Upgrade: A Novel (Hardcover)
July 2022 Indie Next List
“Blake Crouch is one of my desert-island authors. I had high expectations for this book, and he absolutely smashed all of them. Upgrade is fast paced — but most importantly, brilliantly written.”
— Kailey Fox, Kingfisher Bookstore, Coupeville, WA
Staff Reviews
Blake Crouch is a favorite of mine both as a reader and a bookseller. As a reader, I love his books because the science is solid and the concepts are exciting, thought through, and often taken to an extreme I hadn’t thought of. As a bookseller I love his books because he takes amazing SciFi stories and makes them palatable to those who would normally be averse to the genre (think Michael Crichton or Robin Cook). Crouch’s latest is a thrilling and terrifying look at what bioengineering could be capable of in the near future.
Logan Ramsey is an officer with the Gene Protection Agency (GPA), and it is his job to make sure no rogue scientists are operating laboratories outside of the organization. He is also the son of a brilliant scientist, whose bio engineering experiment caused a global famine - killing millions and driving her to death by suicide. He has spent his career trying to make up in some small way for all of the carnage caused by his mother's hubris. When he is dosed with a biological agent during a raid on a laboratory, his life and body begin to change in unfathomable ways. Logan uncovers a plot to change or upgrade all of humanity, but into what and by who he does not know. Crouch has delivered again with a fantastic and thought-provoking adventure, and once again threw a curve ball right at the end that I didn't see coming. It made for an even more satisfying ending.
“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
ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: Time, She Reads
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.
“A lot of fun . . . Crouch knows how to do a chase, when to blow stuff up and when to bring the house lights down. . . . But what makes Upgrade special is that his path is unique. He takes turns that are unexpected [and] explores some stunning vistas along the way.”—NPR
“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