Laeci read and liked Jeffrey's review of Next:

" Next by Michael Crichton is a ridiculous, silly book. But I bet a lot of people said the same thing about Brave New World, Dune, The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, Stranger in a Strange Land, and 1984 when they came out. No, Next can not hold a candl...more Next by Michael Crichton is a ridiculous, silly book. But I bet a lot of people said the same thing about Brave New World, Dune, The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, Stranger in a Strange Land, and 1984 when they came out. No, Next can not hold a candle to these science fiction classics, but it is the same kind of book, and it is poignant for its time. The fact is, Crichton writes satire, and the general perception of him does not accept this. Next is both silly and excellent. More importantly, I learned quite a bit from reading it. I did not know that genes can be patented, human tissues can be used in any way by whomever happens to end up with them, and that gene testing results can be hidden in such a way that deaths have been covered up because they were "trade secrets". Crichton shows the extreme possibilities of these insane laws. In Next, a man has a gene that could be a groundbreaking cure, but when the company that has the patent for it is sabotaged and loses all its samples it believes it is within its rights to hire bounty hunters to track down this man's daughter and grandson and surgically take some of their genes since they are the company's property. This is just one story that intersects the others in Next (Oh, by the way, there is a transgenic chimpanzee-human in the book). Will it happen? Probably not. But do we only produce children in test tubes like in Brave New World? Have we colonized the moon like in The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress? And while surveillance gets scarier and scarier are we actually being watched all the time like in 1984? No. Satire, by definition, is trafficking in exaggeration to warn people about where we are going. Crichton might be mentioned more frequently in a list that includes John Grisham and Danielle Steel, then with the likes of Aldous Huxley and George Orwell, but he is a satirical science fiction writer, and a pretty good one. His popularity and high quantity output is making people think he is for thirteen-year-old boys only. He is better than that. Give the man a chance. Start with Next. (less) "

Laeci read and liked Kathy's review of Next:

"This was riveting! The book is about all of the possibilities of gene therapy and genetic engineering and it blends fact and fiction in clever ways that leave the reader with the unnerving sense that some of the fictional story lines are probably ha...more This was riveting! The book is about all of the possibilities of gene therapy and genetic engineering and it blends fact and fiction in clever ways that leave the reader with the unnerving sense that some of the fictional story lines are probably happening somewhere in the world right now. It also gives a strong sense of just how uncontrolled this field is and what ethical questions arise if a person allows a company to "purchase" their cell line...or a scientist decides to insert human genes into an animal fetus and create a "transgenic" animal...or someone claims to have isolated a particular gene that could cure a disease. The behind the scenes buying and selling of gene patents between universities and/or drug companies is downright scary. It doesn't take too much of a leap of imagination to visualize very muddy ethical lines between a scientific pursuit of knowledge and the pursuit of the almighty dollar. I couldn't put it down!(less) "

Laeci read and liked Rachel's review of Next:

" Michael Crichton's Next is a tense thriller that makes the reader quite nervous. The fact that Crichton is well known for his well-researched books, and a glance at the bibliography, makes me feel a bit uncomfortable about genetic engineering in sci...more Michael Crichton's Next is a tense thriller that makes the reader quite nervous. The fact that Crichton is well known for his well-researched books, and a glance at the bibliography, makes me feel a bit uncomfortable about genetic engineering in science today. There are several good characters, but it's mostly about introducing as much shocking reality as possible. You begin to think, what if this is really happening? The characters pull you in and make you wonder if this is the fate that you will undergo due to genetic testing. The book has some clear messages, made even clearer by the author's notes at the end. He is opposed to gene patenting and laws that make universities able to make a profit off of science. But, interestingly, in his notes he says he's against limiting research. Some of the storylines make it seem as though he's actually against genetic testing/engineering altogether, but apparently that's not the case. It's an interesting and quick read, and I would suggest it for anyone who's curious about where science is and where it's going: this may be fiction, but a lot of it is the truth.(less) "