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This book was recommended to me, and I generally attempt to read books recommended to me. This wasn’t my first foray into this author’s work, either. I’d read his book Recursion a while back and found it a sci-fi kind of weird that isn’t necessarily my jam, but that was well-written and had some interesting ideas. So I figured this probably wouldn’t be bad.
And I was correct. Upgrade wasn’t bad. The protagonist may not have had very many interesting characteristics beyond being the protagonist, but the concept was interesting and Blake Crouch is a competent writer. The action moved along, the story was largely well-paced, and it kept me engaged the whole way through. Nothing spectacular, sure, but perfectly readable.
However. As you might have guessed by the tone here, I do have some criticisms. Again, Blake’s particular brand of sci-fi weird isn’t quite up my alley, so some of this could definitely be me. But some of it is I just take issue with some of the fundamental concepts of the book itself.
Upgrade is ambitious in scope and interesting in concept. In a world where genetic modification is very possible (but also very illegal), an anti-gene-modification enforcement agent finds his genes being modified against his will, making him almost superhuman. Now he has to tackle questions like “why did this happen?” and “would the world be better if it happened to everybody?” But as interesting and potentially thematic as this idea could be, the execution is a little wacky. Some parts are frighteningly realistic, others are laughably not, and the discordant combination made the whole thing feel a bit silly. It would have made a perfectly serviceable mindless action movie, but the attempt at thematic depth just emphasized how ridiculous some parts of it were.
I spent a lot of time trying to put my finger on my actual problem with this book. I had notes about how Logan Ramsey has big “r/iamverysmart” vibes, and whether or not killing the same character twice was too much, and how cruel Logan’s mother was and how I couldn’t believe that neither of her children realized how much they were like her. But then I was reminded of the word “eugenics” and realized my issue. Without giving away too many spoilers, the arguable antagonist of the first half of the book thinks climate change would be solved if people were only better in a specific way and wants to accomplish that with mass gene modification. It really feels like what a eugenics movement would look like in a world where you didn’t necessarily have to breed better traits into people because you could just modify people’s genes instead. But our protagonist seemed pretty against that whole idea, so I wasn’t too bothered. Up until the end, when (minor spoiler alert) he decided his problem wasn’t so much the eugenics-style idea, just which traits should be changed. It left a really bad taste in my mouth.
It’s very possible that at least some of my complaints are because while I find these kinds of stories fine, they’re not the type of thing I generally really love. And on the whole, Upgrade was fine. I didn’t love it, I think its themes were handled poorly, and I really didn’t love some of the vibes it gives off. But it was readable. I found it interesting enough to finish. If it were made into an action movie, I think it would work pretty well. I just don’t particularly recommend it as it is.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Terminal illness, Pandemic/Epidemic
Minor: Suicide
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Violence, Grief, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Body horror, Suicide, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Dementia, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Car accident, War
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Violence, Medical content, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail
adventurous
hopeful
informative
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Gun violence, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Pandemic/Epidemic
adventurous
dark
hopeful
inspiring
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
One of the best sci-fi books I've ever read. Giving social commentary directly to the gut.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Torture, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Pandemic/Epidemic
adventurous
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
The sci-fi was HEAVY on the science for sure (namely biology & genetics) which I haven't read in a minute! I enjoyed the fast-paced action of this and the thriller-esque moments, as well as the questions that are posed about what makes us human. This book for me was a "they had us in the first half I'm not gunna lie", the middle to end could drag at points, ultimately culminating in a conclusion that I think really undermined the real power of the book's main antagonist. Great critique on our climate crisis and what different POVs think should be done to address it as well.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Pandemic/Epidemic
Minor: Torture
adventurous
dark
hopeful
informative
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Ah, I loved the premise. Really, really liked the first half of the book. The ideas, the discussions about humanity and different approaches to prevent its extinction, about actions and consequences and about the possibilities and risks of genetic engineering were super intriguing and fresh.
Sadly, there was more focus on action scenes in the second half of the book, and although I didn't mind all the science dumping in the beginning, it got very annoying the farther the story progressed.
It was still a fun and fast-paced reading experience (especially with the help of the audiobook), I just kind of stopped caring along the way and yes, I see the irony in this. XD
So I liked it for what it was, but there was so much more potential to make this an outstanding story. It lacked emotion and the surprises factor other Blake Crouch books have. It was all very predictable. The epilogue finally delivered what I wished for, just too little too late. I would have loved to see a more nuanced discussion about the topics of the epilogue in the second half of the book alongside the action.
Sadly, there was more focus on action scenes in the second half of the book, and although I didn't mind all the science dumping in the beginning, it got very annoying the farther the story progressed.
It was still a fun and fast-paced reading experience (especially with the help of the audiobook), I just kind of stopped caring along the way and yes, I see the irony in this. XD
So I liked it for what it was, but there was so much more potential to make this an outstanding story. It lacked emotion and the surprises factor other Blake Crouch books have. It was all very predictable. The epilogue finally delivered what I wished for, just too little too late. I would have loved to see a more nuanced discussion about the topics of the epilogue in the second half of the book alongside the action.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Torture, Violence, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Pandemic/Epidemic
adventurous
challenging
dark
informative
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Death of parent
Moderate: Gun violence, Suicide, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
So insanely interesting. Am I a sci fi bitch now? I might be. My only critique is that the ending felt rushed, not to mention super depressing but that’s the nature of dystopian fiction I suppose. I could not put this down and it will definitely be living rent free in my brain for a while
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Gun violence, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Medical content, Dementia, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Violence, Medical trauma, Death of parent
Moderate: Suicide, Torture, Murder, Injury/Injury detail