Blake Crouch

Upgrade

Lindsay

The future was here, and it was a fucking mess.

It is a supremely cruel thing to have your mind conjure a desire which it is functionally unable to realize.

“Life never really goes the way you want or expect. Usually, even getting exactly what you want turns out not to have been what you really wanted. So, my son, if you ever find a sliver of happiness and peace, just be thankful and live. Don’t reach for more, because a sliver is more than most people ever find.”

Izzy 

Never before had I seen Homo sapiens so clearly-a species, at its most fundamental level, of storytellers. Creatures who overlay story on everything, but especially their own lives, and in so doing, can imbue a cold, random, sometime brutal existence, with fabricated meaning.

Logan Ramsay is about to get the brain he always dreamed of. But will he be transformed into something more than human...or something less? The mind-blowing new thriller from the New York Times bestselling author of Dark Matter and Recursion When the SWAT team gives the all-clear and Logan Ramsay steps into the basement, he has no idea that everything's about to change. Then there's the hiss of aerosol. The explosion. The shrapnel that punctures his hazmat gear. Logan wakes up to find himself in a hospital bed, attended by doctors in their own hazmat suits, his wife and daughter looking on from behind the glass. The doctors say he's been infected by a virus--one designed not to make him sick, but to modify his very genetic structure. In a world where the next-generation gene-editing tool known as Scythe is widely available--and has already reaped disastrous consequences--the possibilities are too many and terrifying to count. Except that after the fever, the pain, the fear...the virus is gone. And according to his government bosses, Logan's got a clean bill of health. But the truth is that with each day that passes, Logan's getting smarter. Seeing things more clearly. He's realizing that he's been upgraded in ways that go beyond even Scythe's capabilities--and that he's been given these abilities for a reason. Because a holy grail of genetic engineering--one that could change our very definitions of humanity--has just been unearthed. And now it's up to him to stop it from falling into the wrong hands. Logan's becoming something more. Something better. Even with the whole world hunting for him, he might be able to outthink his opponents and win the war that's coming. But what if it's at the cost of being himself?

Really great and really makes you think. I didnt like the story telling as much as in recusrison or dark matter but the idea is brilliant

Gwenifer

More limited in intellectual scope than Dark Matter and Recursion. But still, it's very smart, and an absolute page-turner.

Frederik De Bosschere

Bria

I hate that I waited so long to read this! It's so fast paced and filled with so much info, but it was done so well. I wasn't overwhelmed even though there was sooo much information. How did Crouch do it?

for such scientific focused books, blake crouch makes it so accessible and easy to understand. genuinely addictive, such a cool take on how scary genetics research is. also love how logan is like?? genuinely a good person?? a mc that sticks to his morals which i think is such a fundamental part of his character. the last 2 chapters lost me a bit bc of how sciency it got but thought the ending worked well, wooo compassion

Jordan

While I agree with the other reviews that this book isn't great in comparison with a majority of the authors previous works. It is a solid book in my opinion.

I think most of the issues with this book are due to the fact that the author chose to explain the science behind the story, more than in previous books. And it definitely came out sounding more like a textbook in certain areas, which isn't something fiction readers are usually looking for.
But it also doesn't hurt the story in any way either, so if you don't mind a few big words, it's a good read.

Not a pinch of the brilliance of Dark Matter or Recursion. Hugely underwhelming. 

Aims

Avery

A short fun read with a similar trying-to-put-the-genie-back-in-the-bottle plot to the author's other recent releases. I found the final resolution more satisfying than I expected.

Jason Lo

Surprisingly much more of an action thriller than Dark Matter and Recursion and I think it suffers for it unfortunately.

Cody Degen

It was okay I guess? It’s probably just coincidence but this is the second book of his that’s essentially the same plot as a much better book (Recursion -> The Lathe of Heaven, this -> a story from Exhalation) and I probably rate both worse because they compare so closely but not as favorably (which is fine on it’s own because both original works are stone cold classics)

Megan BV

This book kept me interested and was very different than the stories I usually read. It’s a little bit dystopian without being unrealistic. The whole time I kept thinking how good it would be as a movie and then when I read about the author after finishing the book, realized he writes screenplays! Definitely recommending to friends 

Abigail Stutz

Joy Bush

4.75🌟
I liked this one better than Dark Matter and Recursion. His plot and stories are so good! Now if he could just stop using cis straight white men cops as his MC.

C. J. Daley 

I originally for some reason thought this released much sooner in the year, which made it even harder to wait for July. This author has been an auto-buy for me since Dark Matter so I couldn’t wait for this one. 

Upgrade is a science fiction novel that reads like scifi-realism (if that’s a thing?) and scifi/dystopia. For me this is my sweet spot for the genre, which is why the author has catapulted to a favorite. His novels are accessible to anyone, but with science just smart enough to make me feel stupid, which to me at least, feels more real seeing as I am not a scientist. And I link each one to dystopian because he has such a way about writing things that are evolutions of where we are now, nothing ever seems ridiculous or impossible, but they are most often bleak. 

