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Upgrade
Cover of Upgrade
Upgrade
A Novel
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.
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.
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  • From the cover 1

    We found Henrik Soren at a wine bar in the international terminal, thirty minutes from boarding a hyperjet to Tokyo.

    Before tonight, I had only seen him in INTERPOL photographs and CCTV footage. In the flesh, he was less impressive—­five and a half feet in his artificially distressed Saint Laurent sneakers with a designer hoodie hiding most of his face. He was sitting at the end of the bar with a book and a bottle of Krug.

    I commandeered the stool beside him and set my badge between us. It bore the insignia of a bald eagle whose wings enveloped the double helix of a DNA molecule. For a long moment, nothing happened. I wasn’t even sure he’d seen it gleaming under the hanging globe lights, but then he turned his head and looked at me.
    I flashed a smile.

    He closed his book. If he was nervous, he didn’t show it. Just stared at me through Scandinavian blue eyes.

    “Hi, Henrik,” I said. “I’m Agent Ramsay. I work for the GPA.”

    “What am I supposed to have done?”

    He was born thirty-­three years ago in Oslo but had been educated in London, where his mother was a diplomat. I could hear that city around the edges of his voice.

    “Why don’t we talk about that somewhere else?”

    The bartender was watching us now, having clocked my badge. Probably worried about getting the bill paid.

    “My flight’s about to board,” Soren said.

    “You aren’t going to Tokyo. Not tonight.”

    The muscles in his jaw tightened and something flickered in his eyes. He tucked his chin-­length blond hair behind his ears and glanced around the wine bar. And then beyond it, at the travelers moving through the concourse.

    “See the woman sitting at the high-­top behind us?” I asked. “Long blond hair. Navy windbreaker. That’s my partner, Agent Nettmann. Airport police are waiting in the wings. Look, I can drag you out of here or you can walk out under your own steam. It’s your call, but you have to decide right now.”

    I didn’t think he’d run. Soren had to know the impossible odds of eluding capture in an airport crawling with security and surveillance. But desperate people do desperate things.

    He looked around once more, then back at me. With a sigh, he polished off his glass of champagne and lifted his satchel from the floor.

    We drove back into the city, with Nadine Nettmann behind the wheel of the modified company Edison and I-­70 virtually empty at this hour of the night.

    Soren had been installed behind the passenger seat with his wrists zip-­tied behind his back. I’d searched his carry-­on—­a Gucci messenger bag—­but the only item of interest was a laptop, which we’d need a federal warrant to break into.

    “You’re Logan Ramsay, right?” Soren asked, his first words spoken since we’d escorted him out of the airport.

    “That’s right.”

    “Son of Miriam Ramsay?”

    “Yes.” I tried to keep my tone neutral. It wasn’t the first time a suspect had made that connection. He said nothing else. I could feel Nadine looking at me.

    I stared out the window. We were on the outskirts of the city center, doing 120 mph. The dual electric motors were almost silent. Through the wraparound NightShade glass, I saw one of the GPA’s new billboards shoot past—­part of the latest public awareness campaign.

    In black letters against a white background:

    ...
About the Author-
  • Blake Crouch is a bestselling novelist and screenwriter. His novels include Recursion, Dark Matter, and the Wayward Pines trilogy, which was adapted into a television series for FOX. Crouch also co-created the TNT show Good Behavior, based on his Letty Dobesh novellas. He lives in Colorado.
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
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A Novel
Blake Crouch
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