6/10

After thoroughly enjoying some of Blake Crouch's previous work I was very keen to get my hands on his latest novel but the magic wasn't there for me this time as he deals with the complicated world of genetic engineering in at times what feels like a sterile way.

Set in the near future, there are enough recognisable attributes to society and also enough differences to realise the world this takes place in is slightly more advanced than where we are. At times it delves a little too heavy into the detail and bogs down with genetic information that most people will just have to gloss over to get to the next part of the tale but the story can keep the pace going most of the time.

The idea to this novel is interesting but not in the same realms as say Recursion or Dark Matter. I think with any tale like this, the main crux to the story has to really drag you in and the genetic engineering side of things didn't really. It felt a bit like a novelisation of Limitless at times and some of the dilemas faced just didn't feel like I was heavily invested in the story to really care for the outcome. However, saying this, the story was mainly quick paced and I would recommend it to people but only if they had read other books by the author first. Overall probably the weakest of his that I have read to date.

Another great Blake Crouch novel, I really enjoy the possible future scenarios he explores. This one was terrifying, the meddling with DNA is quite scary, and obviously irreversible - like a Pandora’s box being opened situation. Nevertheless, the storyline was full of surprises and definitely made an exciting story!
Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for my review copy!

This Sci-Fi novel is an absolute whirlwind of a thought-provoking and attention holding read. The challenging and co-dependant relationship between the Logan and his sister is believable and their back story is heartbreaking. I'm still trying to decide how I feel about the motives behind the upgrade(s) and the impact(s) they have. A book hangover warning is definitely required so consider yourself warned.

I enjoyed this book, it was easy to read and held my attention. I will be reading more from this author :)

Absolutely incredible. I've come to expect amazing things from Blake Crouch and this does not disappoint at all. A mindbending page turner, you will not want to put this down.
Imagine your own life being upgraded, and being just that bit better at things... Mixing the human and the technological. Wow

I read and enjoyed books before by the author.
This book was of a similar ilk than the others - fast paced thrillride of crazy events. The storyline sounded intriguing from the summery, and the writer delivered.

I don’t like sci-fi, but I loved RECURSION // Blake Crouch which is definitely in my pile of fave books - so I went into UPGRADE with high expectations 😬

The story centres around Logan Ramsey, son of “famous” (most hated) genius scientist, Miriam Ramsey, who inadvertently killed millions with a miscalculated gene experiment. Logan now works for The Gene Protection Agency on a mission to destroy all dark gene labs. On his last mission, something goes round and he’s infected with some sort of upgrade that is changing him… What’s happening to him? Why? What does this mean for all of humanity? 😳😳

A fast pace sci-fi thriller just packed with action on every. single. page! Whilst I enjoyed UPGRADE, I didn’t love it like RECURSION that said - the signature Crouch elements were all there: fab writing, depth of characters and thought provoking storyline ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Another gem by Blake Crouch. I honestly don't think there will ever be a book of his that I don't enjoy, yes his books are all very similar but I absolutely adore them. Focusing on genetic changes and altering humans this was a brilliant ready. Complete auto-buy author for me.

Blake Crouch is and will continue to be an autobuy author for me.
Upgrade was OK, but in my opinion not his best work. I found I didn't care most of the time about anyone in the story or the situations facing humanity. I found there was way too much technical babble for the lay person to fully immerse themselves with the story. I was constantly rereading passages i just didnt understand. It was an effort to finish but I'm glad I did.
Big thanks to netgalley and the publisher for an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I've never read a sci-fi thriller before so I was pleasantly surprised by Upgrade. It had the right mixture of science and action to keep me interested, although at times the technical jargon and science terms were a bit jarring and broke up the pace for me - but that's because I don't have a scientific background, so some of the explanations became a bit complex and laborious. I enjoyed the plot and was although ending a bit predictably, it made for an entertaining read.

With Blake Crouch, there are a few things guaranteed. The staples or elements we have come to 'expect' as normal : Surefire thrill rides, high-tech science-fictional concepts and a very humane central character stuck in the middle of all this. He excels in taking mind-bending premises and setting it within believable circumstances, crafting out bleeding edge thrillers with enough heart and he is always questioning, questioning the choices our society can take. Or will take, rather.

With Upgrade his latest novel, he trains his guns on the rather esoteric topic of gene-mapping and how this concept can be twisted enough in the wrong hands to lead to a catastrophe for the human race. He claims it is his love-letter to our species, even quotes Yuval Noah on his views for Homo Deus, the next gen evolution of human beings, aka Homo sapiens.