For me this is some of Crouch’s best writing, even from the first page, there’s just something refreshing about how he tells stories. I’ve always particularly liked that his main characters are not typical, they are never young or special, they are typically around 40 and ultimately average. Yet they often face the same odds and events that you would get in a chosen-one type story. 

Overall Upgrade is the story of what it means to be human, humanity itself, and a cry for compassion in the world. The author knows we need to act in terms of conservation, and this novel takes place in the future, a future that looks like our own, but it doesn’t read like that, it’s not so one dimensional. 

Through and through this is a wild ride, it’s compulsively readable, unputdownable, and anything else you’d like to call it. Yes, there’s a lot of science and description, but this one is also filled with incredible action and pacing. An absolute must. 

Personally a 5/5*, probably my favorite read this year.

Matt Litwin

Maybe the secret to saving the world is really thé friends we made along the way

Vilandra

I enjoyed this one more than Dark Matter. The concept is interesting and there were some good surprises.

Upgrade has all the hallmarks of Blake Crouch at his finest: deft world building, a brain-bending premise, and a call to connect our present experience with the future he describes.

Unfortunately, Upgrade never quite captures the depth of his other works. It just moves too fast. It feels like Crouch is trying to cram 100 pounds of emotion, insight, technical background, and story into a 1 pound container. We’re only given a moment alongside a set piece, an emotion, or a conundrum before we’re whisked away to something else. We’re often jarred from the story by two paragraphs of explanation about gene editing, random character introductions, and moments that feel less painful than they should. We should feel the burn on our hand; instead, our hand is whisked off of the fire before we can even register what’s happening.

Whatever Crouch is trying to communicate to us (and there are plenty of quandaries to chew on), the message never quite lands.

Aaron Bach

Upgrade has all the hallmarks of Blake Crouch at his finest: deft world building, a brain-bending premise, and a call to connect our present experience with the future he describes.

Unfortunately, Upgrade never quite captures the depth of his other works. It just moves too fast. It feels like Crouch is trying to cram 100 pounds of emotion, insight, technical background, and story into a 1 pound container. We’re only given a moment alongside a set piece, an emotion, or a conundrum before we’re whisked away to something else. We’re often jarred from the story by two paragraphs of explanation about gene editing, random character introductions, and moments that feel less painful than they should. We should feel the burn on our hand; instead, our hand is whisked off of the fire before we can even register what’s happening.

Whatever Crouch is trying to communicate to us (and there are plenty of quandaries to chew on), the message never quite lands.

Shona Tiger

This review first appeared in The Sunday Long Read, Sunday, July 31, 2022 — Issue #352.

Logan is the son of a genius scientist, Miriam Ramsay, who caused the death of millions of people through a gene editing accident involving locusts. Logan was involved in the project, and has served time in prison. He now works as an agent for the Gene Protection Agency, set up in the US in the aftermath of the accident to stop unauthorized gene editing. The book opens with him going on what should be a routine raid on a possible dark lab, but which results in him being injured by an improvised explosive device.

What unfolds is what would be called a high-octane thriller, were it a movie. Logan gets pulled into an elaborate and dangerous plot, and races to save humanity. We follow Logan’s exciting story in the first person, and on the way, we learn a huge amount about genes and gene editing technology.

Blake Crouch, also the author of Dark Matter and of Recursion, is masterful at writing fairly near-future speculative fiction that’s full of action. In my opinion, this is the best of the three books, with deep exploration of the character’s interiority, high tension, fast-paced action, and high concepts to frame the question of the future survival of humans. While I did not agree with some of the inevitable politics in the book (the reasons we are not responding adequately to our imminent extinction, for example), this happened infrequently enough that it did not interfere with my enjoyment of the narrative.

I recommend this book for fans of action thrillers, science fiction that feels realistic, and of medical mysteries; but I think this is a book that most people will enjoy. It comes in at 352 pages, but you may find it so exciting that you may dawdle, as I did, so you don’t get to the end too quickly.

Kristen Claiborn

I wasn’t looking forward to this book. I tried to read Wayward Pines way back when it was being made into a miniseries and I just couldn’t get into it. I have had little interest in reading Blake Crouch since then. Every book isn’t for every reader, so my not loving his books is in no way a reflection of his ability to write a book that is loved by many. His works just aren’t my thing. 
	My online book club selected this book to read back in July, and because there were so many people waiting to read it at my library, it has taken me until November to finally get to it. I typically start books blind, not knowing anything about the book means I’ve got no bias when I start (except for the author). I had an idea what this was about because my husband wanted to watch a movie with the same name, and I needed to make sure it wasn’t based on this book (I try very hard to read a book before I watch a movie based on that book). I had a vague notion, and I was slightly intrigued. 
	This book dove right into the story, without a bunch of slow story building. For me, it was impossible not to get sucked in. The reader gets the backstory of the agency Logan works for and how it came to be, then we’re immediately thrown into the attack that started his transformation. What he experiences from that moment made the book un-put-down-able. I had to know! I was shocked at how he was treated, how he was rescued, what he found out along the way, and finally, by his sister. I was SHOOK by his sister. I think it’s because of his sister that I decided this one wasn’t going to get that fifth star. I felt like her character wasn’t given enough attention. Pieces of her story were divulged, but it felt stunted, like it somehow failed to grow properly. 
	Logan’s story ended up being full of intrigue and shock value, but in the end I was disappointed on his behalf. I wanted more for his character based on all he had gone through, so I was bummed for him. I am trying very hard to not give away any of the story, because it is a thriller and I don’t want to spoil it for anybody who plans to read it, so I’m going to stop here. This book blew in like a cat 5 hurricane and left devastation in its wake. It was a wild ride that is worth reading.

