Here are 100 books that Upgrade fans have personally recommended if you like
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I have always been fascinated with morally grey or complex characters. For me, the sign of a great novel is one where you find yourself talking about the characters as if they were real people you know. I want to experience something when I read, and characters that are flawed, imperfect, or morally grey have always intrigued me because they can take me to places I havenât (or wouldnât!) go myself. And, of course, they provide ample grounds for fun discussions with my friends! Sci-fi apocalyptic fiction is fertile ground for such characters, so Iâve tried to pick books you may not have heard of. I hope you like them!
This was a book club choice, and as soon as I finished it, I bought the other two books in the trilogy. I literally couldnât put them down! Another post-apocalypse for this list, this time, the story is told through the memories of Jimmy/Snowman. But make no mistake, the novel is about Crake, a brilliant, lonely, and terrifying young man.
As Jimmy tries to recover his past, shadowed by the gentle, green-skinned âchildren of Crake,â he recalls the events leading up to the end of humanity. This is very much a mystery, so I must be careful what I reveal, but if you are all about misguided genius and hubris, you will adore this novel. Needless to say, with an author like Atwood, the writing is superb.Â
By the author of THE HANDMAID'S TALE and ALIAS GRACE
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Pigs might not fly but they are strangely altered. So, for that matter, are wolves and racoons. A man, once named Jimmy, lives in a tree, wrapped in old bedsheets, now calls himself Snowman. The voice of Oryx, the woman he loved, teasingly haunts him. And the green-eyed Children of Crake are, for some reason, his responsibility.
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Praise for Oryx and Crake:
'In Jimmy, Atwood has created a great character: a tragic-comic artist of the future, part buffoon, part Orpheus. An adman who's a sad man; a jealousâŚ
The Victorian mansion, Evenmere, is the mechanism that runs the universe.
The lamps must be lit, or the stars die. The clocks must be wound, or Time ceases. The Balance between Order and Chaos must be preserved, or Existence crumbles.
Appointed the Steward of Evenmere, Carter Anderson must learn theâŚ
Iâve always been fascinated by the razor-thin line between innovation and disasterâwhere progress often conceals a darker potential. As a Gen-Xer who grew up questioning authority, speculative fiction became my outlet for exploring these precarious themes. Now, as an author, I channel that curiosity into stories that push the boundaries of ethical ambition, forcing us to confront the unsettling truths behind our technological dreams. This list reflects my deep love for sci-fi thrillers that donât just entertain but challenge us to examine the hidden costs of our relentless pursuit of progress.
This book didnât just fascinate me; it shattered my understanding of utopia. Croninâs Prospera seemed idyllic, but as I read, a gnawing unease grew. Like the protagonist, Proctor, I found myself grappling with the realization that perfection might come at a devastating cost.
The unraveling of Prosperaâs facade forced me to reflect on the illusions we cling to in our own society. Croninâs exploration of memory, loss, and the price of paradise stuck with me, making me ponder the lies we tell ourselves.
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER ⢠âNext to impossible to put down . . . exciting, mysterious, and totally satisfying.ââSTEPHEN KING  From the New York Times bestselling author of The Passage comes a riveting standalone novel about a group of survivors on a hidden island utopiaâwhere the truth isn't what it seems.
Founded by the mysterious genius known as the Designer, the archipelago of Prospera lies hidden from the horrors of a deteriorating outside world. In this island paradise, Prosperaâs lucky citizens enjoy long, fulfilling lives until the monitors embedded in their forearms, meant to measure their physical health and psychologicalâŚ
Iâve always been fascinated by the razor-thin line between innovation and disasterâwhere progress often conceals a darker potential. As a Gen-Xer who grew up questioning authority, speculative fiction became my outlet for exploring these precarious themes. Now, as an author, I channel that curiosity into stories that push the boundaries of ethical ambition, forcing us to confront the unsettling truths behind our technological dreams. This list reflects my deep love for sci-fi thrillers that donât just entertain but challenge us to examine the hidden costs of our relentless pursuit of progress.
