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Upgrade

A Novel

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Written by: Blake Crouch
Narrated by: Henry Levya
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About this listen

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.

©2022 Blake Crouch (P)2022 Random House Audio
Adventure Science Fiction Suspense Technothrillers Thriller Fiction Exciting Scary Genetics
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What the critics say

“If Michael Crichton had written a superhero novel, it would look a lot like Upgrade. . . . Sleek and propulsive, a page-turner with unexpectedly beautiful passages that give you pause amid the thrills.”—Amal El-Mohtar, The New York Times Book Review

“A lot of fun . . . Crouch knows how to do a chase, when to blow stuff up and when to bring the house lights down. . . . But what makes Upgrade special is that his path is unique. He takes turns that are unexpected [and] explores some stunning vistas along the way.”—NPR

“From the first page, it’s clear you’re in the hands of a master storyteller; Upgrade is by turns mysterious, fascinating, and deeply moving—exploring the very nature of what it means to be human. Spellbinding.”—Alex Michaelides, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Silent Patient and The Maidens

What listeners say about Upgrade

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Amazing read!!

i read and enjoyed Dark matter n Recursion but this book is imo his best and 100% will be made into a movie.

This story is so smart, endless imagination but keeps it real, solid characters, reads like a thriller with a soul. It has depth and some descriptions are poetics, it is brillant!

Unexpectedly, i feel i learned a lot about human nature and where we might be headed. Underneath the entertaining read there are important messages.

Also, the narrator was great and did the story justice.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Amazing Thriller

Really well narrated and the story, while touching on many well known tropes in futurist novels took an extremely elegant approach to them in this novel.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Good story line, but the drawn out over explaining and technical ruined it

The story line was decent, but later on it the story there waa way too much over-explaining and throwing technical terms out as though it was a high school essay that needed to reach a minimum letter count.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Well told, great idea... but something missing

This is very close to a good story. The idea is great and it is a fun one to play with and to imagine. Generally enjoyable... but I found myself guessing what was coming next and kind of losing interest and, during my 10 hour flight, taking more breaks than usual from the story. So, in summary, not bad, but I had buying remorse for not spending my one credit on something else.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Tomorrows humanity

I enjoyed the story, but found the epilogue unnecessary. I am on my way to download another Blake Crouch novel.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Good point made through an action novel

I don’t really like action novels with insufficient character development. But this one did make a good point. We might need to be technologically smarter, but that won’t save us from ecological breakdown. The only thing that might save us is expanding the concept of family so that we are capable of compassion toward all the earths inhabitants. Would it take genetic engineering for us to do that?

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Captured to the extreme!

I couldn't stop listening, absolutely captivating and exciting! Made me think about things in my day to day life that would be nice to Upgrade!

Highly recommended!!

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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I didn’t want it to end.

A story that will stay with me. Lots to think about. A fun page turning thriller. Blake Crouch has done it again. He never disappoints.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Decent, but could do without the pandemic themes

Just finished.
Decent, but nowhere near as good as the other Blake Crouch books I've read.
Definitely kept me interested throughout, but didn't hook me as deeply.
You can also totally tell it was written during the pandemic, a lot of pandemic-like themes coming up throughout and a pandemic inspired "message" at the end. It was fine, not cheesy, but it might be more interesting in 10 or 20 years when covid isn't so fresh on the mind

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Pretty great

Cool idea and fun. Bit over the top with the super human descriptions along the way.

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