Fiction Review: Upgrade

My husband and I are huge fans of Blake Crouch, both his novels and the TV shows based on his books and/or screenplays. We both enjoyed the shows Wayward Pines and Good Behavior, based on his novels and screenplays. Recently, he has written an excellent trio of science fiction thrillers: Dark Matter (my favorite), Recursion, and now Upgrade. And I just read that Apple TV+ is making Dark Matter into a TV series, and Netflix bought the rights to Recursion for a movie adaptation! Like those novels, Upgrade is a fast-paced, action-packed thriller based on a terrifying scientific premise. (links here are to my reviews).

In the near-future, Logan Ramsay is working for the GPA, Genetic Protection Agency, a new government agency tasked with stopping any genetic modification research. The GPA is the result of an agricultural experiment gone terribly wrong. A researcher genetically modified the insects that feed on rice in China so that instead of harming the rice, the insects would cause stronger, healthier rice with greater yields. But unforeseen consequences resulted in a global famine that the world is still recovering from, decades later. Logan himself was a genetic biologist imprisoned for his work, and he joined the GPA as a condition of his release. As the novel opens, Logan and his partner, Nadine, are leading a raid on a laboratory in Colorado, based on information obtained from a scientist they just arrested. They have a whole SWAT team with them, but as Logan enters the building first, he is hit by some kind of explosion that rips right through his protective gear. Hospitalized for weeks afterward, Logan experiences extremely high fevers and terrible pain,. They guess that he was exposed to something from the explosive device, but none of the doctors can identify the infection that seems to have seized him. He recovers and is released from the hospital and sent back to his wife and daughter. Soon, though, Logan begins to notice changes: small at first but growing over time. He can think more clearly, speed read complex books and understand everything, and remember every word he's ever read in his life, like single lines from in-depth scientific reports he reads decades ago. Logan also notices physical improvements in strength and stamina. He suspects that whatever infected him at the laboratory introduced a genetic hack into his body; he's been upgraded. He figures out that what's happening to him will soon be forced on the entire population ... and he's the only one who can stop it.

And, that is just the beginning! As always with Crouch, this novel starts with a bang (literally) and takes off at breakneck pace. There are unexpected twists and turns around every corner and a whole lot of surprises. All of that makes it an excellent thriller, but the subject matter is also fascinating and thought-provoking. Crouch (as Logan) digs deep here into the ethical and moral implications of upgrading the human race and of the mind-bending concept of humans trying to save humanity by engineering our own evolution. This is the kind of science fiction I love, the kind that makes me think. Logan and the other characters are fully developed, so that you are rooting for him, to both save the world and hang onto his humanity as he becomes something new. This thoughtful, page-turning thriller was engrossing and gripping, with a very satisfying ending. It's a very close second to my favorite, Dark Matter! I hope this one gets adapted for TV or movie, too.

337 pages, Ballantine Books

This book fits in the following 2023 Reading Challenges:

 

Mount TBR Challenge

Literary Escapes Challenge - Colorado

R.I.P. Challenge

 

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