Blake Crouch

"What do you call a heart that is simultaneously full and breaking? Maybe there's no word for it, but for some reason, it makes me think of rain through sunlight."

Upgrade makes us consider the future of humanity. Do we need an Upgrade?

The novel's strength lies in its moral quandaries. It's a race to improve society, but at what cost? While the writing is strong, I feel like the character development isn't as strong as in the author's other books. The plot centers on a sibling rivalry for the sake of humanity, with a lot of medical terms thrown in. Sometimes, it feels like there's too much technical info, but the balance of science and action keeps things interesting.

Protagonist Logan emerges as a flawed yet compelling figure, and I enjoyed following his internal and external changes as he 'upgrades'. His relationship with his sister Kara adds another layer of tension.

Although I enjoyed Dark Matter and Recursion better than Upgrade, I would still recommend this book if you enjoy a well-written sci-fi novel.… (meer)

This book lives up to its hype! It’s a relentlessly fast-paced and nerve-wracking time travel and alternate reality thriller that explores memories and identities.

Recursion has a lot of similarities with Dark Matter. They both explore the concept of space and time but presents different methods of how we might traverse them in the future.

I adored Helena. She’s strong, brave, and kind. However, Marcus Slade is the most memorable character for me. I think he’s the smartest of them all.

There’s a lot to keep track of with the shifting timelines, and at some point, even feels exhausting, but I still enjoyed the book a lot. Plus points for the tender and touching moments in the book.

“Life with a cheat code isn’t life. Our existence isn’t something to be engineered or optimized for the avoidance of pain. That’s what it is to be human – the beauty and the pain, each meaningless without the other.”… (meer)