As always - Blake strikes the perfect balance with exposition of "sciency" stuff - and there's a lot to unpack here, what with gene-sequences, multiple experiments on 'upgrades' and more - with explosive thrillers. Headlining this act is Logan Ramsay - A failed gene-scientist, son of a megalomaniacal genius inventor and now GPA (gene protection agency, a sub-division within FBI, with lesser jurisdiction, focused only on finding out rogue gene-experiments on the black market ) agent. He's in search of redemption for an unintentional mass genocide caused due to a gene-experiment headed by his genius mother, who has committed suicide, unable to bear the weight of such large-scale guilt. And hence this stint at GPA, focused on avoiding any more such events.

During one such raids, he accidentally gets exposed to a dose to gene-modifiers, which basically caused him to become a "super-human" for lack of a better qualifier. Read, better genes that helps him improve bone density, reduces stress or pain, increases endurance, stamina and most importantly, expands his brain to ensure that he can now remember pretty much everything he has ever read. He is hunted down by his own agency for this and then put under observation. Eventually, he is broken out by his own sister and both of them realise they both have been made pawns in a much larger conspiracy at play. And what is at stake, isn't just their own futures but the entire humankind, headed for extinction.

Like his previous novels, Dark Matter or Recursion - Upgrade deals with vastly ambitious topics. But personally, I thought I enjoyed Dark Matter and Recursion a lot more than Upgrade. What makes them different from the current book in question, is the personal stakes involved. And here, I paraphrase one of the best lines in the book about human beings' ability to empathize. Or rather a readers' ability to connect to his characters and the stakes involved. Our 'hero' goals to find a better way to save the humanity is noble enough but for this, being the 'superhero' he is, he has to go way beyond his family. The action sequences are bang-on, the pacing just right and the juxtaposition of science with the thrill-ride a perfectly balanced ride. But despite all this, I felt just a bit off. Don't get me wrong, it's a fabulous book in the tradition of everything Blake Crouch and the research that has gone into making this happen, must have been phenomenal. But I just found myself skimming over the parts where Logan tries to reason out and explain himself ( aka to the readers) why and what he is doing.
I couldn't wait to figure out 'how' he solved the problems.

Anyways - long story short, Upgrade is a solid new instalment of Blake Crouch. Well worth your time yes, full of mind blowingly arcane concepts becoming the trigger for an explosive race against time, with a fully fleshed out main protagonist leading us down the rabbit's hole in search of answers and blowing our mind wide open. Personally, not a 5-star compared to Recursion or Dark Matter but it's just me. Recommended!

Blake Crouch is fast becoming an auto-buy author for me. His edgy sci-fi thrillers take a concept you think you understand and turn it completely on its head in a way which is truly unputdownable. Team that with authentic, sympathetic characters, and you’ve got a winner in my eyes.

This one is about, well upgrades. Upgrading human beings to be exact – both our physical and mental selves.

Our protagonist Logan lives in a world where advanced genetic modifications beyond our imagination have been created. With devastating consequences. And then they’ve been stopped. Now, he works for the Gene Protection Agency, an organisation that hunts down and stops geneticists. Until, one day, he’s caught in a trap, and inadvertently receives his own modification. An upgrade which turns out to elevate him beyond his wildest dreams.

But there’s more – the upgrade was implanted by someone from his past. Someone who thinks that humankind is bound for extinction, unless this upgrade is unleashed on the masses. Newly highly intelligent Logan has a choice, will he follow their ambition? Or choose to stop what is an unnatural alteration of the human self almost beyond recognition?

Phew, that felt like quite a lot to pack into a plot summary! There’s a lot going on in this story, and it goes at a very fast pace. In places, the author’s love of science shines through – some of it may go over your head (it certainly did for me), but you can still appreciate the fact that it’s there. For me, the writing felt reminiscent of Andy Weir’s flippant, quirky geekiness in places.

But there’s also a lot of non-stop action. As Logan gains what is essentially superhuman powers, this book almost runs on fast-forward as the reader needs to process things as quickly as our super-intelligent narrator. It’s a fast-paced, scientific popcorn thriller and I’d be surprised if this didn’t get picked up for a movie. Read it, and enjoy the race to save the world from its own stupidity…or intelligence?

I was really drawn in by the premise of Upgrade – a society where gene modifications are possible but banned, and a main character that works for an agency ensuring scientists follow the rules. The start of the book also hooked me in, with our main character Logan lured into a trap and finding his genes are starting to modify. As he tries to work out what is happening to him, he then finds out that the people he works with are now against him and sees what he has been trying to do for the past few years in a whole new light.

