Upgrade by Blake Crouch is a futuristic science fiction novel that delves into the world of genetic enhancements and the potential consequences of tampering with human evolution. The story follows Logan Ramsay, a geneticist who becomes infected with a genetic upgrade that unlocks extraordinary abilities within him. As Logan navigates a world where genetic editing is criminalized, he must confront his own past and race against time to stop a mad scientist from unleashing a deadly genetic upgrade on the world population. The book is described as a fast-paced thriller with a cautionary tale about the future of humanity.
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Sensitive Topics/Content Warnings
Content warnings for Upgrade include themes of death, genetic experimentation, mental distress, and societal collapse.
From The Publisher:
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
"If Michael Crichton had written a superhero novel, it would look a lot like Upgrade ."- The New York Times Book Review
"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
"Mysterious, fascinating, and deeply moving-exploring the very nature of what it means to be human."-ALEX MICHAELIDES, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Silent Patient and The Maiden
The mind-blowing new thriller from the New York Times bestselling author of Dark Matter and Recursion -currently in development as a motion picture at Steven Spielberg's Amblin Partners
"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.
Ratings (73)
Incredible (9) | |
Loved It (34) | |
Liked It (15) | |
It Was OK (9) | |
Did Not Like (6) |
Reader Stats (119):
Read It (75) | |
Currently Reading (1) | |
Want To Read (37) | |
Did Not Finish (2) | |
Not Interested (4) |
4 comment(s)
Blake Crouch never disappoints. Combining hard science with humanity in all of our beautifully flawed glory.
3.5 stars
RTC
Happy Reading!!
Interesting idea and science behind it. But story telling was single dimensional and very repetitive.
This is an thriller that packs a punch with its sci-fi questions.
What does it mean to be human, and how can we save our world from falling apart? Explore some of the answers as we have some fight scenes and lots of rumination on the road.
Here is my video review: https://youtu.be/bqJ33eMl384?t=749
Logan is a government agent who polices genetic modifications. In an accident, he becomes genetically upgraded. As he struggles to hold on to what makes him human, he must now escape the government he once served and try to prevent this upgrade from spreading.
I loved this book. It is fantastically paced, with both actions sequences and passages of contemplation. (I’ve already recommended it to my friend who is a geneticist; there is a lot of science in this book.)
The protagonist changes so much. Because we’re given the time to get to know him at the beginning (with his emotional baggage and bond with his family), both his highs and lows mean so much more.
However, in the end, this doesn’t feel like a book about a man. This feels like a book about what the best and worst parts of humanity are. This is a book that is very interested in the question, “What is the best person like?” The end of the book resolves the Thriller Plot, but it is even more about finding an answer to the bigger philosophical question that started the Thriller Plot in the first place. I liked the ending. It felt like it fit the book, while also giving me some interesting ideas to think about.
Thanks to Ballantine Books and NetGalley for a copy of this book to review. All opinions are my own.
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