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Upload
His criminal past catching up with him, a troubled young man seeks escape into digital utopia by uploading his consciousness into a computer -- just as first love casts his life in a new light. In this thrilling near-future science-fiction novel, Mark McClelland explores the immense potential of computer-based consciousness and the philosophical perils of simulated society.
373 pages, ebook
First published September 18, 2012
10 people are currently reading
1468 people want to read
About the author
Mark McClelland
3 books47 followersMark McClelland's debut novel, Upload, is a winner of the ForeWord Reviews 2012 Book of the Year Award in Science Fiction, and was listed among the Best Books of 2014 by Chicago Book Review. He published his second book, Curse of the Healing Kiss, in December of 2019. It's a story of love, trust, and jealousy, told with emotional realism, in a fantasy setting inspired by French fairy tales of the 17th and 18th centuries.
Mark double-majored in Creative Writing and Computer Science at the University of Michigan's Residential College, where he won a Hopwood Award for poetry. He's been coding for money since 1992, and works on fiction and poetry as time allows. He writes in search of truths that defy simple, direct expression, and publishes to share his discoveries with others. He lives in Chicago with his wife, Nancy, and two cats.
Learn more at his author website, stuffbymark.com. Follow him on Twitter (@markproxy), where he mostly shares thoughts on climate change, science news, and politics.
Mark double-majored in Creative Writing and Computer Science at the University of Michigan's Residential College, where he won a Hopwood Award for poetry. He's been coding for money since 1992, and works on fiction and poetry as time allows. He writes in search of truths that defy simple, direct expression, and publishes to share his discoveries with others. He lives in Chicago with his wife, Nancy, and two cats.
Learn more at his author website, stuffbymark.com. Follow him on Twitter (@markproxy), where he mostly shares thoughts on climate change, science news, and politics.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 48 reviews
November 29, 2013
WOW. I LOVED this book. There are so many sides to this book that I could attempt to tackle. But my brain is exhausted from this read. Upload would be a premium selection for any scifi book club.
First there is the issue of ethics. If you could upload a consciousness into virtual reality while simultaneously destroying the physical body, should it be allowed? What if the body was going to die anyhow?
The main character in this novel is a loner. An introverted genius who has joined the Upload project at a local university. He has a past he wishes to escape, but it is that past which created and funded his life. He has plans to upload in the future but all at once, our protagonist is hit from three sides: the Upload project is going to be disbanded because a government committee deemed human upload to be unethical, his criminal past is catching up with him, and finally he discovers real world love for the first time.
Think you know how this book is going to end? You'll be wrong.
This one takes a turn into a virtual reality adventure. Ready Player One meets The Matrix combined with the God complex of The Lawnmower Man.
My analogy to The Lawnmower Man is a little extreme - it isn't that severe. But then again, we don't know the whole story so it might have been more similar than we can imagine. You'll understand when you read the book. There are some parts of the story intentionally missing.
I've read a number of reviews from people who loved the story and the science-fiction, but hated the protagonist. I LOVED Raymond! Sure, he had his character flaws (and some are very dark), but that what makes him such a perfect character for this story. And I'm always a sucker for child geniuses. This is Ender Wiggins as an introvert - hence the Lawnmower Man reference.
Ah, I'm going in circles. Read this book!
First there is the issue of ethics. If you could upload a consciousness into virtual reality while simultaneously destroying the physical body, should it be allowed? What if the body was going to die anyhow?
The main character in this novel is a loner. An introverted genius who has joined the Upload project at a local university. He has a past he wishes to escape, but it is that past which created and funded his life. He has plans to upload in the future but all at once, our protagonist is hit from three sides: the Upload project is going to be disbanded because a government committee deemed human upload to be unethical, his criminal past is catching up with him, and finally he discovers real world love for the first time.
Think you know how this book is going to end? You'll be wrong.
This one takes a turn into a virtual reality adventure. Ready Player One meets The Matrix combined with the God complex of The Lawnmower Man.
My analogy to The Lawnmower Man is a little extreme - it isn't that severe. But then again, we don't know the whole story so it might have been more similar than we can imagine. You'll understand when you read the book. There are some parts of the story intentionally missing.
I've read a number of reviews from people who loved the story and the science-fiction, but hated the protagonist. I LOVED Raymond! Sure, he had his character flaws (and some are very dark), but that what makes him such a perfect character for this story. And I'm always a sucker for child geniuses. This is Ender Wiggins as an introvert - hence the Lawnmower Man reference.
Ah, I'm going in circles. Read this book!
November 12, 2012
Review of Upload by Mark McClelland
By Jim Grisham; Saturday, November 10, 2012
Upload by Mark McClelland is a complex and thought-provoking, yet accessible foray into the life of a brilliant but troubled young man, Raymond Quan, and his quest to escape from a world that has done little to inspire loyalty in the orphaned engineer.
It almost troubles me to call this a story of science fiction – it begins about fifty years from today, but the subject matter seems entirely plausible and may be mirrored in reality much sooner. People in Raymond’s time seek recreation, pleasure, and sometimes analogues of unremarkable everyday life in virtual reality environments that can be programmed with nearly limitless scenarios and environments.
