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katrinarose's review
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Dark Matter and Recursion were both better than this one, but I still enjoyed it. Fast paced, interesting sci fi concepts, balanced with some philosophizing about humanity, but just a bit lacking in character development and the truly mind bending stuff of his other books.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Confinement, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Medical content, Death of parent, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, and Murder
mmccombs's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
2.5
This was a book! It was like a Bourne movie that I think would make a great movie, but otherwise it was a dud. It was action packed but the characters didn’t do anything for me and I didn’t really care about the stakes. It’s always difficult to portray super humans, especially super intelligence, just because it ended up being him saying things like “wow I wasn’t so smart now but NOW I’m very smart!” rather than seeing him just… be super intelligent. I also just don’t really care about “perfect” men saving the world, it doesn’t tread new ground or do anything meaningful. Not my favorite Blake Crouch novel (it doesn’t even kind of get close to Dark Matter or Recursion) but it was still fun I guess!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Death
tanishah's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
informative
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gun violence, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Death, and Gore
Minor: Child death, Death of parent, and Suicide
kerrygetsliterary's review
adventurous
informative
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Death of parent, Abandonment, Blood, Grief, Gun violence, Medical trauma, Murder, and Violence
Minor: Suicide, Child death, and Death of parent
nerfie's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
It truly hurts me to give a Blake Crouch anything less than a four, but realistically, this is somewhere around a 3.75 or 3.5.
Having read Recursion and Dark Matter and devoured both, I had high hopes for this book. Still regardless of how I didn't love it, I did end up devouring it similarly to the previous two (in two days).
The book is highly scientific, and because of a smaller scope, it's able to go into a lot of detail about how that science works. While it was fascinating, I found a lot of the book explanatory as to how the DNA things all worked. I was looking for more emotional hits than just action-based hits, but this book just isn't that.
I don't think there's anything inherently wrong with Upgrade, and I would still recommend it, regardless of the reasons I didn't jump for joy over it. Crouch's writing is backed by science and the occasional line that will knock you off your feet. The only issue is that I was looking for more of those moments, but only had a few.
For new readers, if you're looking for a book that will keep your heart rate high, you've come to the right place. Old readers of Crouch may be missing some emotional impact, but will still enjoy the crazy ride that he always delivers.
Having read Recursion and Dark Matter and devoured both, I had high hopes for this book. Still regardless of how I didn't love it, I did end up devouring it similarly to the previous two (in two days).
The book is highly scientific, and because of a smaller scope, it's able to go into a lot of detail about how that science works. While it was fascinating, I found a lot of the book explanatory as to how the DNA things all worked. I was looking for more emotional hits than just action-based hits, but this book just isn't that.
I don't think there's anything inherently wrong with Upgrade, and I would still recommend it, regardless of the reasons I didn't jump for joy over it. Crouch's writing is backed by science and the occasional line that will knock you off your feet. The only issue is that I was looking for more of those moments, but only had a few.
For new readers, if you're looking for a book that will keep your heart rate high, you've come to the right place. Old readers of Crouch may be missing some emotional impact, but will still enjoy the crazy ride that he always delivers.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Death
Minor: Vomit
blackcatkai's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
5.0
CW: suicide, violence, blood, human experimentation
I don't think I liked this more than Crouch's Wayward Pines trilogy, but I DO think it's my fave of his more recent releases. scifi is not a big go-to overall for me, but I am all here for a scifi eco-thriller in Crouch's capable hands!
a lot of the book does essentially center on things like climate change, classism, environmentalism in general, and the downfall of humanity & humans as a species. SO if ANY of those topics turns you off, maybe skip this, or at least be aware ahead of time.
this book absolutely made me cry in a couple spots, laugh a lot, and I had a hard time putting it down to go to work & such. highly recommend, especially if you dig scifi/eco thrillers or crouch in general.
all the stars!