This book blindsided me with its explosive blend of ancient mysteries and cutting-edge science. I was captivated by how Riddle wove together seemingly disparate elementsâa structure in Antarctica, autism research in Jakartaâinto a thrilling quest that challenges everything I thought I knew about human origins.
The ethical implications of these discoveries drove me to research and question long-held beliefs. This thriller didnât just keep me up all night reading; it left me eager for the sequel.
Off the coast of Antarctica, a research vessel discovers a mysterious structure buried deep within an iceberg. Entombed for thousands of years, it can't possibly be man-made. But a secretive and ruthless cabal think they know what it is... and what it means.
The Immari have spent millennia preparing for the return of humanity's ancient enemy. Faced with an extinction-level threat, they believe mankind's only chance of survival will mean sacrificing 99.9% of the planet's population. It's a price the Immari are prepared to pay.
Geneticist Kate Warner and intelligence agent David ValeâŚ
The Guardian of the Palace is the first novel in a modern fantasy series set in a New York City where magic is realâbut hidden, suppressed, and dangerous when exposed.
When an ancient magic begins to leak into the world, a small group of unlikely allies is forced to actâŚ
Iâve always been fascinated by the razor-thin line between innovation and disasterâwhere progress often conceals a darker potential. As a Gen-Xer who grew up questioning authority, speculative fiction became my outlet for exploring these precarious themes. Now, as an author, I channel that curiosity into stories that push the boundaries of ethical ambition, forcing us to confront the unsettling truths behind our technological dreams. This list reflects my deep love for sci-fi thrillers that donât just entertain but challenge us to examine the hidden costs of our relentless pursuit of progress.
This book hijacked my nights and rewired my thinking about our technological future. As a tech enthusiast, I was fascinated by Liam Dunneâs supercomputer-augmented mind. But it was Oliver Scottâs terrifying genius that truly got under my skin.
The ethical dilemmas sparked heated debates with friends, and the narrative had me oscillating between awe and dread. This thriller is a rare blend of entertainment and deep questioningâa literary rollercoaster that kept me thinking long after the last page.
A power-mad genius with the ultimate secret. Can anyone stop him? The gripping thriller by the author whose books have sold over three million copies.
âBrilliant.â âA masterpiece.â âTranscendent.â âMind-bending.â âA must read.â âRiveting.â "The best ending I've ever read." "Amazing, remarkable, enthralling, and enlightening." "Action packed and filled with stunning surprises."
Oliver Scott is the reclusive genius behind countless world-changing breakthroughs. But how does he innovate at such a furious pace? And while most hail him as a savior, what if heâs actually the most dangerous tyrant humanity has ever seen? A man who will stop at nothing toâŚ
As a child, I spent all my summers in a rural environment outside the metropolitan area. This "immersion" in nature shaped my interests and hobbies, centering them on different aspects of watching and understanding life. Expectedly therefore, my formal education also focused on biology, biochemistry, and cell biology. Being a scientist is not just a profession; it is a calling, a profession, and a hobby. Biology booksâstrictly dry and professional and more engaging and emotionalârepresent an inherent aspect of a scientist's life and place his/her research in a wide context of human society. This list includes several such books which I would like to share with you.
This book expands my initial interest in GMO plants to other, very diverse fields of biotechnology. I find it useful and revealing for a wide spectrum of readers, from professionals to students to general readers, seeking to understand the general principles and approaches that underlie biotechnological developments that affect our lives, from plant and animal GMOs to vaccines.