It is not a stretch to see something similar soon coming to pass in our world, a world where many people are already living somewhat virtual lives through social networks and online gaming. If this virtual environment exists and we can interact with it, could we go one step further and live nearly full-time in this environment, extending our lives with machines; perhaps eventually eschewing the human body altogether and become immortal? If we can do such things, should we? While similar topics have been broached many times over the years, both in popular media and in non-fiction, Upload presents a fresh perspective on what could otherwise be a tired subject, in a tangential way to Richard Powers’ acclaimed 1995 work Galatea 2.2 .
The author is not so broad as to leave the reader unfulfilled nor does he express the arrogance to provide a definitive map to the philosophical trails that we must all travel on our own.
The major attributes of Upload that prompted me to write this review are the overall existential and moral questions that the tale ponders. Very generally, what defines life, existence, love, conscience, and happiness? I personally identified with Raymond at several points in the story – this caused me to critically examine my own psyche when he later thought or acted in ways contrary to how I think that I might behave in a similar situation. We are given insight to his growth over the years, and while I thought that the character development was a bit too rushed in the second half of the story, I was still in suspense until the bitter end on what I think is the key question – will Raymond ever be able to connect with other people, and if not, will he care?
In concert with everything I have said above, not only did I finish Upload, I read it during nearly every free moment during less than thirty hours. As the hundreds of unfinished novels on my shelves will jealously attest, such a feat is quite extraordinary for me and is perhaps the greatest endorsement that I have to give.
I anxiously await Mr. McClelland’s next novel. Read Upload – you’ll be glad you did.
By Jim Grisham; Saturday, November 10, 2012
Upload by Mark McClelland is a complex and thought-provoking, yet accessible foray into the life of a brilliant but troubled young man, Raymond Quan, and his quest to escape from a world that has done little to inspire loyalty in the orphaned engineer.
It almost troubles me to call this a story of science fiction – it begins about fifty years from today, but the subject matter seems entirely plausible and may be mirrored in reality much sooner. People in Raymond’s time seek recreation, pleasure, and sometimes analogues of unremarkable everyday life in virtual reality environments that can be programmed with nearly limitless scenarios and environments.
It is not a stretch to see something similar soon coming to pass in our world, a world where many people are already living somewhat virtual lives through social networks and online gaming. If this virtual environment exists and we can interact with it, could we go one step further and live nearly full-time in this environment, extending our lives with machines; perhaps eventually eschewing the human body altogether and become immortal? If we can do such things, should we? While similar topics have been broached many times over the years, both in popular media and in non-fiction, Upload presents a fresh perspective on what could otherwise be a tired subject, in a tangential way to Richard Powers’ acclaimed 1995 work Galatea 2.2 .
The author is not so broad as to leave the reader unfulfilled nor does he express the arrogance to provide a definitive map to the philosophical trails that we must all travel on our own.
The major attributes of Upload that prompted me to write this review are the overall existential and moral questions that the tale ponders. Very generally, what defines life, existence, love, conscience, and happiness? I personally identified with Raymond at several points in the story – this caused me to critically examine my own psyche when he later thought or acted in ways contrary to how I think that I might behave in a similar situation. We are given insight to his growth over the years, and while I thought that the character development was a bit too rushed in the second half of the story, I was still in suspense until the bitter end on what I think is the key question – will Raymond ever be able to connect with other people, and if not, will he care?
In concert with everything I have said above, not only did I finish Upload, I read it during nearly every free moment during less than thirty hours. As the hundreds of unfinished novels on my shelves will jealously attest, such a feat is quite extraordinary for me and is perhaps the greatest endorsement that I have to give.
I anxiously await Mr. McClelland’s next novel. Read Upload – you’ll be glad you did.
December 2, 2012
I thoroughly enjoyed Upload, Mark McClelland’s first novel. In fact, I think I will read it again. There was so much to absorb. Mark painted a vivid picture of life in another world. There were so many details, so many things happening, and so many layers. I could picture Nurania, I could feel the humidity, I could taste the yolos, and I could hear Scorpio whispering in my ear.
Upload is hard to pin down. Yes, it is science fiction, but it is so much more complicated than that. It is a great way to lose yourself in another world. You really feel Raymond’s pain and awkwardness. Who wouldn’t want to escape if they could, to a world of their own making?
I really hope Mark writes a sequel as I was not ready to exit this V world. There was so much more I wanted to know, to understand. I am hoping for a film adaptation, so I can experience Nurania and all that Raymond imagined.
Upload is hard to pin down. Yes, it is science fiction, but it is so much more complicated than that. It is a great way to lose yourself in another world. You really feel Raymond’s pain and awkwardness. Who wouldn’t want to escape if they could, to a world of their own making?
I really hope Mark writes a sequel as I was not ready to exit this V world. There was so much more I wanted to know, to understand. I am hoping for a film adaptation, so I can experience Nurania and all that Raymond imagined.
December 3, 2012
Like Neil Stephenson’s Snow Crash and Richard K. Morgan’s Altered Carbon, Upload is fast paced and full of action, a story-noire set in a not too distant dystopian society.