I don't think I liked this more than Crouch's Wayward Pines trilogy, but I DO think it's my fave of his more recent releases. scifi is not a big go-to overall for me, but I am all here for a scifi eco-thriller in Crouch's capable hands!
a lot of the book does essentially center on things like climate change, classism, environmentalism in general, and the downfall of humanity & humans as a species. SO if ANY of those topics turns you off, maybe skip this, or at least be aware ahead of time.
this book absolutely made me cry in a couple spots, laugh a lot, and I had a hard time putting it down to go to work & such. highly recommend, especially if you dig scifi/eco thrillers or crouch in general.
all the stars!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Suicide
jkpiowa's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Car accident, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Suicide
whatjasread's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
- def lower end of 3 stars, i think
- it wasn't bad, conceptually it was actually very interesting, but it definitely needed editing
- lots of introspection and not a lot of plot progression, plus the final 10% felt like a drag that i just wanted to get over with to the point where I skimmed it mostly
- a weird case of it needing to be shorter but also needing to be longer - cut the repetitive waffle, add more insight that isn't introspective
- thought provoking at times, but definitely one that you have to really think about, not really a book you can 'get lost in'
- confusing at times with the enhancements that worked in some scenarios but not in others
- i have only read one blake crouch (dark matter) but this doesn't come close to it, i'm afraid
TWs: vomiting, hospitalisation, explosion, violence, gunshot wounds, gun violence, death of father (past, suicide), death of mother, death of brother (past, leukemia), death of sister (murder), strained family relationships, murder, torture, needles, blood, gore, scarring, drug use, smoking, alcohol consumption, animal abuse/testing
Thank you to bookbreak and the author for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review. all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.
- it wasn't bad, conceptually it was actually very interesting, but it definitely needed editing
- lots of introspection and not a lot of plot progression, plus the final 10% felt like a drag that i just wanted to get over with to the point where I skimmed it mostly
- a weird case of it needing to be shorter but also needing to be longer - cut the repetitive waffle, add more insight that isn't introspective
- thought provoking at times, but definitely one that you have to really think about, not really a book you can 'get lost in'
- confusing at times with the enhancements that worked in some scenarios but not in others
- i have only read one blake crouch (dark matter) but this doesn't come close to it, i'm afraid
TWs: vomiting, hospitalisation, explosion, violence, gunshot wounds, gun violence, death of father (past, suicide), death of mother, death of brother (past, leukemia), death of sister (murder), strained family relationships, murder, torture, needles, blood, gore, scarring, drug use, smoking, alcohol consumption, animal abuse/testing
Thank you to bookbreak and the author for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review. all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical content, Medical trauma, Violence, Gun violence, Death, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Blood, Torture, and Gore
Minor: Vomit, Cancer, Alcohol, Car accident, War, Drug use, Suicide, Animal cruelty, Child death, and Grief
marareading's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I was thrilled to get this advanced copy from Random House - Ballantine. As always Blake Crouch is keeping us enthralled with his ability to write science fiction in the most thrilling possible way. This is a perfect addition to his already amazing books!
We follow our main character Logan Ramsey in a dystopian future. He works for the GPA (Gene Protection Agency) and lives with guilt every day. The human race has survived, barely, what is called the "Great Starvation", and science has developed to a point where anyone can try to upgrade their DNA. The government of course has put a quick stop to it, whether it be the well meaning families trying to help their children, or large scale bio-weapon labs. Logan's job is to stop them. Even when it means stopping the "good" guys who are making real and meaningful advances for the world. He goes on a raid one night and everything goes wrong... more than anyone could have guessed.
This story had me on the edge of my seat. I love the way the science is part of the story, but doesn't feel like a barrier or something you feel you need to understand before reading.
I highly recommend you pick this up in July when it is published!
We follow our main character Logan Ramsey in a dystopian future. He works for the GPA (Gene Protection Agency) and lives with guilt every day. The human race has survived, barely, what is called the "Great Starvation", and science has developed to a point where anyone can try to upgrade their DNA. The government of course has put a quick stop to it, whether it be the well meaning families trying to help their children, or large scale bio-weapon labs. Logan's job is to stop them. Even when it means stopping the "good" guys who are making real and meaningful advances for the world. He goes on a raid one night and everything goes wrong... more than anyone could have guessed.
This story had me on the edge of my seat. I love the way the science is part of the story, but doesn't feel like a barrier or something you feel you need to understand before reading.
I highly recommend you pick this up in July when it is published!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Genocide, Grief, Violence, Blood, Toxic relationship, Suicide, Murder, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, and Medical content
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