Tag Archive for: blake crouch

Sci-Fi/Fantasy Reviews: UPGRADE & THE BOOK EATERS

 

Hey everyone!  I hope you all had a nice weekend. I’m back today with something I haven’t shared in a while, sci-fi/fantasy reviews!  I think I’m finally starting to get over my pandemic aversion of all books that were somewhat dark in theme, and I’m happy to share my thoughts on these two new releases.  Blake Crouch is one of my favorite sci-fi authors so I was thrilled that my inner mood reader finally decided it was time to dive in to his latest.  Sunyi Dean’s is her debut, and after reading this book, I can’t wait to read more from her!

 

Sci-Fi/Fantasy Reviews:  UPGRADE & THE BOOK EATERSUpgrade Goodreads

Author: Blake Crouch

Publication Date: July 12, 2022

Publisher:  Random House/Ballantine Books

FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book from Netgalley.  All opinions are my own.

 

What I love about Blake Crouch’s novels is that I can always count on him for an action-packed, mind blowing read that will completely absorb me from the moment I read that first page.  Crouch’s latest sci-fi thriller Upgrade delivers in a big way.

Set in the near future, the story follows Logan Ramsay, a federal agent who works for the Gene Protection Agency or GPA.  The GPA was formed after a genetic modification project that was meant to save our species goes terribly wrong and instead leads to famine and mass death.  The project was headed up by Logan’s mother, and he has joined the GPA in hopes of preventing similar incidents from ever happening again.  When the novel opens, Logan is following up on a tip about an illegal genetics lab. Almost as soon as he enters the lab, he is hit with a bomb.  It’s not just any bomb though, as Logan realizes soon after waking up in the hospital.  No, this bomb contained a genetic upgrade and Logan can feel himself starting to transform into a much enhanced version of himself.

I very much enjoyed the way this story unfolds.  It was fascinating to watch Logan’s transformation and what he’s able to do now that he has been “upgraded.”  I also found the story riveting as Logan encounters a few others who have also been upgraded but who are not on his side when it comes to the need for caution regarding genetic research and modification.  These encounters are an action-packed adrenaline rush and made for a fast-paced read.  It was also mind blowing when it is revealed who is responsible for these genetic upgrades and what their intentions are if they are not stopped.

Aside from the fascinating science and the thrilling action scenes, I also enjoyed that the story had a more personal element to it when it comes to Logan. Logan is a really likeable guy that I couldn’t help but root for.  He’s smart, well versed in genetics and genetic modification and the associated dangers of going too far, and he also has a huge conscience.  With his GPA job, he’s trying so hard to atone for what he sees as his mother’s sins, and I thought that was very noble of him.

I don’t want to give anything away, so I’ll stop here and just say that if you’re in the mood for an action-packed sci-fi thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat but also leave you with plenty of food for thought regarding science, ethics, and the future of our species, Upgrade is the book for you!  4.5 STARS

 

Sci-Fi/Fantasy Reviews:  UPGRADE & THE BOOK EATERSThe Book Eaters Goodreads

Author: Sunyi Dean

Publication Date: August 2, 2022

Publisher: Tor Books

FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book from Netgalley.  All opinions are my own.

 

I first became interested in reading The Book Eaters by Sunyi Dean when I read somewhere that the author was interested in crafting a unique vampire story, something that hadn’t already been done to death.  Dean succeeds too because The Book Eaters is, by far, one of the most unique vampire stories I’ve ever read.  For that matter, it’s also one of the most unique fantasy novels I’ve read in a long time.

The story takes us deep into the world of book eaters, a species who can pass for humans with the exception of their diet.  Rather than eat food and drink water, they rely on eating books for sustenance.  The author does an incredible job with creating this world, showing us what the eaters get from the kinds of books they eat.  Whatever books they eat are immediately committed to memory, and the eaters have a definite “taste” preference when it comes to things like glossy vs. non-glossy pages, etc.

The book eaters also have a real problem on their hands because their species is dying off.  Very few females are ever born, and so in an effort to stave off extinction, the few females who are born are raised to eat only fairy tales in order to groom them all to become wives and mothers. Arrangements are made, and basically, as soon as each female gives birth to a child and it is weaned from her, she is then sent on to fulfill her next arrangement and get pregnant again.

The story follows Devon Fairweather, a young book eater who has been forced into motherhood, hates the oppressive nature of the life she is being forced to live, and ultimately wants out of it.  Devon sees the especially cruel nature of her world when Cai, one of the babies she gives birth to, is considered to be a monster.  Cai is one of those few babies who are born to book eaters, that instead of existing on a diet of books, they exist on a diet of brains, thus leaving behind a trail of bodies whenever they feed.  The elders in Devon’s family want to get rid of Cai, and Devon is not having it, which spurs her into motion and propels the overall action of the book.

I don’t want to give away any more details because this unique story is best experienced knowing as little as possible going in.  I did occasionally have to re-read pages to really understand the worldbuilding and the relationships between various people Devon encounters throughout the book, but I think that was more of a me issue than anything wrong with the writing itself.

Devon was a fascinating character to me.  I’d classify her as morally gray in the sense that she makes a lot of hard choices when it comes to doing what she feels is right to ensure Cai’s survival.  I loved her mama bear instincts though and, as a mom myself, was 100% on board for her doing whatever it takes for the child she loves so much.  I also loved the way the author has the story unfold through dual timelines, one with Devon as a child and the other after she becomes a mother.  It really illuminated the oppressive nature of the book eater world, and that oppression of women and their bodies resonated all the more with me after what has happened with Roe v. Wade this year.