Have you ever had a problem you wish you could run away from in hopes that it would just go away? Raymond finds himself in a situation where he not only wants to run from his myriad of problems, but he has also devised a way in which he can just ‘disappear’ and leave everything—and everyone— far behind.
As a young boy, he was essentially orphaned and spent most of his adolescent years growing up in state orphanages and group homes. He had no parental guidance and, short of loose supervision, very little adult guidance.
Early on he discovered he had a knack for programming and hacking, skills he later cultivated into both a job and profession. He landed his first job as a young teenager, building and maintaining the robots and computer systems of a wealthy elderly man whose only ambition was to spend every waking and sleeping moment in his VR chamber, held in the embrace of one virtual bimbo or another.
Using his exceptional computer skills, the boy hacks into his boss’s VR chamber and records the man’s every move in an attempt to create the perfect avatar: a computer likeness in the virtual world, indistinguishable from a human.
But then something terrible happens to the old man, and Raymond panics and makes a few...not so perfect…decisions.
Fast forward 9 years and Raymond, now on his own, has landed the perfect job: working in a university computer research laboratory— the old man very much in the past and at the back of Raymond’s mind.
Always a loner and never having experience love in any form, Raymond has devised a method to escape it all. The lab in which he works has developed a method to upload the consciousness of terminal animals, such that the now digitized creatures are unable to distinguish their new virtual realm from their former reality.
Having spent countless hours in the virtual realm, as well as having designed countless VR worlds himself, Raymond longs to shed his body and upload permanently, leaving his worldly cares—and past—behind.
In the middle of it all he discovers the one thing he failed to work into his mathematical equations.
Love.
At the last possible minute, and the worst possible time, Raymond falls for a beautiful co-worker as his hidden past creeps up on him.
Will he be able to pull off the ultimate getaway and escape his past? Or will his new found love help keep him rooted in the real world?
Upload is a well written story that not only tackles the scientific possibility of digitizing consciousness along with the ethical questions that arise with it, but it also asks the question : Can you really run from your past?
~~H. Wardle of 'The Triumph Detective’ series.
Have you ever had a problem you wish you could run away from in hopes that it would just go away? Raymond finds himself in a situation where he not only wants to run from his myriad of problems, but he has also devised a way in which he can just ‘disappear’ and leave everything—and everyone— far behind.
As a young boy, he was essentially orphaned and spent most of his adolescent years growing up in state orphanages and group homes. He had no parental guidance and, short of loose supervision, very little adult guidance.
Early on he discovered he had a knack for programming and hacking, skills he later cultivated into both a job and profession. He landed his first job as a young teenager, building and maintaining the robots and computer systems of a wealthy elderly man whose only ambition was to spend every waking and sleeping moment in his VR chamber, held in the embrace of one virtual bimbo or another.
Using his exceptional computer skills, the boy hacks into his boss’s VR chamber and records the man’s every move in an attempt to create the perfect avatar: a computer likeness in the virtual world, indistinguishable from a human.
But then something terrible happens to the old man, and Raymond panics and makes a few...not so perfect…decisions.
Fast forward 9 years and Raymond, now on his own, has landed the perfect job: working in a university computer research laboratory— the old man very much in the past and at the back of Raymond’s mind.
Always a loner and never having experience love in any form, Raymond has devised a method to escape it all. The lab in which he works has developed a method to upload the consciousness of terminal animals, such that the now digitized creatures are unable to distinguish their new virtual realm from their former reality.
Having spent countless hours in the virtual realm, as well as having designed countless VR worlds himself, Raymond longs to shed his body and upload permanently, leaving his worldly cares—and past—behind.
In the middle of it all he discovers the one thing he failed to work into his mathematical equations.
Love.
At the last possible minute, and the worst possible time, Raymond falls for a beautiful co-worker as his hidden past creeps up on him.
Will he be able to pull off the ultimate getaway and escape his past? Or will his new found love help keep him rooted in the real world?
Upload is a well written story that not only tackles the scientific possibility of digitizing consciousness along with the ethical questions that arise with it, but it also asks the question : Can you really run from your past?
~~H. Wardle of 'The Triumph Detective’ series.
December 10, 2012
This book had me riveted from beginning to end. In Upload, Mark McClelland does what the best science fiction does. He gives the reader an intriguing world in which to consider the big questions, but doesn't try to answer them directly. Through the main character, Raymond, we explore consciousness and conscience, identity and agency, reality and virtuality. Exquisitely well written and edited, this is a book I'll come back to again.
December 6, 2012
My Siamese didn't like it. This book is well written, tight, intriguing, holding one's attention to the point of letting a poor, elderly Siamese lose a night of comfortable sleep.
An inventive plot about a young loner, a not-anywhere-near-perfect protagonist with a facility for computers and a dream and method for eternity within them. Upload crosses computer, social and neurosciences, theology, science fiction and love in a way that left this reader wanting more from this writer.
An inventive plot about a young loner, a not-anywhere-near-perfect protagonist with a facility for computers and a dream and method for eternity within them. Upload crosses computer, social and neurosciences, theology, science fiction and love in a way that left this reader wanting more from this writer.