Up to this point, the book is strong, if a little predictable. Knowing what his job entails, it was frustrating to have many chapters dedicated to him trying to work out why he can suddenly play chess really well after an incident at work – that would not take a modified genius to figure out! After this point, when the family member comes into play it just gets very far-fetched and a bit silly. As Logan is supposed to be super-smart we kind of lose the ability to relate to him and with no-one left to root for it gets a bit tedious. There’s some very high world-saving stakes but I never felt truly invested in the main plot. A lot of the ‘intelligence’ displayed just seemed to be copy and pasting about other people’s theories rather than actual interesting discussion.

Overall, Upgrade was a bit of a disappointment for me – generic sci-fi written badly. Thank you to NetGalley & Pan Macmillan for the chance to read the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Awesome as usual from this author,my only slight gripe was the slightly jarring use of technical/medical terms,seemed to get in the way of the flow of writing at times…other than that it’s a 4/5* stars from me

Upgrade follows a government employee, Logan Ramsay, as he hunts down enhanced humans and the scientists that create them. He lives in a world where humans have mastered genome hacking, and after a global disaster inadvertently caused by him and his mother, genome hacking is strictly illegal.

After being set up and exposed to an unknown agent, Logan begins to find himself getting smarter, stronger, fitter. After being broken out of a secure facility, Logan begins to discover that he has been targeted, and the same upgrades he has received may be unleashed upon the world.

I have thoroughly enjoyed Blake Crouch's previous books in the speculative thriller genre. Dark Matter & Recursion are both fantastic books, and once again he has shown he is a master of this genre. There is so much attention to detail, and you can tell a lot of research has gone into the book, but in addition to this the novel is incredibly enjoyable, and hard to put down.

I hope for many more books to come from Blake Crouch. 5/5 stars.

I just can't get away with Crouch's writing. It started out really strong and I read the first 10% so quickly. I was really intrigued but at around the 25% mark, the writing just became dry, with a constant churning out of random facts and information which didn't seem to move the plot forward and just started feeling like too much was going on. I get that the slightest change in one's genotype can result in substantial changes throughout the body, but there were a few pages where more and more effects were continually listed followed by a really dry Q & A just to demonstrate that the main character has an IQ in excess of 200. Unfortunately, it really took me out of the story and made me lose interest. All the character and relationship building that drew me in for the first 10% of the book vanished in a flash.

Blake Crouch has delivered another gem. Not quite as mind-bendingly twisty-turny as one of my all-time favourites, Dark Matter, but still a slick action-packed thriller that will keep you glued to the page.

Some might criticise the scientific-heavy jargon, but for me it added rather than detracted from the story and I feel smarter after reading it. Ahhh.. books... the original way to upgrade ones intelligence, albeit a wee bit slower than nanobots.

I have already recommended and purchased this book for friends and relatives. It was good!

Recommended for fans of Adrian Tchaikovsky, John Scalzi, Stuart Turton, The Genius Plague, Blackfish City, Salvaged, Autonomous

Thank you to Netgalley and Pan Macmillan for the ARC.

I’ve been a long time fan of Blake Crouch. I still remember the pure joy I felt when I first read Dark Matter, it felt like it had been written just for me.

I was so excited to receive an arc for Upgrade, thank you so much to the publishers and Netgalley.

I really liked this story, it was very reminiscent of Crouch’s other work which we like to see. My only issues is that at times it did seem a little too easy in parts and I wanted it to be more thrilling.

All in all a good read that I would definitely recommend

Could you alter genome sequences to give yourself superhuman advantages? Could you run for miles without fatigue, use two computers at once, absorb multiple media sources simultaneously? That's the premise of Upgrade. This amazingly researched, fast paced thriller often feels like it's a movie script, and I suspect it won't be long before someone snaps it up. Interesting, very well written, the plotting was good but could've done with a few more twists and turns, and the ending was a bit too Hollywood, all nicely tidied up, but an absorbing summer read! A very solid 4/5.

Awesome concept and great execution of this near-future thriller. Logan gets an unexpected genome upgrade. He is smarter, tougher, better - a giant step in human evolution. But this doesn't come without a price - he needs to decide whether he aids or stops this happening to humanity at large. And he needs to figure out whether this upgrade is really better....and in whose eyes.

For sci-fi fans, the re-imagining of a futuristic world is rich, with lots of details and new inventions. I loved this element of creativity. I also loved the research and effort taken to describe highly technical scientific concepts. This element of the book was really interesting and I appreciated being treated as an intelligent being. However, this level of detail was sometimes carried a bit too far, especially as the pace picked up and I became more invested in the plot. That said, endearing characters, unpredictable twists, great pace and an exciting concept.