Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

Upgrade by Blake Crouch

5 reviews

luminescify's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional informative mysterious sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I’m not even sure how I feel about this yet. Crouch’s books make me stressed, angry, terrified, depressed, happy; a whole slew of emotions which is appropriate because the crux of this book is about just that.

I love his books because they hurt my brain they’re so well written and researched. This one was no different. I was constantly having to look things up and the field of genetics is so foreign, but was fascinating to read about.

My one request…Blake - can you please stop writing such loving and wholesome families for your characters and then tearing them from said families? My heart can only take so much and these people deserve happy endings.

This one will stay with me for a long time.
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cady_sass's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

So insanely interesting. Am I a sci fi bitch now? I might be. My only critique is that the ending felt rushed, not to mention super depressing but that’s the nature of dystopian fiction I suppose. I could not put this down and it will definitely be living rent free in my brain for a while 
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nick13's review against another edition

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dark reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

With ease, I can say that this book is the best I've read so far this year. I really liked how deep the author went into the science behind everything and
how they really set up a good moral dilemma that made it, in the end, even feel like the main character wasn't the truest form of a hero, yet, if I were in their shoes, I can see myself doing the same thing.
That alone is worth a good review, but then there is the intriguing worldbuilding on top of it that makes this book impossible for me to not give a five-star review. 
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booknerdxo88's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I have been a fan of Blake Crouch since I read Dark Matter a couple years ago. Upgrade is a fast-paced sci-fi thriller set in the not so distant future focusing on Logan Ramsey, an agent for the Gene Protection Agency, who has been "upgraded" by a virus for mysterious reasons. Which brings up the big question: Is it okay for a select few to play god over other humans in the world because they think they know better? 
Science fiction is a genre I don't read too often, so there were some things pertaining to all the science behind the different genomes that went over my head. With that being said, I still enjoyed this book and was taken by surprise by some of the twists and turns.
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marareading's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I was thrilled to get this advanced copy from Random House - Ballantine. As always Blake Crouch is keeping us enthralled with his ability to write science fiction in the most thrilling possible way. This is a perfect addition to his already amazing books!

We follow our main character Logan Ramsey in a dystopian future. He works for the GPA (Gene Protection Agency) and lives with guilt every day. The human race has survived, barely, what is called the "Great Starvation", and science has developed to a point where anyone can try to upgrade their DNA. The government of course has put a quick stop to it, whether it be the well meaning families trying to help their children, or large scale bio-weapon labs. Logan's job is to stop them. Even when it means stopping the "good" guys who are making real and meaningful advances for the world. He goes on a raid one night and everything goes wrong... more than anyone could have guessed. 

This story had me on the edge of my seat. I love the way the science is part of the story, but doesn't feel like a barrier or something you feel you need to understand before reading.  

I highly recommend you pick this up in July when it is published! 
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