November 4, 2012
A satisfying blend of hard science fiction and film noir, Upload explores the ramifications of virtual existence against a backdrop of precarious relationships and impending retribution, while building toward a thrilling final act. It made me ponder whether utopia can be found, or dystopia can be avoided, when one has full control of their domain.
December 1, 2012
Upload grabbed my attention early on and wouldn’t let go. Having teenage children, in a society where all YAs seem to live half-way towards the world of McClelland’s main character Raymond, I had no trouble in seeing this as a very near future story. This science fiction contains plenty of technology, but it is anchored firmly in speculative and metaphysical science fiction arenas.
Technology has just arrived at the point when human mental complexity, brain memory and an accurate digital physical copy can be accurately reproduced and uploaded into an electronic world. In other words, total digital maps of all that we are can be transferred into a created environment populated by whatever programmers choose to build. Many of this story’s characters’ lives have become increasingly dominated by “gaming”. Now they can really be part of the game.
This intriguing technology has led Raymond, who lives on the edge of some sort of autism spectrum disorder, to plan to escape from the real world, into his own creation. Thus he hopes to escape both a criminal past, and his expectation of a bleak biological future. Then real world love starts to corrupt Raymond’s plans, through its inevitable psychological disruption. At the same time, political, criminal and police activities are upsetting his timing.
This is a full length eBook of high quality writing. We start with Raymond in an orphanage, which setting aside some of the props could be in the present day. This is a plot that will hold those often put off by science fiction. The reader isn’t expected to anchor themselves in some technological and distant fantasy, but to simply see the technologies we have stretched further. What makes us all tick now is every bit as relevant as what may or may not make us tick in the future. Upload has a satisfactory end, with a tantalizing unresolved plot element that begs a sequel. I am looking forward to McClelland’s future work.
So what faults can I dream up? I can think of none that really caused any grief. Nothing is totally original, is any story ever? Some of the insignificant complexities of the plot seemed to miss me, not that that is anything new. No, I can only dwell on positives. This is a well worthwhile download for a broad readership.
I loved the way that McClelland projected some of our current problems, on a quite feasible trajectory, into the future. We can all relate to this science fiction. I was so easily glided into Raymond’s mind by McClelland’s craft, a mind that has built a battlefield for his own competing hopes and ambitions, a projected mind that became an electronic world, in which many “real” personas and an array of “artificial” ones struggled. We see a man-made world in which man can play at being God, can even play at immortality. Well, at least he can believe in life that can’t be ended by aging, but just possibly can be by having the cleaning bot accidentally turning off the electricity.
Technology has just arrived at the point when human mental complexity, brain memory and an accurate digital physical copy can be accurately reproduced and uploaded into an electronic world. In other words, total digital maps of all that we are can be transferred into a created environment populated by whatever programmers choose to build. Many of this story’s characters’ lives have become increasingly dominated by “gaming”. Now they can really be part of the game.
This intriguing technology has led Raymond, who lives on the edge of some sort of autism spectrum disorder, to plan to escape from the real world, into his own creation. Thus he hopes to escape both a criminal past, and his expectation of a bleak biological future. Then real world love starts to corrupt Raymond’s plans, through its inevitable psychological disruption. At the same time, political, criminal and police activities are upsetting his timing.
This is a full length eBook of high quality writing. We start with Raymond in an orphanage, which setting aside some of the props could be in the present day. This is a plot that will hold those often put off by science fiction. The reader isn’t expected to anchor themselves in some technological and distant fantasy, but to simply see the technologies we have stretched further. What makes us all tick now is every bit as relevant as what may or may not make us tick in the future. Upload has a satisfactory end, with a tantalizing unresolved plot element that begs a sequel. I am looking forward to McClelland’s future work.
So what faults can I dream up? I can think of none that really caused any grief. Nothing is totally original, is any story ever? Some of the insignificant complexities of the plot seemed to miss me, not that that is anything new. No, I can only dwell on positives. This is a well worthwhile download for a broad readership.
I loved the way that McClelland projected some of our current problems, on a quite feasible trajectory, into the future. We can all relate to this science fiction. I was so easily glided into Raymond’s mind by McClelland’s craft, a mind that has built a battlefield for his own competing hopes and ambitions, a projected mind that became an electronic world, in which many “real” personas and an array of “artificial” ones struggled. We see a man-made world in which man can play at being God, can even play at immortality. Well, at least he can believe in life that can’t be ended by aging, but just possibly can be by having the cleaning bot accidentally turning off the electricity.
November 18, 2012
This is one of those books that I really enjoyed in spite of the antihero.
I'm a sucker for alternative reality stories, even more so for well-done dystopia tales.
The dystopia in _Upload_ owes a large debt to _Ready Player One_, with societies addicted to hiding from Reality by retreating into virtual spaces.
More than that, there were quite a few parts of the story which reminded me of Philip K. Dick; it's been awhile since any Sci Fi writer I've read has had that kind of skill, and it is a rare treat.
So why only 4 stars? Technically I'd put this at 4.25 stars because it's better than "really good" but it isn't fantastic.