Biotechnology for Beginners, Third Edition presents the latest developments in the evolving field of biotechnology which has grown to such an extent over the past few years that increasing numbers of professional's work in areas that are directly impacted by the science. This book offers an exciting and colorful overview of biotechnology for professionals and students in a wide array of the life sciences, including genetics, immunology, biochemistry, agronomy and animal science. This book will also appeals to lay readers who do not have a scientific background but are interested in an entertaining and informative introduction to the key aspectsâŚ
Iâm a British science editor and author of a string of books on the scientific, medical, and social implications of advances in genetics research. I trained as a geneticist but found more personal satisfaction wielding a pen rather than a pipette. Iâm especially drawn to science stories that have medical implications for the public and a strong narrative thread. Prior to writing Editing Humanity, I covered the race for the BRCA1 breast cancer gene (Breakthrough), the Human Genome Project (Cracking the Genome), and the rise of personal genomics (The $1,000 Genome). Iâm currently writing a biography of sickle cell disease, arguably the most famous genetic mutation in human history.
A Crack in Creation was the first mainstream book that conveyed the extraordinary potential and ethical peril of the new genome editing technology, CRISPR. And who better to write it than the scientist who co-developed the âgenetic scissorsâ, Professor Jennifer Doudna (who won the Nobel Prize three years later).
The book is also notable for the candid manner in which Doudna discusses her own nightmares about the potential misuse of CRISPR â fears that erupted one year later in the âCRISPR babiesâ scandal.
BY THE WINNER OF THE 2020 NOBEL PRIZE IN CHEMISTRY | Finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize   âA powerful mix of science and ethics . . . This book is required reading for every concerned citizenâthe material it covers should be discussed in schools, colleges, and universities throughout the country.ââ New York Review of Books  Not since the atomic bomb has a technology so alarmed its inventors that they warned the world about its use. That is, until 2015, when biologist Jennifer Doudna called for a worldwide moratorium on the use of the gene-editing tool CRISPRâa revolutionary newâŚ
Aury and Scott travel to the Finger Lakes in New Yorkâs wine country to get to the bottom of the mysterious happenings at the Songscape Winery. Disturbed furniture and curious noises are one thing, but when a customer winds up dead, itâs time to dig into the details and seeâŚ
K. Lee Lerner is an author, editor, and producer of science and factual media, including four editions of the Gale Encyclopedia of Science and the Encyclopedia of Espionage, Intelligence, and Security. His expansive writing on science, climate change, disasters, disease, and global issues has earned multiple book and media awards, including books named Outstanding Academic Titles. An aviator, sailor, and member of the National Press Club in Washington, his two global circumnavigations and portfolio of work in challenging and dangerous environments reveal a visceral drive to explore and investigate. With a public intellectual's broad palate and a scientist's regard for evidence-based analysis, Lerner dissects and accessibly explains complex issues.
Sally Smith Hughes' highly readable tale of the genesis of Genentech provides a no-holds-barred look into the gritty details of how biotech firms are born. Hughes reveals how scientists, lawyers, and venture capitalists work together and collide in a crucible of competing disciplines and desires to produce transformative advances. For those interesting in biotech entrepreneurship or simply investing in biotech, this book offers key foundational insights into the industry.
In the fall of 1980, Genentech, Inc., a little-known California genetic engineering company, became the overnight darling of Wall Street, raising over $38 million in its initial public stock offering. Lacking marketed products or substantial profit, the firm nonetheless saw its share price escalate from $35 to $89 in the first few minutes of trading, at that point the largest gain in stock market history. Coming at a time of economic recession and declining technological competitiveness in the United States, the event provoked banner headlines and ignited a period of speculative frenzy over biotechnology as a revolutionary means for creatingâŚ
Each book has its own story to tell, so there is not one particular book I love. Reading books that aren't my usual reads is something I enjoy doing. You may enjoy the following books, which I have listed. It made me think differently than I usually do, and as with most books I read, it will enhance your writing. Throughout my childhood, I always enjoyed reading to escape reality and get lost in a world of fantasy. As a result, I began writing science fiction that resembles me that is getting away.
We meet Phoenix, a woman grown in New York's Tower 7.
Even though she's only two years old, she has the mind and body of an adult, along with superhuman abilities. The death of her lover under dubious circumstances proves that Tower 7 is less of a home and more of a prison for Phoenix. She escapes to Ghana, where she learns brutal truths about colonialism and vows to fight back. Phoenix's fight for justice is electrifying.
