Upgrade by Blake Crouch is another mind bending science fiction which only he can imagine. The plot of this story will sound a lot like Limitless, the Bradley Cooper movie, where an ordinary man gets an upgrade and can do incredible things with mind and body, but that is only the first act. Blake Crouch’s story’s always start so simple then expand and this one is no different. The story is action packed, yet super smart. I like how it shows how cool getting and upgrade is but then the detachment of being so smart. It also ask questions if would the world work better if we were all super smart, or would we find smarter ways to kill each other? The novel takes family dysfunction to the max. The ending is really smart and was perfect for what the novel was hoping to achieve. There is some nice twist and turns that caught me off guard. The only thing that did not work for me was that I lack empathy for the villain and the story was trying to give them it. There were too many moments where I was told about something than saw it. This is my third Blake Crouch novel, while I didn’t like Upgrade as much as Dark Matter and Recursion, which I both rated 5 out of 5, I still really liked it and how unique the story telling is. I would like to think Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine for reaching out through email and letting me download it through Netgalley. Upgrade by Blake Crouch is published on July 12th 2022.

Plot Summary: Logan Ramsey works for the GPA – Gene Protection Agency that deal with people who manipulate genes. Logan was once a criminal who worked with his mom Marion Ramsey who is infamous for making a a near famine in changing an insects genes. Logan has been winning his freedom back ever since. In his current case he tries to stop a gene slicer but walks into a trap that sets off an explosion where his environmental suit is pierced and he is infected with an upgrade. The upgrade is slow acting so he recovers with out the doctor and his own agency knowing. He starts getting smarter, healing faster, incredible memory, more physical, and all senses enhanced. He tries to hide it from his agency, who will see him as the enemy and also find out who upgrade him. He finds out who upgraded him and that he is not the only one. When he finds out he has to decide if he will save the world or destroy it, or maybe both?

What I Liked: The plot goes to that crazy level that Crouch is known for. The action scenes are pretty intense and really long, but great. There’s three main action scenes and are really cool when described using the new upgraded abilities. The danger of science versus science will be our savior made a really good argument through out the novel. There is a couple of plot twists that I rally didn’t see coming that were fun to see them played out. The ending was perfect and was a kind of compromise to the whole science is enemy and/or the savior.

What I Disliked: The connection and the empathy Logan had for the villain was not felt by me. They would say remember when this happened instead of have a memory of it. I think this novel should have started with a flashback that showed the family and also science and how deeply they are connected.

Recommendation: This is a good novel that will make you ask the question what would you do in this situation? The story is great science fiction that will bend your mind a little. I ill say this novel is my least favorite of the 3 that I have read, but I will say this is the most accessible of his books. It’s mind bending but not as far as dark matter and recursion go. I rated Upgrade by Blake Crouch 4 out of 5 stars.