The protagonist is a horrible person; he does nothing endearing, nothing altruistic. Every action he takes for most of the story is motivated by self-interest. I just couldn't find myself rooting for him. So while the story is great and the concepts fascinating to mull over, I had a sense of remove that kept me from loving the book fully.
Still and all, this is a terrific story and a better one than most of what I've encountered lately.
I'm a sucker for alternative reality stories, even more so for well-done dystopia tales.
The dystopia in _Upload_ owes a large debt to _Ready Player One_, with societies addicted to hiding from Reality by retreating into virtual spaces.
More than that, there were quite a few parts of the story which reminded me of Philip K. Dick; it's been awhile since any Sci Fi writer I've read has had that kind of skill, and it is a rare treat.
So why only 4 stars? Technically I'd put this at 4.25 stars because it's better than "really good" but it isn't fantastic.
The protagonist is a horrible person; he does nothing endearing, nothing altruistic. Every action he takes for most of the story is motivated by self-interest. I just couldn't find myself rooting for him. So while the story is great and the concepts fascinating to mull over, I had a sense of remove that kept me from loving the book fully.
Still and all, this is a terrific story and a better one than most of what I've encountered lately.
November 11, 2013
This book reminded me of a mix between Total Recall and Tron. Our antihero, Raymond is not totally unlikeable. Naturally the crime that he committed had me scratching my head at his decisions, but I also found myself having a degree of sympathy for him.
McClelland's ability to describe not only the technical scenes, but the the many layers of the "created" worlds was exemplary. I am glad that he not only included the flowers and beautiful aspects that one would hope to see in a fantasy world, but the dark and ugly parts that would have to serve as a counterbalance as well. The story is well thought out, eerily projecting what may be possible in our near future. A good mixture of science fiction, morality and love can be found here.
Although I often found myself struggling through some of the more technical passages, I found the story fascinating. I would recommend it to any science fiction fan.
Disclaimer: I received this book from the author free of charge in exchange for an honest review.
McClelland's ability to describe not only the technical scenes, but the the many layers of the "created" worlds was exemplary. I am glad that he not only included the flowers and beautiful aspects that one would hope to see in a fantasy world, but the dark and ugly parts that would have to serve as a counterbalance as well. The story is well thought out, eerily projecting what may be possible in our near future. A good mixture of science fiction, morality and love can be found here.
Although I often found myself struggling through some of the more technical passages, I found the story fascinating. I would recommend it to any science fiction fan.
Disclaimer: I received this book from the author free of charge in exchange for an honest review.
December 29, 2012
Mark and I used to work on the same software-development team. I have to say, I wasn't sure what to expect when I started Upload; no idea about his writing style or ability, and whether he could pull this off. The first chapter or so I still had that bias... a quarter of the way into the book I was sold - the line between Mark the guy I worked with and the story I was immersed in were gone. Halfway in and I couldn't put it down; I spent most of yesterday finishing the book and when it was over I wanted more :) The subject really hit home for me (I play MMOs and virtual worlds are a passion of mine). Mark created multiple worlds in Upload, and I believed in them and wanted more - as a reader that's what I'm looking for. Fantastic job Mark! Color me seriously impressed.
December 27, 2012
Without spoiling too much, I’ll keep this review as general as possible: READ THIS BOOK! It has many themes on many levels, but from an overarching perspective, the author does a magnificent job of shifting the boundary from where science fiction ends and reality begins. Much like Orwell’s vision of Big Brother’s role in society in 1984 (albeit, he was off by ~25 years), this author’s vision of what reality will be in 50+ years is incredibly believable….and frightening. While some of the characters wish to use technological advances to improve life, Raymond uses it for selfish reasons, and the book’s ending leads me to believe that a sequel might be forthcoming. I hope I’m right.
September 23, 2012
"Upload" is, in my opinion, a great example of the best style of science fiction: the kind that uses futuristic gadgetry and other worlds to teach us something about our inner selves; to reach us in a way we generally don't appreciate when stark reality isn't couched in fascinating layers of alternate-universe story. I loved the plot and the theme, and felt the anti-hero was worth the emotional investment. I'm already looking forward to reading about the first human brain upload in a science magazine or newspaper headlines in the not-too-distant future.
October 7, 2012
My wife and I enjoyed reading this aloud to each other. The author has created an interesting world with a great blend of not-too-far-in-the-future technologies. From the start, I felt I understood Raymond's plight and motivations. Great twists at the end left me waiting for a sequel.
December 31, 2012
An interesting, mind-bending read. Virtual reality becomes reader reality as one is drawn in by the author's deftly spun tale of intrigue in cyberspace. Age old themes of murder, lust and love meet science fiction and leave the reader eager for a deeper look into this futuristic world.
May 18, 2013
Awesome sci-fi, cyberpunk, dystopian novel. This ranks up there with Ready Player One.
April 8, 2013
Upload by Mark McClelland is a great piece of science fiction.
The main thing that struck me was how smart this book was. Mr. McClelland uses his background in computer science and software deftly making the main character Raymond's prowess all the more feasible. The story made me see why there were connections being made to Ready Player One, but in the end it felt like a much more mature and serious version.
