“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?
This week’s review is Upgrade by Blake Crouch. It’s a hybrid science fiction/action thriller that’s not afraid to ponder the most complex of questions including the biggest question of all – in order to save humanity, do we need to remake humanity?
A traumatic incident leaves special agent Logan Ramsay forever changed. At the most fundamental level he begins to evolve into something new, something beyond human. Is he the precursor to the next step on our evolutionary journey or is he a genetic mistake? Should scientists be playing God or are they tinkering with forces they don’t properly understand?
What follows is a race against time as Logan attempts to stop a cataclysmic biological event being unleashed upon the world.
As the plot unfolds you sense Logan is losing his old self. Crouch’s writing deftly explores the human cost of Logan’s transformation. Logan was a devoted family man, but things like emotion become more of an abstract that he can compartmentalise as necessary. It’s quite the trade off, Logan’s newfound abilities increase exponentially as his own humanity slips away. I felt sorry for him. In order to save us, Logan can no longer be one of us. It’s a hell of a sacrifice.
The tension and pace of the novel escalate as Logan is forced into direct action against an unexpected antagonist. A cross country game of cat and mouse against the clock plays out, building to a climactic showdown. I’ll admit it, I loved how the Upgrade ends. No spoilers, obviously, all I’ll say is that it has a really smart conclusion. I must admit a burning curiosity to see if the author plans a sequel.
At first glance, Upgrade might look like just a science fiction tech thriller, but there is so much more going on under the hood. Crouch’s taut narrative explores all manner of topical subjects, everything from environmental change to modifying the human genome. I’m always pleased when a novel forces me to engage my brain and question how I view the world.
Perhaps, if we’re really lucky, one day this story will make the jump to the big screen. I’d love to see what someone like Christopher Nolan or Denis Villeneuve would make of it. It could be amazing.
Ultimately, I think Upgrade is the sort of thoughtful science fiction that is going to prompt a certain amount of introspection in any reader. In Logan’s position, you’re bound to find yourself asking the same questions as him. Would you be able to make the tough decisions he is forced to? More importantly, should you? Science fiction is the perfect genre when it comes to exploring the morally grey areas of our humanity. What’s next for our species? Do we deserve to move beyond what we are now or should we just accept our lot safe in the knowledge it will likely lead to our destruction?
Macmillan publishes Upgrade on the seventh of July and it comes with a highly recommended rating from me. If you like your near-future thrillers with a conscience, then this is a story well worth checking out.
My musical recommendation to accompany the novel is the soundtrack to Upgrade by Jed Palmer. If that choice is a bit on the nose then another option is the soundtrack to Archive by Steven Price. Both capture aspects of the narrative well. The choice is, as ever, yours*.
*Heck, you could choose to listen to nothing at all. That’s weird, but it’s entirely up to you.
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