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Title details for Upgrade by Blake Crouch - Available

Upgrade

A Novel

by Blake Crouch
Henry Leyva
Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
Borrow Listen to a sample Listen to a sample
1 of 1 copy available
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “If Michael Crichton had written a superhero novel, it would look a lot like Upgrade.”—The New York Times Book Review
“You don’t so much sympathize with the main character as live inside his skin.”—DIANA GABALDON, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Outlander series
 
“Mysterious, fascinating, and deeply moving—exploring the very nature of what it means to be human.”—ALEX MICHAELIDES, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Silent Patient and The Maiden
ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: Time, She Reads
The mind-blowing new thriller from the New York Times bestselling author of Dark Matter and Recursion—currently in development as a motion picture at Steven Spielberg's Amblin Partners
“You are the next step in human evolution.”

At first, Logan Ramsay isn’t sure if anything’s different. He just feels a little . . . sharper. Better able to concentrate. Better at multitasking. Reading a bit faster, memorizing better, needing less sleep.
But before long, he can’t deny it: Something’s happening to his brain. To his body. He’s starting to see the world, and those around him—even those he loves most—in whole new ways.
The truth is, Logan’s genome has been hacked. And there’s a reason he’s been targeted for this upgrade. A reason that goes back decades to the darkest part of his past, and a horrific family legacy.
Worse still, what’s happening to him is just the first step in a much larger plan, one that will inflict the same changes on humanity at large—at a terrifying cost.
Because of his new abilities, Logan’s the one person in the world capable of stopping what’s been set in motion. But to have a chance at winning this war, he’ll have to become something other than himself. Maybe even something other than human.
And even as he’s fighting, he can’t help wondering: what if humanity’s only hope for a future really does lie in engineering our own evolution?
Intimate in scale yet epic in scope, Upgrade is an intricately plotted, lightning-fast tale that charts one man’s thrilling transformation, even as it asks us to ponder the limits of our humanity—and our boundless potential.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    July 12, 2022

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9780593507193
      • File size: 281966 KB
      • Duration: 09:47:25

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      Starred review from May 16, 2022
      In this nail-biting near-future science thriller from bestseller Crouch (Recursion), the world is still recovering from the Great Starvation, which killed hundreds of millions of people, the unintended consequence of the hubris of Miriam Ramsay, the discoverer of a “revolutionary, biological DNA modifier system.” Seeking to eliminate a leaf blight decimating a rice strain in China, Ramsay inserted a virus into locusts intended to infect the rice to create increased resistance to the disease. Unexpectedly, the modified insects ended up targeting other crops, depleting the world’s food supply. That catastrophe led to draconian measures, including harsh restrictions on biological research. Now, Ramsay’s son, Logan, who assisted her before the Great Starvation, has found a new purpose working for America’s Gene Protection Agency, tracking genetic scientists deemed risks. During a raid on an illegal lab, Logan becomes infected by something that hacks his genome, transforming him in frightening ways that seem to match his mother’s vision of an upgraded version of homo sapiens, whose enhanced intelligence supposedly will preserve the species. Crouch fully develops his alarming concept and its implications along with delivering masterful characterizations. This is the best yet from a creative and gifted author. Agent: David Hale Smith, InkWell Management.

    • AudioFile Magazine
      Henry Leyva's energetic, no-nonsense style is a natural fit for the cutting-edge science and rising action in this mystery. Logan Ramsay is a genetic scientist whose mother, also a brilliant geneticist, was responsible for a global catastrophe after altering the genetic makeup of rice. Now Ramsay works for the government monitoring agency that guards against rogue genetic interventions. During a raid, Ramsey is exposed to a possible mutation, causing an upgrade to his own biological composition that gives him near-superhuman ability. He must flee to avoid detection. Leyva's performance is an irresistible mix of intellectual prowess and ever-rising tension. He conveys both the relevant science and the mounting action, giving listeners a thoroughly wrenching experience. S.P.C. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine
    • Library Journal

      Starred review from June 10, 2024

      In a not-too-distant future, Logan Ramsey is a lot of things. He's a husband and father. He's the son of a woman whose gene-editing experiments ended up killing billions. He's an agent responsible for apprehending geneticists who specialize in changing genes. And after his last raid, he's the most advanced human being on the planet. When a virus changes his genome, upgrading his mind and body, Logan must run from the very agency he's working for, trying to stop others from continuing his mother's work of upgrading humanity. Crouch's (Dark Matter) latest doesn't skimp on the action and intrigue, which helps it have a clear moral about what we are currently doing to the planet and to humanity without seeming too pedantic. What also helps the book's delivery of its message is the characterization of Logan through narrator Henry Levya's voice, which strengthens Logan's everyman-but-superintelligent persona. Levya expertly conveys Logan's inner thoughts as he balances his ever-evolving consciousness with what fundamentally makes him human. VERDICT This action-packed thriller has elements of science fiction, but is also a lesson for the present day. Fans of science fiction, thrillers, and climate fiction will be captivated.--James Gardner

      Copyright 2024 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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