The book is cut into two parts, and they had very different feels while keeping the same important aspects. Raymond's emotions, the action, the questions the reader and the character have are all well handled and can be seen throughout.
My only problem toward the end was the conclusion. I understood it well enough, but it seemed to start getting away from me. It felt like McClelland wanted to write the message, but needed to throw in another conflict in there to better convey it, and didn't develop it as well as he could.
That said, the message the book contains is extremely interesting and really made the book as excellent as it is.
The main thing that struck me was how smart this book was. Mr. McClelland uses his background in computer science and software deftly making the main character Raymond's prowess all the more feasible. The story made me see why there were connections being made to Ready Player One, but in the end it felt like a much more mature and serious version.
The book is cut into two parts, and they had very different feels while keeping the same important aspects. Raymond's emotions, the action, the questions the reader and the character have are all well handled and can be seen throughout.
My only problem toward the end was the conclusion. I understood it well enough, but it seemed to start getting away from me. It felt like McClelland wanted to write the message, but needed to throw in another conflict in there to better convey it, and didn't develop it as well as he could.
That said, the message the book contains is extremely interesting and really made the book as excellent as it is.
November 22, 2016
Interesting and Confusing
I'm not sure how I feel about this one. I was a little bored with the first half and although I'm pretty good with technology, some of the computer stuff was over my head. The second half, after Raymond uploaded, was more interesting and it kept my attention. The story was well imagined and well detailed. Some of the situations were chilling, as they seem plausible in the not do distant future. I was disappointed at the ending as I wanted more of a conclusion.
I'm not sure how I feel about this one. I was a little bored with the first half and although I'm pretty good with technology, some of the computer stuff was over my head. The second half, after Raymond uploaded, was more interesting and it kept my attention. The story was well imagined and well detailed. Some of the situations were chilling, as they seem plausible in the not do distant future. I was disappointed at the ending as I wanted more of a conclusion.
October 29, 2012
This was one of the coolest reading discoveries I have ever made. Intriguing and thought-provoking to the point that I am still thinking about it weeks later, but also hard to put down, cover to cover. McClelland's first novel feels like an inspired brainchild that must have been long in the planning and writing. I can't wait for his next one! If you like reading, do yourself a favor and get this book. It doesn't matter what genres you like, this one will please you no matter your tastes!
December 9, 2012
I had such a good time reading Upload! I found the story to be immediately engaging and appreciate how clearly I was brought into the various digital landscapes. The whole story was captivating with some wonderful twists at the end. I've already passed the book along to a number of friends and hope more pick it up on my recommendation.
July 24, 2014
I got this book as a Goodreads First Reads. Which was awesome to begin with, but then I read it... Wow. This is one of the best books I have read in a long time. While the story is complete, the end left me hanging and I hope there is more.
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August 17, 2018
For some reason I seem to have read a lot of "in the computer" books lately: The Bobiverse series by Dennis E. Taylor, the Magic 2.0 series by Scott Meyer, and Ready Player One. This looked to be a good fit in that group.
It got off to a great start, and I was enjoying it, right up to the point where Raymond uploaded. Then the story went to crap. Oh, and it is not a spoiler to say that Raymond uploaded. I know the first half of the book is full of suspense about whether he will upload or not, but there really is no question. The book is titled Upload. It is about a character who works at a company that researches uploading. He is obsessed with uploading himself. There is no way this character is NOT going to upload in this book.
Before he uploaded, the story was going great. I slowly see that the main character go from nice guy to victim, to a bit of a jerk, to negligent, to a possible criminal, to almost villain. I even found myself still rooting for this questionable character to get away with his plan.
After he uploaded, the book got dark and twisted. I guess it was trying to explore his dark side and inner motives and all that, and to see what a life focused just on one's self would lead to. But I lost all the joy of reading it. I just wanted the book to be over. It dragged on. When it finally finished, it was a bit of a cliffhanger ending, but I didn't even care. I was just glad I was done. I can't recommend this book.
Here's a line I really liked:
living in a world where he didn't have to fit in—where he could make the world fit him.
I feel that summed up much of what the story was about, and served as a good warning too.
I will say that I feel the author is a very good writer, I just don't like where he decided to take this story.
It got off to a great start, and I was enjoying it, right up to the point where Raymond uploaded. Then the story went to crap. Oh, and it is not a spoiler to say that Raymond uploaded. I know the first half of the book is full of suspense about whether he will upload or not, but there really is no question. The book is titled Upload. It is about a character who works at a company that researches uploading. He is obsessed with uploading himself. There is no way this character is NOT going to upload in this book.
Before he uploaded, the story was going great. I slowly see that the main character go from nice guy to victim, to a bit of a jerk, to negligent, to a possible criminal, to almost villain. I even found myself still rooting for this questionable character to get away with his plan.
After he uploaded, the book got dark and twisted. I guess it was trying to explore his dark side and inner motives and all that, and to see what a life focused just on one's self would lead to. But I lost all the joy of reading it. I just wanted the book to be over. It dragged on. When it finally finished, it was a bit of a cliffhanger ending, but I didn't even care. I was just glad I was done. I can't recommend this book.
