JaymeO's Reviews > Upgrade
Upgrade
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HAPPY PUBLICATION DAY!
“The future was here, and it was a fucking mess.”
In the near future, Logan Ramsay is the son of the most hated woman in America. His mother, a brilliant scientist, was responsible for the Shenzhen Famine. She attempted to use gene editing to save crops in China. Instead of saving the crops, she inadvertently contaminated a necessary food source, causing the unintended starvation of millions of people. As a result of her horrific failure, gene editing is now illegal.
Presently, Logan works for the Genetic Protection Agency (GPA), arresting ordinary citizens for manipulating DNA. When out on a raid, he is blasted with DNA modifying particles that enhance his memory, concentration, pattern recognition, and intelligence.
In other words, he is upgraded.
Who targeted him? What do they want?
“Sometimes you have to cause suffering to end suffering.”
I am a huge fan of Blake Crouch. I devoured the Wayward Pines series and enjoyed Dark Matter and Recursion. I am not a hard core science-fiction fan, however, I always make an exception for Blake Crouch because his books are clever, inventive, and original. He also has an exceptional ability to provide the most layman reader a way to comprehend the most complex scientific concepts without becoming overwhelmed or frustrated.
Unfortunately, Upgrade is my least favorite of all of Crouch’s thrillers. It relies heavily on a first person narrative structure, explores a familiar plot, and is a very slow burn.
This book was a three star read until the very end, when I increased my rating by half a star due to the inspiring message in the epilogue. Usually, epilogues don’t work for me, but this one helped to really vocalize this book’s important warning message about humanity.
“We don’t have an intelligence problem. We have a compassion problem. That, more than any other single factor, is what’s driving us toward extinction.”
Overall, I am still a fan of Crouch and look forward to his next thriller.
3.5/5 stars rounded down
Expected publication date: 7/12/22
Thank you to NetGalley andBallantine Books for the ARC of Upgrade in exchange for an honest review.
“The future was here, and it was a fucking mess.”
In the near future, Logan Ramsay is the son of the most hated woman in America. His mother, a brilliant scientist, was responsible for the Shenzhen Famine. She attempted to use gene editing to save crops in China. Instead of saving the crops, she inadvertently contaminated a necessary food source, causing the unintended starvation of millions of people. As a result of her horrific failure, gene editing is now illegal.
Presently, Logan works for the Genetic Protection Agency (GPA), arresting ordinary citizens for manipulating DNA. When out on a raid, he is blasted with DNA modifying particles that enhance his memory, concentration, pattern recognition, and intelligence.
In other words, he is upgraded.
Who targeted him? What do they want?
“Sometimes you have to cause suffering to end suffering.”
I am a huge fan of Blake Crouch. I devoured the Wayward Pines series and enjoyed Dark Matter and Recursion. I am not a hard core science-fiction fan, however, I always make an exception for Blake Crouch because his books are clever, inventive, and original. He also has an exceptional ability to provide the most layman reader a way to comprehend the most complex scientific concepts without becoming overwhelmed or frustrated.
Unfortunately, Upgrade is my least favorite of all of Crouch’s thrillers. It relies heavily on a first person narrative structure, explores a familiar plot, and is a very slow burn.
This book was a three star read until the very end, when I increased my rating by half a star due to the inspiring message in the epilogue. Usually, epilogues don’t work for me, but this one helped to really vocalize this book’s important warning message about humanity.
“We don’t have an intelligence problem. We have a compassion problem. That, more than any other single factor, is what’s driving us toward extinction.”
Overall, I am still a fan of Crouch and look forward to his next thriller.
3.5/5 stars rounded down
Expected publication date: 7/12/22
Thank you to NetGalley andBallantine Books for the ARC of Upgrade in exchange for an honest review.
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Reading Progress
February 3, 2022
– Shelved
June 18, 2022
–
Started Reading
June 23, 2022
–
Finished Reading
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Jayme
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Jun 24, 2022 05:11AM
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Hmm. Blake Crouch is on my radar. Interesting review, Jayme!