Recently, we told you about a science fiction thriller by the popular American author Blake Crouch «Dark Matter». We also have review of the series based on it. And today we’ll talk about the writer’s latest novel, and the last one at the moment, called «Upgrade», which was published by «RM». This is another classic book by the author — a standalone work without sequels, a techno-thriller with large admixtures of science fiction and fantasy. If you liked «Dark Matter», then you will most likely enjoy «Upgrade». However, there are significant differences between the books. Some of them I liked, and some of them I didn’t.
Author Blake Crouch
Publisher RM
Language Ukrainian
Number of pages 392
Cover Solid
Year of publication 2024
Size 150×225 mm
Website ridna-mova.com
In the near future, humanity focused on the development of genetic engineering, and an experiment to modify crops in Asia led to the Great Famine, which killed 200 million people. Since then, the United States has created the Office of Genetic Security (OGS), whose agents catch genetic scientists who continue to tinker with the code of people and all living things.
Logan Ramsay is one of the agents of the GBS. During an unsuccessful agency operation, he ends up in the hospital. Later, the man realizes that he has become better at seeing and hearing, memorizing tons of information, recalling the smallest details from the past, and so on. It seems that someone has modified his DNA to make him a superhuman. But who and why? And most importantly, how will his own agency react to this, and what will this mutation lead to?
In his new novel «Upgrade», Blake Crouch has not deviated from the popular formula of his other novels. The book has a lot of action, and it is also a full-fledged techno-thriller. There is also a lot of science here, and you need to be prepared for that.
There is much more science in «Upgrade» than fantasy, but this is logical for a novel about genetic engineering. And let’s not forget that the hero has become smarter and stronger, so his brain works better than ours, he operates with a larger array of data, processes it faster, and so on. The author even explains that Logan Ramsay’s modifications not only gave him a significantly higher IQ. He also thinks faster, which means he speaks faster, which is very unusual for ordinary people. That’s why the hero has to slow down for others to keep up.
After that, it is not surprising that almost every page of the book contains various scientific terms, mostly related to genetic engineering, and footnotes to explain them. This will definitely scare away some ordinary readers, but I think it will be a smaller part. And the majority will realize that it is not necessary to read all the footnotes because the author explains what and how in the text as simply as possible in this case. However, I understand that this will be a disadvantage for some people, so I have highlighted it separately.
Such excessive scholarship only slightly spoils the impression of the novel, but for the most part, I think it is to its advantage. Because the story looks as realistic and authentic as possible, and an important fantastic assumption seems realistic despite its fantastical nature.
And the plot itself is constantly evolving, the characters are acting, something is happening, so it’s always interesting and not boring to read. There is a certain slump in the middle of the book, but it is so insignificant that it can only be mentioned, but not considered a flaw in the novel.
Blake Crouch, as always, adds important and challenging topics to his books. For example, «Dark Matter» was about our life paths that we didn’t follow, but could have. It was about how often we take the close and important people in our lives for granted. In «Upgrade», we see anxiety about the fate and future of humanity, as well as the coverage of certain ethical issues and decisions of an individual. Can one person decide the fate of everyone? Is it right to save humanity by killing part of the population? Who should make such decisions and how, and does he or she have the right to do so?
In «Upgrade», Blake Crouch moved away from the psychologism that I think he failed to realize in «Dark Matter». Here, the hero also has a wife and a child, but the author did not delve deeply into the theme of family, but successfully and comprehensively built the hero himself, his motivation and suffering. However, secondary characters have never been Crouch’s strong point, and unfortunately, this has not changed here.
Like other books by the author, «Upgrade» is written in a simple and interesting way. Despite the aforementioned load of technical details, Blake Crouch knows how to create intrigue and present an exciting and twisted story as simply as possible for a sci-fi thriller. And the author, as always, skillfully twists the story, and I never guess what will happen next. And this greatly affects the interest of the plot.
As for the publication itself, it is in an oversized format (150×225 mm), has a soft cover that is pleasant to the touch, thick yellow paper, and a large, easy-to-read font. I liked the design of the book itself, it is made in the Western style. But not everyone would guess that it is a science fiction thriller. Nevertheless, the review of the famous writer Andy Weir was put forward, which is just inserted here to understand the genre of the book.