Here's a line I really liked:
living in a world where he didn't have to fit in—where he could make the world fit him.
I feel that summed up much of what the story was about, and served as a good warning too.
I will say that I feel the author is a very good writer, I just don't like where he decided to take this story.
November 29, 2017
Conceptually cool but uneven in execution
I love reading about anything relating to the Singularity or uploading of the human brain. The book's concept fascinated me, and for a while the story did, too. But the writing started to feel forced and hollow, with a lot of circuitous pathways. I was ready for it to be over before I got to the end, though I don't regret reading it. A good first try that probably could have used more developmental and substantive editing.
I love reading about anything relating to the Singularity or uploading of the human brain. The book's concept fascinated me, and for a while the story did, too. But the writing started to feel forced and hollow, with a lot of circuitous pathways. I was ready for it to be over before I got to the end, though I don't regret reading it. A good first try that probably could have used more developmental and substantive editing.
July 10, 2017
Bending and twisting genres to suit, this was a creative, well-paced and very readable story. Things crazily intensified after virtualisation and I'm afraid I almost lost track of who was who, the ending, though well-formed in the sense of ending the story, left me a little bereft! Overall, a solid VR read. I'd come back for more.
March 17, 2018
Missed its true goal
There were a lot of missed opportunities in this narrative to make a tighter weave of characters and events. This could have been a great coming of age crime novel.
Also the writing of women was purely from the role of caregiver/servant/manic pixie dream girl. The rest of the cast was there to.fill their one note.
There were a lot of missed opportunities in this narrative to make a tighter weave of characters and events. This could have been a great coming of age crime novel.
Also the writing of women was purely from the role of caregiver/servant/manic pixie dream girl. The rest of the cast was there to.fill their one note.
November 26, 2025
The first 2/3s of the book moved along. The final 1/3 of the book? What the f***? I was confused most of the time, there was a lot happening but we really flew through it and then, ending. The ending!! I had to make sure that really was the last page.
December 2, 2013
In Upload by Mark McClelland, the main character, Raymond, is a teenager living in a group home in 2060. He has a job working for a wealthy 85 year old man, Nicholas Tate, who had made his money through insider trading tech stocks. Tate, like many people, spends most of his time in a V Chamber, living in a virtual world of his own creation. Some people, like Raymond's father, become so V addicted, that they can't live life in the real world. Most people have a virtual presence, but still live a real world life, with a job and a family.
While exploring how to improve his own virtual world, something goes wrong, and Raymond is convinced that he could be charged with a serious real world crime. We fast forward to 2069, and Raymond is working for a company working on an uploading project. The company is attempting to upload a monkey into the virtual world. The result would be that the monkey would die in the real world, but would live forever, and enjoy his life, if his brain was uploaded into the virtual world first.
McClelland drops the bombshells of Raymond's crime as though they were breadcrumbs. He give us details so shocking that you re-read to be sure that you have it right, and then he quickly moves on, as though those specifics are no big deal. Soon, someone else is following the trail, and Raymond begins to consider whether he should upload his brain into the virtual world in order to escape a reality that is closing in quickly.
Raymond is an odd, but well developed character. He lacks social skills due to being raised in a group home and being so focused on his virtual world. At his upload company, Raymond meets a woman and begins to fall in love, only to stumble on the intricacies of normal social interaction. He tries to fill his virtual world with everything that he could possibly need in case he were ever to actually upload. However he is so overconfident in his skills and naive that he overlooks the obvious.
Upload is a good book, exploring a really interesting concept. If we could create a world and move into it, would it be better? What would we forget? What would we get sick of? Do we need our bodies in order to live a fulfilling life? If I was writing the story, I would have resolved a few of the issues differently, but McClelland also thought of things that I would never have considered.
I would recommend this book to anyone who likes technology focused sci-fi, and especially to any sci-fi lovers who live in Ann Arbor or attended U of M. McClelland is a U of M graduate, and much of the story is set in the Ann Arbor area.
To read more of this review, please click here: http://sonotarunner.blogspot.com/2013...
While exploring how to improve his own virtual world, something goes wrong, and Raymond is convinced that he could be charged with a serious real world crime. We fast forward to 2069, and Raymond is working for a company working on an uploading project. The company is attempting to upload a monkey into the virtual world. The result would be that the monkey would die in the real world, but would live forever, and enjoy his life, if his brain was uploaded into the virtual world first.
McClelland drops the bombshells of Raymond's crime as though they were breadcrumbs. He give us details so shocking that you re-read to be sure that you have it right, and then he quickly moves on, as though those specifics are no big deal. Soon, someone else is following the trail, and Raymond begins to consider whether he should upload his brain into the virtual world in order to escape a reality that is closing in quickly.
Raymond is an odd, but well developed character. He lacks social skills due to being raised in a group home and being so focused on his virtual world. At his upload company, Raymond meets a woman and begins to fall in love, only to stumble on the intricacies of normal social interaction. He tries to fill his virtual world with everything that he could possibly need in case he were ever to actually upload. However he is so overconfident in his skills and naive that he overlooks the obvious.
