Upgrade by Blake Crouch, 4 stars

[Jen]

Sadly all too possible in the world we live in right now. We can see the effects of climate change around us already, we know that we can manipulate DNA more and more each year, and we know that parents harm their children if they don't give unconditional positive regard. This is one man's story as he tries to be good enough for his mother's approval in his youth. The hurt it causes and then the realisation that his mother only really values IQ in humans not empathy or compassion. The world is being destroyed by climate change and some people believe it can only be solved with increased intelligence and logic. They are prepared to go to any lengths to get what they want because they believe their superior intelligence means they can make decisions for all of humanity. Our Hero does everything he can to stop them because he believes compassion and empathy are necessary to do good, not just intelligence, and that a few people should not be allowed to kill a billion even if they think it is for the greater good.

Possibly a bit heavy on the DNA/genetics for non-science people. Suspect a few would skip whole pages. There are a few errors too (not sure if they are typos which got past an editor who couldn't be expected to know all the biology or ended up wrong because the author was trying to simplify and make it more accessible) but doubt they would make any difference to most people. There must have been a lot of research done to get it as close to reality as possible, and being that close just makes it more scary.

[Sue]

Great review! I love how his books make me think.