I usually enjoy Blake Crouch novels, and this one met my expectations:  a fun, quick listen that had a warm, if a little cheesy, ending.

Brian Hill

An enjoyable and quick read. This is the third Blake Crouch book I’ve read and I’ve liked all of them. My only criticism is that it ended fairly abruptly. But was rounded off well enough in the epilogue. 

Wayne Gibbons

Upgrade is the mind-bending thriller from Blake Crouch, author of the bestselling Dark Matter and Recursion. 'You are the next step in human evolution . . .' What if you were capable of more? Your concentration was better, you could multitask quicker, read faster, memorize more, sleep deeper. For Logan Ramsay, it's happening. He's beginning to see the world around him, even those he loves the most, in whole new ways. He knows that it's not natural, that his genes have been hacked. He has been targeted for an upgrade. Logan's family legacy is one he has been trying to escape for decades and it has left him vulnerable to attack. But with a terrifying plan in place to replicate his upgrade throughout the world's population, he may be the only person capable of stopping what has already been set in motion. To win this war against humanity Logan will now have to become something other than himself . . . Intricately plotted and epic in scope, Upgrade asks us to ponder the limits of our humanity - and our boundless potential. Are you ready for the impossible?

Unfortunately, I really did not enjoy this book. Maybe it has to do with the subject material which concerns itself on ‘what makes humans great and how would they be better’ via genetic engineering. This veers more into philosophy on what makes humans human and what strengths would improve humans. There is also this inevitable emotion vs mind debate that comes about on which one is better, where the book insinuates that the logical opinion is freed from emotion. Again, a bit philosophical but despite the jargon, it was not very convincing to me and I struggled through these pages where I disagreed with the way it was framed. 

Additionally, typically in his other books, Crouch has this technology start to mount in creative and surprising ways. These progressions are surprising yet believable in the scope given. Unfortunately in this one, this does not happen. Here, they are boring and predictable. This threw the pacing off as it slows down so much during these parts and in general bogged the book down. This was the biggest disappointment to me. The initial premise given at the smart is maintained throughout with little change. In exchange, we get more of this philosophical idea, that is not really explored in a satisfying way anyhow, but becomes focused on action. While there is dynamism in the previous books, here it really is action. Running, shooting, and fighting, it becomes somewhat easy to imagine this book on the big screen due to Crouch’s precise and vivid explanation. If Crouch was writing this in order to get one of his books adapted, as this book already has its adaption rights bought by Amblin Entertainment, then it’s a good strategy. Reading it however was a downright chore, and I ended up skimming most of these action sequences.

More action than scifi, this can appeal to some people but unfortunately was not my cup of tea. 

maddie

Unfortunately, I really did not enjoy this book. Maybe it has to do with the subject material which concerns itself on ‘what makes humans great and how would they be better’ via genetic engineering. This veers more into philosophy on what makes humans human and what strengths would improve humans. There is also this inevitable emotion vs mind debate that comes about on which one is better, where the book insinuates that the logical opinion is freed from emotion. Again, a bit philosophical but despite the jargon, it was not very convincing to me and I struggled through these pages where I disagreed with the way it was framed. 

Additionally, typically in his other books, Crouch has this technology start to mount in creative and surprising ways. These progressions are surprising yet believable in the scope given. Unfortunately in this one, this does not happen. Here, they are boring and predictable. This threw the pacing off as it slows down so much during these parts and in general bogged the book down. This was the biggest disappointment to me. The initial premise given at the smart is maintained throughout with little change. In exchange, we get more of this philosophical idea, that is not really explored in a satisfying way anyhow, but becomes focused on action. While there is dynamism in the previous books, here it really is action. Running, shooting, and fighting, it becomes somewhat easy to imagine this book on the big screen due to Crouch’s precise and vivid explanation. If Crouch was writing this in order to get one of his books adapted, as this book already has its adaption rights bought by Amblin Entertainment, then it’s a good strategy. Reading it however was a downright chore, and I ended up skimming most of these action sequences.

More action than scifi, this can appeal to some people but unfortunately was not my cup of tea. 

Adam

Classic Blake as once I started reading I struggled to put it down. Gripping, thought-provoking, and sometimes heart wrenching; I enjoyed this book cover to cover. 

The book (and especially the epilogue) makes some great points about human nature, and throughout makes you think about what makes us human, for better or for worse.

Cecilia

Heartbreaking ending. It was hard for me to read along because of the “know-it-all” type of information that didn’t seem important enough to write multiple paragraphs on.