A fiery spirit dances from the pages of the Great Book. She brings the aroma of scorched sand and ozone. She has a story to tell....
The Book of Phoenix is a unique work of magical futurism. A prequel to the highly acclaimed, World Fantasy Award-winning novel, Who Fears Death, it features the rise of another of Nnedi Okorafor's powerful, memorable, superhuman women.
Phoenix was grown and raised among other genetic experiments in New York's Tower 7. She is an "accelerated woman"-only two years old but with the body and mind of an adult, Phoenix's abilities far exceed those ofâŚ
I have always been fascinated by the workings of the human mind.What instincts and influences make us who we are? This Alien Shore grew out of research I was doing into atypical neurological conditions.It depicts a society that has abandoned the concept of âneurotypicalâ, embracing every variant of human perspective as valid and valuable. One of my main characters, Kio Masada, is autistic, and that gives him a unique perspective on computer security that others cannot provide. What might such a man accomplish, in a world where his condition is embraced and celebrated? Good science fiction challenges our definition of âOther,â and asks what it really means to be human, all in the context of an exciting story.
A planet in its equivalent of the stone age is passing through a galactic debris field. An alien stargazer realizes that sooner or later some object will strike the planet and destroy it. The only hope of survival his species has is to leave the planet before that happens. But the concept is a mere abstraction to his people, the equivalent of a Neanderthal saying âwe need to travel to the moon,â and the task is further complicated by the fact that their technology is biological in nature, focused on the manipulation of living tissue. It is hard to imagine how such technology could ever produce a spaceship.Â
The novel--structured as a series of novellas-- follows the development of a fascinating alien species from its primitive roots to an age of high technology, each chapter focusing on a different time period. Always the stargazerâs warning is proclaimed by a fewâŚ
Traces the development over milennia of a civilization of an unusual alien species, whose sense of humor, resourceful adaptibility, and metalworking skills are the strengths and the hope of their society
Magical realism meets the magic of Christmas in this mix of Jewish, New Testament, and Santa storiesâall reenacted in an urban psychiatric hospital!
On locked ward 5C4, Josh, a patient with many similarities to Jesus, is hospitalized concurrently with Nick, a patient with many similarities to Santa. The two argueâŚ
Walking the rims of remote crater lakes in Uganda to map a tiny piece of terra incognita was a big childhood dream coming true. I then went from a geography master to studies of conflicts, development & journalism. This brought me to the DRC, India, and Nepal, where I covered war, aid, and revolution. Since 2009 I combine professional environmentalism with freelance journalism, publishing books, and giving lectures. With a great global team of researchers and activists I co-created the largest database of environmental conflicts in the world, which doubled as fieldwork for my book Frontlines.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading nine of Westerman's books, some of them twice. This is literary contemporary history. Aside from a place, a period, and a prism through which to look, Frank combines award-winning literary skills with a journalistic journey. His stories are both big and small, personal and universal. Here he follows a fascinating 20th-century journey of the so-called âmost pureâ horses of Europe. Through that story, you will find yourself cantering through the nature versus nurture debate that defined much of Europeâs recent history. On top of all that, I also recognise his journey through life, from his studies to âdevelopmentâ work to foreign journalism to literary non-fiction writing on the big issues at the people & places interface.
' "When you touch a Lipizzaner, you're touching history," Westerman was once told. His elegant book offers fascinating proof' Financial Times
Frank Westerman explores the history of Lipizzaners, an extraordinary troop of pedigree horses bred as personal mounts for the Emperor of Austria-Hungary. Following the bloodlines of the stud book, he reconstructs the story of four generations of imperial steed as they survive the fall of the Habsburg Empire, two world wars and the insane breeding experiments conducted under Hitler, Stalin and Ceausescu.
But what begins as a fairytale becomes a chronicle of the quest for racial purity. Carrying theâŚ
