. Full stop.

My thanks to the publisher for allowing me access to an ARC. I am greatly flattered to be included among those getting an advance look at UPGRADE.

This book describes what happens when genetic modification is out of control. Just think, if you were a super human, modified to be the best in everything. Would we then modify everyone to also be the best? Where would it end? How would we control it? Would there be oversight? This is a thriller that will have you asking these questions as one man’s DNA gets updated in a stealth attack. Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I don’t read a lot of what I think of as science fiction, but I always enjoy Crouch’s books because of how they are rooted in our world, but have enough of a futuristic twist that the stories are both very creative and plausibly scary. The story moved fast and worked well from a narrator point of view. It’s been a while since I’ve read Dark Matter and Recurison but it also felt like this was a more straightforward story. I think readers will really enjoy it. I know I did.

Stays with some of Blake’s relatable, but still very alpha, protagonist tropes, but with a Limitless vibe. As always, the pages flew by. I also got kind of a Bobbie Draper vibe from a key side character. A lot of melancholy here, but as I recall, that is pretty normal as well.

Blake Crrouch does it again. Quite honestly I haven’t been as big a fan of his later works such as Dark Matter and Recursion, but Upgrade was a smash. It was a riveting read with well developed characters and a great story. I found myself staying up later and later each night to keep turning the pages. The plot of the story itself is riveting and well researched, though sometimes it felt as if he was showing off just how much he researched.

This was a spectacular read and harkens back to some of his earlier books.

Blake crouch at his best ! Plot is surprising , very tense and incredibly thought provoking .Logan is about to get the brain of his dreams . will he be human or something more or less .Thrill of a ride and page turner . Sci - Fi book of the year

3.5/5 stars. It was an interesting plot with some good action scenes. I struggled with the science aspect but enjoyed it.

An interesting idea. What if you could upgrade humanity, what most needs "fixing?" A very interesting read by Mr. Crouch, I enjoyed it and only suspected the ending a little.

Blake Crouch returns to the scene in his highly anticipated next book Upgrade, following the success of his mind-bending novels Dark Matter and Recursion. Only this time, he's bending more than just minds, he's bending the very fabric of what makes us human: our DNA.

We are introduced to Logan, a smart and capable guy, though not necessarily exemplary by any stretch. But our hero's story begins explosively as his mind and his abilities start to... well... upgrade. Suddenly things that used to be difficult are second nature, and things he'd never understood are simple and straightforward. And his newfound abilities put him the crosshairs of a clandestine and global war, pitting him against an opponent who seems to always be one step ahead of him, and knows him better than he knows himself.

Crouch brings a new twist to the familiar concept of superhuman abilities, weaving his trademark thrilling plot and pacing with a healthy dose of science and biology, bringing this techno-thriller to a massive crescendo as he immerses us in a world where we consider... what if we were the best version of ourselves? Would that be a good thing for the world, or would it be a disaster?

Another winner from Blake Crouch! Upgrade begins a bit like a superhero origin story after Logan Ramsey undergoes an unwitting genetic upgrade. However, this soon becomes a study in the nature of humanity. A bit heavy on the science, but nothing that slows down the pace or plotting of the story. A great read.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. I was so excited to read this early, but now I realize it will be that much longer before I get to read another new book from Blake Crouch! A double-edged sword indeed. Enjoy this one when it is published in July, 2022.

In Crouch's newest "can't put it down" Sci-Fi Thriller Logan Ramsay works for the federal Gene Protection Agency and is exposed to an unknown compound during a raid gone bad. Only after he's released from the hospital do the intended changes begin to occur. Logan's mind is working faster than ever before, his memory continues to improve, and he becomes physically faster and stronger too. But who could have caused Logan to receive these genetic upgrades, and more importantly, why?

This was my first of Blake Crouch's writings and I found it a little too involved. The future has arrived with it's good intentions vs flawed outcomes. The idea of changing DNA is a controversial one and this book will have you seriously thinking.

Thank for the opportunity to explore a genre new to me.

I’m always hoping for something to make me sharper. I don’t want to be any kind of mental superhero, but it’s frustrating to grow older and know you could’ve worked out the things that now stump you. Reading has become my cognitive exercise and hopefully some insurance that I will keep some wits about me as I age.

The protagonist of this tale, Logan Ramsay, works for the GPA (Genetic Protection Agency). During his duties, he’s exposed to the exact thing he’s fighting against. He begins to think it’s not such a bad thing until his past catches up with him and the real battle to find and stop his nemesis commences.

As I write this review, it brings to mind some similarities to the television story of Dexter Morgan.

This is my favorite Blake Crouch book to date. There certainly must’ve been a massive amount of scientific research involved in crafting this story and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I hear a movie is forthcoming and I’m delighted.

Thank you to Kathleen Quinlan, Random House and NetGalley for an advanced readers digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 stars rounded down

Upgrade is a highly interesting look at the science behind genetics and how DNA can be manipulated for good and evil. Our protagonist receives a genetic upgrade against his will and must grapple with these changes while trying to save the planet from ultimate destruction. I wish this had been much longer so the characters and urgency of the planet’s demise could have been fleshed out more. I felt like I was reading cliff notes of all the big moments. Despite that, I was still engaged and invested in the outcome. This was my first Blake Crouch novel and I’ll definitely be moving his precious novels up my TBR list.


Thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Blake Crouch does it again - mind blown. Imaginative premise, tight plot, characters to hate and love, lightning pace - this one has it all. I could not put this book down and loved every moment of it. All too possible and well researched, the story addresses our faults as a species and our insistence on continuing to ignore our own best interests. Thanks to NetGalley to the ARC.

Thanks to NetGalley for this e-ARC!

This was definitely my least favorite book of Crouch’s. I was so bored because this story really didn’t add anything new to the subjects he was trying to write about. I struggled to even finish it, and it didn’t hook me instantly like Dark Matter and Recursion did.

I come to Blake Crouch books for the ideas, more than anything else. And this is a great idea for a book - the ability of humanity to reengineer itself, our arguable moral obligation to do so in the face of our likely extinction, and what such changes might feel like from the inside.

I wish I could say that these ideas are explored as engagingly as those in Recursion or Dark Matter. I found Crouch struggling to find the most engaging ways to describe these upgrades - too often he fell back on hyper-awareness as a catchall descriptor. And the ending of the book devolved into a fairly generic action movie big battle.

All that said, Crouch continues to excel in simplifying complex scientific concepts without sacrificing the necessary elements p (no pun intended). I think any fan of Crouch’s books will enjoy Upgrade.

Many, many thanks to Random House and NetGalley for my advance reader’s copy.