Upload is a good book, exploring a really interesting concept. If we could create a world and move into it, would it be better? What would we forget? What would we get sick of? Do we need our bodies in order to live a fulfilling life? If I was writing the story, I would have resolved a few of the issues differently, but McClelland also thought of things that I would never have considered.
I would recommend this book to anyone who likes technology focused sci-fi, and especially to any sci-fi lovers who live in Ann Arbor or attended U of M. McClelland is a U of M graduate, and much of the story is set in the Ann Arbor area.
To read more of this review, please click here: http://sonotarunner.blogspot.com/2013...
December 2, 2013
This book is really tricky to review. It's separated into two portions. The first portion I found dry and dull. I had to force myself to continue reading it for two full weeks before I finished it. I wasn't interested in any of the characters or what was going on with them. I'll admit a little fascination with the technical part of the world and the projects they're working on. It's easy to see their world and imagine we'll be there in a matter of years.
But, here's the tricky part. Once I reached the second portion of the book, I couldn't stop reading! I am amazed at Mark's work here. Not only has he created a digital Utopia and figured out how to move people to it, but he's created this intense character study. If you have a person's life and change one tiny aspect, how much does it change the person? What if we could all just reboot ourselves from a save point? I think this second portion of the book is one of the best science fiction stories I've read. It's in depth and unreal while at the same time with a huge portion of plausibility.
I gave it an immense amount of thought. The first portion of the book is mostly stage setting, but it really is necessary for the second part of the book. As I was reading, I found my mind jumping back to section one and thinking, 'Oohh! That's why that mattered and I had to suffer through it!' It's sort of an 'eat your vegetables so you can have dessert' thing. Even though I didn't enjoy the first part of the book, it was basic and necessary to the second part, which I loved!
Both parts working together end up to be a great read that will stick with you and have you thinking long after you've finished it. I'll admit it's pretty rough getting through the first part, but it's definitely worth it.
But, here's the tricky part. Once I reached the second portion of the book, I couldn't stop reading! I am amazed at Mark's work here. Not only has he created a digital Utopia and figured out how to move people to it, but he's created this intense character study. If you have a person's life and change one tiny aspect, how much does it change the person? What if we could all just reboot ourselves from a save point? I think this second portion of the book is one of the best science fiction stories I've read. It's in depth and unreal while at the same time with a huge portion of plausibility.
I gave it an immense amount of thought. The first portion of the book is mostly stage setting, but it really is necessary for the second part of the book. As I was reading, I found my mind jumping back to section one and thinking, 'Oohh! That's why that mattered and I had to suffer through it!' It's sort of an 'eat your vegetables so you can have dessert' thing. Even though I didn't enjoy the first part of the book, it was basic and necessary to the second part, which I loved!
Both parts working together end up to be a great read that will stick with you and have you thinking long after you've finished it. I'll admit it's pretty rough getting through the first part, but it's definitely worth it.
October 21, 2023
I was quite surprised to see that this book was so different from its TV show counterpart on Amazon Prime Video. It seems the show took small details here and there and created a whole new storyline, similar to how Steven Spielberg adapted "Ready Player One" by Ernest Cline to film. This being said, though, I thoroughly enjoyed Mark McClelland's "Upload."
The book is about an intellectual who struggles with socialization. This difficulty has led him to prefer virtual space and time over what is real. Though in his eyes, what is virtual IS what is real, or at least that is what he so deeply wants to believe. As a result, he dedicates his life to the development of a technology that can upload the human conscious onto a computer, thereby extending one's life and, consequently, altering the meaning of death and afterlife. It is not without challenge, however, that he attempts this, as romantic intrigue enters his life of research and quickly complicates his plans.
This science fiction novel is a thrilling and suspenseful look at the human psyche. It explores themes of love and desire, mortality, ethics, corruption, self-sabotage, and even whispers about toxic masculinity and mental health. It is a study of human righteousness in the computer science and technology industry; it challenges the meaning of life and death, and the limits that humans have in both.
I highly recommend this book! It is excellently and intelligently written, with world building that verges on cinematic and character development so visceral that it joins the reader to the protagonist in his relateable, personal reflections on life.
My overall rating is 4.5/5 stars!
The book is about an intellectual who struggles with socialization. This difficulty has led him to prefer virtual space and time over what is real. Though in his eyes, what is virtual IS what is real, or at least that is what he so deeply wants to believe. As a result, he dedicates his life to the development of a technology that can upload the human conscious onto a computer, thereby extending one's life and, consequently, altering the meaning of death and afterlife. It is not without challenge, however, that he attempts this, as romantic intrigue enters his life of research and quickly complicates his plans.
This science fiction novel is a thrilling and suspenseful look at the human psyche. It explores themes of love and desire, mortality, ethics, corruption, self-sabotage, and even whispers about toxic masculinity and mental health. It is a study of human righteousness in the computer science and technology industry; it challenges the meaning of life and death, and the limits that humans have in both.
I highly recommend this book! It is excellently and intelligently written, with world building that verges on cinematic and character development so visceral that it joins the reader to the protagonist in his relateable, personal reflections on life.
My overall rating is 4.5/5 stars!
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