Upgrade by Blake Crouch – Review

Published: July 12, 2022

Publisher: Ballantine Books

Series: N/A

Genre: Thriller, SciFi

Pages: 352 (Hardcover)

My Rating: 4.0/5.0

A copy of this book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Synopsis:
“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.

---

Blake Crouch certainly knows how to write an engaging thriller. Rather than exploring time travel or alternate universes, he has instead chosen to take a look at the manipulation of gene expression in order to create superhumans and the fundamentals of what make us human.

Our main character Logan Ramsay has a very interesting backstory. His mother was an infamous geneticist, known best for her role in what was called the Great Starvation – a famine caused by her attempt at genetically altering crops. Logan worked in her laboratory at this time and later spent several years in prison until he was pardoned and has spent the time since working for the Gene Protection Agency trying to atone for his mistakes. The GPA spends their time tracking down rogue geneticists (a science that is all but illegal) and their creations, and monitoring those who used to work in the field to ensure they don’t go rogue. During one such operation, Logan is struck by ice shrapnel during an explosion. Initial tests show nothing has changed, but as time goes he begins to notice his mind is sharper, his memories are perfect, and he’s stronger and faster than he has any right to be. 

He must go on the run from his own agency and let his family think him dead in order to stop the inevitable. Humanity is headed toward its own destruction and Logan has to basically decide if he’s willing to let the extinction train wreck or if he’s going to help stop it. 

Much like Crouch’s recent thrillers, Upgrade blends an exciting mix of action, emotional decisions, and pseudo-science into an unputdownable tale. I always enjoy seeing what branch of theoretical science Crouch blends into his latest story and gene modification was a good choice! There’s plenty of fascinating research out there on the potential applications of CRISPR (with interesting article titles!) in terms of disease treatment, gene therapy, etc. and it’s easy to see where the author got some of his ideas. What if you could edit someone’s genome cell by cell and make a superhuman? Are you still a human if you’ve changed or replaced line after line of genetic code?

Overall, this was an extremely entertaining, easy to read book that would make an awesome movie. Lots of action. Definitely gives me manly man with a gun vibes (because that’s totally what it is with a bit of science thrown in). Totally a fun summer thriller! I do admit, I preferred Dark Matter and Recursion a bit more because this really was basically about a guy who gets turned into a super soldier but he has some morals.