I highly recommend The Book Eaters to anyone who is a fan of vampire stories, and also to anyone who enjoys thought provoking, action packed dark urban fantasies with fascinating morally gray characters. 4 STARS

Review: RECURSION by Blake Crouch

Review:  RECURSION by Blake CrouchRecursion by Blake Crouch
Also by this author: Dark Matter
four-half-stars
Published by Crown Publishing Group (NY) on June 11, 2019
Genres: Science Fiction, Thriller
Pages: 336
Source: Netgalley
Amazon
Goodreads

FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

 

 

 

 
 

RECURSION Review

 

Wow, Blake Crouch has done it again! I didn’t think there was any way he could top the mind blowing reading experience of Dark Matter, but man, was I wrong…He really outdoes himself with his latest novel, Recursion, a gripping sci-fi read that explores what happens when memory storing technology designed to potentially help Alzheimer’s patients retain some of their memories ends up in the wrong hands.

The story follows Barry Sutton, a NYC police detective, and Helena Smith, a gifted neuroscientist.  Barry is sent to an address in New York where a woman is threatening to kill herself.  She has False Memory Syndrome, or FMS, a somewhat new phenomenon that keeps popping up more and more frequently. People who contract FMS suddenly develop a complete set of memories of a life that they haven’t actually lived.  The false memories are so vivid and detailed that they seem real, which causes those who have the condition to become completely confused about what is real and what isn’t.  The woman Barry has been sent to talk down from the roof suddenly started believing that she was happily married to a man that she really wasn’t.  The memories were so convincing that she sought out the man and discovered that he was happily married to someone else and had a family of his own.  Devastated by this discovery and armed with the knowledge that she’s really all alone in the world, she decides she doesn’t want to live.  Barry gets a taste of just how closely our memories dictate our reality and how it can all fall apart if we can’t trust those memories.

Eleven years prior to our meeting Barry, Helena Smith is hard at work trying to develop a technology that she hopes will help Alzheimer’s patients, including her own mother, retain some of their memories.  When a wealthy benefactor offers her nearly unlimited funding to fast track her research, Helena can’t resist.  All goes fantastically until she and her benefactor start testing the technology on live subjects and see all of its possibilities, both good and bad.  Fast forward eleven years and we can see firsthand the bad that can come of it and we see Helena’s and Barry’s journeys intertwine as they come together to try to stop what Helena has inadvertently set into motion.

What made Recursion such a phenomenal read for me was how Crouch manages to take this fictional memory storing technology, which, at first, sounds outrageous and completely impossible, and he transforms it into a scenario that seems completely plausible.  And because it actually does seem plausible, it starts to feel a little less like science fiction and a little more like a glimpse into our future.  The fact that there are potentially catastrophic consequences lends the story a real sense of urgency and ratchets up the tension and suspense.  The emotional and sometimes desperate reactions of those who are impacted by all of this mucking around with memories felt completely authentic too.  I sympathized with them so much and found myself wondering how I would react if I was in their shoes.  I loved that added emotional layer.

Crouch had me so caught up in this story that I was up until nearly 2a.m.one night because I just couldn’t go to sleep until I knew how the story was going to end.  I kind of hated myself the next day, but it was so worth it.  Plus, the writing is so crisp and smooth that it just naturally lends itself to binge-reading it.

Recursion is a powerful and mind blowing read that I just know I’ll be thinking about for a long time to come.  Aside from being a riveting page turner, it’s also a book that left me with some pretty major food for thought, namely the question of whether technology that has the potential to do an incredible amount of good is worth having if it also has the potential to do a devastating amount of bad if placed in the wrong hands.  If you enjoyed Dark Matter, you’re going to love Recursion.  And if you’re a science fiction fan, I highly recommend both novels.  They made Blake Crouch an auto-buy author for me.

GOODREADS SYNOPSIS:

Memory makes reality. That’s what New York City cop Barry Sutton is learning as he investigates the devastating phenomenon the media has dubbed False Memory Syndrome—a mysterious affliction that drives its victims mad with memories of a life they never lived.

Neuroscientist Helena Smith already understands the power of memory. It’s why she’s dedicated her life to creating a technology that will let us preserve our most precious moments of our pasts. If she succeeds, anyone will be able to re-experience a first kiss, the birth of a child, the final moment with a dying parent.

As Barry searches for the truth, he comes face-to-face with an opponent more terrifying than any disease—a force that attacks not just our minds but the very fabric of the past. And as its effects begin to unmake the world as we know it, only he and Helena, working together, will stand a chance at defeating it.

But how can they make a stand when reality itself is shifting and crumbling all around them?

four-half-stars

About Blake Crouch

Blake Crouch is a bestselling novelist and screenwriter. He is the author of the novel, Dark Matter, for which he is writing the screenplay for Sony Pictures. His international-bestselling Wayward Pines trilogy was adapted into a television series for FOX, executive produced by M. Night Shyamalan, that was Summer 2015’s #1 show. With Chad Hodge, Crouch also created Good Behavior, the TNT television show starring Michelle Dockery based on his Letty Dobesh novellas. He has written more than a dozen novels that have been translated into over thirty languages and his short fiction has appeared in numerous publications including Ellery Queen and Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine. Crouch lives in Colorado.

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