By: Blake Crouch
ISBN: 978-0593157534
Publisher: Random House
Publication Date: 07/12/2022
Format: Other
My Rating: 5 Stars (ARC)
An ordinary man undergoes a startling transformation—and fears that all of humanity may be next—in the mind-blowing new thriller from the New York Times bestselling author of Dark Matter and Recursion
“You are the next step in human evolution.”
At first, Logan Ramsay isn’t sure if anything’s different. He just feels a little . . . sharper. Better able to concentrate. Better at multitasking. Reading a bit faster, memorizing better, needing less sleep.
But before long, he can’t deny it: Something’s happening to his brain. To his body. He’s starting to see the world, and those around him—even those he loves most—in whole new ways.
The truth is, Logan’s genome has been hacked. And there’s a reason he’s been targeted for this upgrade. A reason that goes back decades to the darkest part of his past, and a horrific family legacy.
Worse still, what’s happening to him is just the first step in a much larger plan, one that will inflict the same changes on humanity at large—at a terrifying cost.
Because of his new abilities, Logan’s the one person in the world capable of stopping what’s been set in motion. But to have a chance at winning this war, he’ll have to become something other than himself. Maybe even something other than human.
And even as he’s fighting, he can’t help wondering: what if humanity’s only hope
for a future really does lie in engineering our own evolution?
Intimate in scale yet epic in scope, Upgrade is an intricately plotted, lightning-fast tale that charts one man’s thrilling transformation, even as it asks us to ponder the limits of our humanity—and our boundless potential.
Praise
Amazingly gripping and totally immersive, with brilliant (near-future) worldbuilding and impeccable plot You don’t so much sympathize with the main character as live inside his skin.”
—Diana Gabaldon, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Outlander series
“From the first page, it’s clear you’re in the hands of a master storyteller; Upgrade is by turns mysterious, fascinating, and deeply moving—exploring the very nature of what it means to be human. Spellbinding.”
—Alex Michaelides, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Silent Patient and The Maidens
“Imaginative, perfectly paced, and extremely clever, Upgrade walks the fine line between page-turning thriller and smart sci-fi. Another killer read from Blake.”
—Andy Weir, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Martian and Project Hail Mary
“The incomparable Blake Crouch has, once again, completely blown my mind. Upgrade is more than a brain-bending thriller; it’s a siren in the night, warning us all of the dangers of playing God with the human species.”
—Justin Cronin, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Passage Trilogy
“Blake Crouch has a mind like Crichton and a heart like King—Upgrade is riveting, tense, scrupulously researched, and deeply heartfelt.”
—David Koepp, author of Cold Storage and screenwriter of Jurassic Park
“Blake Crouch doesn’t pull any punches in this taut and evocative examination of what humanity really is—and how it fails us. A hugely entertaining and emotionally resonant thriller that you’ll be thinking about long after you turn the last page.”
—Veronica Roth, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Chosen Ones and Divergent
“[A] nail-biting near-future science thriller . . . Crouch fully develops his alarming concept and its implications along with delivering masterful characterizations. This is the best yet from a creative and gifted author.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“Mind-bending . . . an excellent follow-up to Crouch’s other dark-science novels . . . Will appeal to readers interested in climate fiction or superhero origin stories, as well as those who enjoy smart thrillers.”
—Booklist
“High-octane action, some moral complexity, and a surprisingly emotional ending elevate this novel. Recommended—even for reluctant science fiction readers.”
—Kirkus Reviews
My Review
FASCINATING!
GRIPPING. IMMERSIVE. TIMELY. An intriguing look into the future; a (not-so-distant one).
Bestselling author, Blake Crouch—no stranger to sci-fi, delivers UPGRADE, an intelligent, high-octane action-thriller exploring morally complex decisions. Both without being aware, enhanced with genetically engineered upgrades, a brother and sister square off against each other in a dangerous battle of conflicting schemes to save humanity from itself.
Set in Denver, we meet Logan Ramsay, who lives Washington, D.C. area with his wife, Beth, and daughter, Ava. They are a happy family.
Logan is with the Gene Protection Agency (GPA) a world where genetic modification has wreaked havoc on the ecosystem. He is tasked with finding people illegally manipulating human or other genes.
Logan's mother, Miriam, was a brilliant scientist who invented Scythe, a biological DNA-modifying system. She was responsible for the "Great Starvation" nearly two decades before when she tried to improve the resistance of a rice plant to a particular virus and instead devastated the world's rice supply.
Two hundred million people died, and Logan was working with his mother and was held partly to blame and was sent to prison. In an attempt to do penance for what happened, he became an agent of GPA. His mother took her own life. Before her death, she promised to release "a viral gene drive" that would offer a "significant upgrade" to the human species.
Now, he investigates and takes down people running dark gene labs, seeking to change the human genome.
HE HAS BEEN UPGRADED: During a raid, Logan is exposed to a virus. In the beginning, the side effects seem to be few, but then he notices unusual things. He can quickly read and retain info, beat his daughter in chess, and remember things in vivid detail.
When someone arrives to break him out of the containment facility, Logan will be forced to make a decision: allow the genetic upgrade to spread through the human species, even though a certain percentage of the population will die horrible deaths, or destroy the virus.
MIND-BLOWING!
With mind-blowing scientific research, Crouch not only has all the scientific facts but also makes his characters real, facing moral complexities. Plot-driven and character-driven.
Normally, I am not a science-fiction fan; however, a huge fan of Blake Crouch (and we are from the same small hometown)! Everything he writes is brilliant.
What is so scary about this novel is that some things are happening in our world today; (not just in the future). We are not aware of how close they are. It is interesting to see the ethics surrounding these scientific advances. Some are good things, and some are evil and can cause harmful ramifications and deaths.
Another winner by the talented bestselling author!
Whether you are a sci-fi fan, this is a must-read. A complex plot, action-packed, and superb writing. Cannot wait to see what comes next.
Check out the exciting interview with the author—The Durango Herald
Film rights have already been acquired for this popular sci-fi/thriller. Crouch will adapt the screenplay and will also exec produce. Past screen adaptations of his work include Wayward Pines, Good Behavior (loved), Recursion, and he is also adapting and executive producing Summer Frost.
Thank you to #RandomHouse and #NetGalley for an ARC to read, enjoy, and review.
@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks
My Rating: 5 Stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Pub Date: July 12, 2022
About the Author
Blake Crouch is a bestselling novelist and screenwriter. He is the author of the novel, Dark Matter, for which he is writing the screenplay for Sony Pictures. His international-bestselling Wayward Pines trilogy was adapted into a television series for FOX, executive produced by M. Night Shyamalan, that was Summer 2015's #1 show. With Chad Hodge, Crouch also created Good Behavior, the TNT television show starring Michelle Dockery based on his Letty Dobesh novellas. He has written more than a dozen novels that have been translated into over thirty languages and his short fiction has appeared in numerous publications including Ellery Queen and Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine. Crouch lives in Colorado.
