Upgrade by Blake Crouch: A Thrilling Sci-Fi on Gene Upgrade!

Posted On April 16, 2022

Hi Readers! I have finally written this much-awaited review for the first e-ARC I have ever received! Given that I loved Blake Crouch’s Dark Matter & Recursion, I was super excited to read his latest addition to the Sci-Fi books; Upgrade!

~~GOODREADS DESCRIPTION~~

“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.

~~THE STORY~~

The book is divided in three parts. The first part is gripping, full of action & you will not stop until you finish it. Set a century from now, we are introduced to Logan Ramsay who works at ‘Gene Protection Agency’. He seems like just another ordinary corporate employee, until he is accidentally (on purpose) given a gene upgrade. This leads him to become an upgraded version of a human being, where he can read a big book in a night, recollect all the memories in his entire lifetime & every other thinkable upgrade possible. I thoroughly loved the fast-paced story in the first part, including reading about the changes brought by the upgrade to the kidnapping to the revelations. Along with the main story, we also learn about Logan’s mother’s story where she is responsible for the death of two hundred million people during the early stages of her research. So, yes, overall this first part set high expectations for the rest of the book.

The second part felt a bit slow & disconnected to me. It is set a year later. Logan has escaped from his sister whose intentions are not in sync with his own. So, basically in this section of the story Logan is running from one place to another, chasing one person after another with a lack of clarity for himself & also for the readers. This did give a sense of unpredictability as to how the book will end, but not in a good way. If this section would have been ‘more’, then I would have easily loved the book.

The story again picks up in part three & has action in it. Again, I was expecting more, but I did enjoy this part. The letter written at the end deserves one complete star. The words in that letter really resonated with me & I will probably re-read it often.

~~SOME THOUGHTS~~

Upgrade is the first ever ARC I have received. So, I was prepared to love it, just as I had loved Dark Matter & Recursion. But, I was bummed out when I didn’t love this book as much. There were parts which I liked. The subtle message about how humankind is doomed if we don’t incorporate compassion & empathy in our lives was so well placed. I did not see that coming. Also, the focus on climate crises is evident. Because this book is set 100 years from now, the effect of climate change is more pronounced.

Then, of course, the concept of gene editing was inspired & had so much potential. I felt that this potential was not fully used. We only saw the upgrade in a few characters, which was fascinating to read. So, more of that would have been amazing. But, instead I think the author tried to combine science fiction with action to make it more of a movie-worthy script. This is why, I couldn’t find myself enjoying it. I had finished his earlier two books in less than 2 days. But it took me the longest time to finish Upgrade, probably more than a month! I truly wanted to love this book, but I didn’t.

I have rated Upgrade by Blake Crouch at 4/5 stars. It started off as a 5/5 read, but then in part two, it declined to almost 2.5/5. And then finally, it was at 3/5. But then I read the letter which took the rating up one whole star to 4/5! Basically, when I look back at my reading experience, there is not a lot of joy or fun or surprise for most of it. But, what I will remember is the stunning concept of gene editing to upgrade humankind.

So, that is all. Just like reading the book, I have also struggled with writing this review for the longest time. I wasn’t happy with the book, nor am I happy with my own review of it, but I suppose it is what it is.

I want to thank the author and the publisher for sharing the e-ARC with me. I am really grateful for it! Folks, stay tuned for Upgrade’s official publication date on 12th July! If you have read & loved Dark Matter and Recursion, I suggest you read this!

Until next time,