Upgrade by Blake Crouch

There are only a handful of authors whose writing has left me with a complete and profound sense of satisfaction. Blake Crouch is one of those authors, and his latest novel, Upgrade, might just be his best yet.

You may have heard of this obscure movie called Top Gun, and how in said movie, the most elite fighter pilots are sent to a special school so that they can become even more elite. The name of that school - wait for it - is Top Gun. The best of the best. The elite elite.

Seriously, though, I read a lot of good books. Some great books. And, then, there is this other level. Like being the Michael Jordan of authors or something.

I don’t usually think of it this way, but as I ponder, these are the ideals or components of a novel, that really drive what I think of it:

The Story
Characters
Writing Style
Research on Technical Aspects
Complexity of ideas or plot
Message for the Reader
The Ending

I’m probably what you’d call an “easy grader” when it comes to book reviews. It’s subjective, of course, but if the author crushes 2-3 of these categories, or if holistically I feel great after reading it, I usually give 5 stars. Writers are trying to earn a living, too, so I won’t nitpick … not too much.

This book aced all of those things. I felt a little stunned when I finished. Sure, as the cliche goes, I regretted that something so wonderful had to end. The story was fantastic. The complexity of Crouch’s ideas are unparalleled. The ending was perfect, which can really make or break a book.

But I also found myself wanting to be a better citizen. A better human. If you read anything political into that, you’re just wrong. Seems everyone makes everything political these days. This was just a damn fine book.