Upgrade by Blake Crouch

​Blake Crouch is about as reliable of an author as you can find. Quite remarkable for a man who hopped around a variety of speculative genre spectrum before settling on his latest passion – science fiction techno-thrillers.
Following in the most impressive footsteps of his recent books, Upgrade is a similar sort of very intense, very dynamic scientifically-fascinating, conceptually-exciting, and thrillingly thrillery sort of a story and this time it’s all about DNA.
All you ever wanted to know about Deoxyribonucleic acid and then some.
Unlocking the secrets of DNA sequencing has been one of the greatest discoveries of modern time and the thing with greatness is that it’s tough to leave it well enough alone. Especially, for a person sufficiently intelligent to manipulate it. Especially, for a person sufficiently intelligent to comprehend the implication of living during the six extinction and wanting to change things. The savior complex kicks in and then all sorts of madness ensue.
This is how it went for Logan Ramsay’s mother. A genius determined to save the world, she inadvertently unleashed a global famine that killed 200 million people and changed the world forever. That has been Logan’s legacy, on top of the fact that he, only being average smart at best, has never really measured up to his mother’s spectacular intellect.
Nevertheless, he has managed to put the past behind him enough to make a nice life for himself. A good job with Gene Protection agency, a loving family, etc.
And then one day, the world explodes around him (literally) and he finds himself upgraded. A concept initially terrifying, but then…something so much more. Now Logan is well on his way to becoming a superhuman, the question remains, though, at what cost? Why him? Is he the only one? Ok, that’s several questions, really.
But this is a novel that gives you extra, so much information, so much science, so much fiction. Such a fascinating speculative concept that while totally suspense and action driven for the fans of those things, is also very clever, thought-provoking and profoundly poignant.
Is the world worth saving? What would you do to save it? Where do you draw the line? What are the acceptable costs? When you are the smartest person in the world, what do you prioritize?
Those are some interesting questions readers might find asking themselves afterwards, but for what Logan Ramsay does…read this book.
It’s so much fun. It’s such a rush. Crouch has perfected his very own brand of pacing, specifically one sentence paragraphs, it’s all very dynamic. If some scenes are too sciency and some too actiony, the overall balance is still just right. A smart, exciting, wildly entertaining read.. Recommended. Thanks Netgalley.