Customer Reviews

Next

5 star:		(80)
4 star:		(94)
3 star:		(126)
2 star:		(129)
1 star:		(108)

 

 

I have very mixed feelings about "Next" and I will try to describe them accurately here, although there are hundreds of reviews already and mine will not add much to the discussion probably - but maybe some points will be reinforced by my adding to the subject.

The novel's central theme is genetic manipulations and the ethical issues surrounding them. There are many subplots, all revolving around the famous philanthropist, Jack Watson (is the name a pure coincidence?), who advocates scientific progress and donates money to biotech companies. The plethora of characters includes bounty hunters, lawyers, drug addicts, physicians, teachers, secretaries, security guards, and, of course, scientists of all levels, both from academia and biotech (the difference between the two becoming less and less clear). The animal-human hybrids are made in secret; the genes are patented, the genetic screens are used to the advantage of insurance companies and in numerous trials as a tool to extort money; the scientists are depicted as vicious breed. The only two families who seem honest and, of course, like in a good thriller, win at the end, are the Burnets, who because of Frank Burnet's precious cancer cell line become involved in a massive scheme, and the Kendalls, who decide to adopt Henry Kendalls genetic son Dave, a hybrid between human and chimpanzee.

The novel is fast-paced and the characters flick like in a caleidoscope, some being introduced only for the sake of presenting another problem connected with biotechnology (for example, the whole story of the MD who donated sperm as a resident is very loosely connected to the main plot, only by the implied involvement of Watson).

Initially, I could not stand this book, but after about 200 pages I reflected and realized several things:
1. I am not in the target group, being a scientist in an academic institution and working on cancer. My point of view is not that of a model reader of "Next".
2. The presented issues are important and it probably does not matter so much how they are presented as long as they make an impact on a larger audience.
3. Crichton's technique as a writer is remarkable - although irritated, I kept reading and felt for some characters (mostly for the humanized animals, Dave and Gerard, as, no doubt, was the author's intention). No wonder why he is the best-selling novelist: he is not afraid of weighty issues and he is very good at his craft.
4. At the end, I saw the references and the authors' note and this was very important for me - I could verify some of the facts I did not know (in particular, the art using biotechnology or its remnants) and I realized I agree with the main points Crichton had tried to make (politics and science... Very difficult subject)

Having said all that, I will also say, that the points from the author's note are hardly visible during the course of the novel. The examples are vivid, but the novel reads like a manifesto against science, and will be perceived as such by many readers (and many people do not read the author's note at the end). Also, this is a work of fiction, and, however scientific, this is fiction and should be read as fiction (repetitive, I know, but I want to make my point). Additionally, I appreciate Crichton's knowledge, but there are errors, some because the book is already outdated (there are about 20,500 genes in the human genome, not 32,000) and some perhaps editorial (repeated use of the acronym GPF for green fluorescent protein instead of GFP, which is correct), not counting the ones already pointed out and explained in other review ("gene" instead of "allele" etc.). This should not happen, because it is misleading. Last but not least, an annoying non-scientific mistake is the argument of Bellarmino with his postdoc, when the director forces the poor guy to surrender the first author position in a breakthrough article and put his own first. No group leader would do that, because for professor and team leaders the last author position is far more important than the first author, and anyone who is doing research and publishing it would know that. The last author is always the one who is referred to in the articles about the work ("the study from XYs laboratory...") and this is the position Bellarmino would fight for, if there are several groups or collaborations involved. The first author position would be meaningless for him at his level. I know that it was probably to stress Bellarmino's malice, but it was excessive and erroneous.

Because "Next" evoked all these reflections, I will award it three stars - it is an average between my own contradicting opinions. To be accurate, I should probably write two reviews, one one-star, the other five-star, but sadly, Amazon does not allow this option.

Michael Crichton is my favorite author, and I've been eagerly awaiting this book for months. Wow, was I ever disappointed. The author jumps back and forth between eight or nine parallel stories (all tied to genetic engineering). The result is a confusing mess. There are too many characters to keep track of - I felt like I needed a program to tell one player from another. And a number of subplots never reached a resolution, leaving me to wonder why Michael even bothered to include them in the first place.

NEXT does pose some interesting moral and ethical dilemmas about genetic engineering; unfortunately the impact of this message gets diluted by multiple convoluted subplots. I'd come to expect so much more from the author of such masterpieces as "The Andromeda Strain," "Jurassic Park," and "Eaters of the Dead."

I just finished listening to the audio tape of Next and LOVED it (and chuckled a lot). I also just read the Amazon reviews and was amazed that people didn't get the joke. This was satire! I was a scientist and my husband is a biotech patent attorney and Crichten is right on concerning the foibles of science, genetic engineering, technology transfer, etc. What I like about this book (and all of Crichten's books) is that he writes terrific 'what if' plots based on man's innate stupidity. To take one scene from Next, a group of American's are in Borneo looking for orangutans in a research park. They are a noisy and whiny crowd and the leader is afraid that the orangs will not show--but one does and makes some gutteral sounds, although orangs don't make sounds. Someone in the group realizes that the creature is making fun of them in Swedish (it speaks French too!). The news sweeps around the world with Crichten creating wonderful headlines and the reader (audio CD) speaking BBC English. It's true the plot skips around but the main characters are memorable and there IS a plot. Don't forget Crichten has a lot of ground to cover and a lot of material to make fun of. Get the CD. It brings the book to life.

I have been a big fan of Crichton's since first reading "Jurassic Park". I really enjoyed "State of Fear" and bought "Next" with the usual anticipation I bring to most of Crichton's work. I just finished the novel this afternoon, and I can't believe this was written by the same author as the previous novels. "Next" is not so much a coherant, linear story as it is a series of incidents revolving around a similar topic. In machine gun style you are rapidly hit with 2-3 page chapters each dealing with a different aspect of genetic research. You are also introduced to so many bland and undefined characters that confusion is bound to set in. I gaurantee even folks giving this novel a positive review asked themselves "Okay, who is this guy again" or "What was this person doing earlier in the book?" As a reader you are dropped in and out of these forgettable characters lives at such a rapid pace it is difficult to keep up with who is doing what to who and why. The only "characters" that are easy to distinguish are the half monkey/half human boy named Dave, and the extremely annoying talking Parrot who can quote old movie lines and do elementary level math.....(yes you read that right). The whole premise of the novel is taken to such an absurd level, that any interest built up over the first 100 pages soon dissipates with the "talking" animals. I will still buy Crichton's novels in the future, but this was a genuine A+ clunker.

Yes the plot is a little hard to follow, and too many characters are involved. I can understand those criticisms better than some knee-jerk liberals still sniping here at the author about his priceless expose of the so-called global warming crisis in 'State of Fear.' Which brings me to the point--most of Crichton's books do carry an agenda. But the agenda is not so much the topic dealt with in the books (global warming, genetics, etc.). I believe Crichton's mission is to deliver high impact warnings about the abuse of these sciences; the corruption of these sciences; the transformation of these sciences into multi-billion dollar profit ventures that are exploited by the greedy and powerful. The author has consistently been true to a science fiction platform, warning us about the impact of these fast-moving sciences on our everyday lives. NEXT is just such a book. Yes, there were too many characters, but I must admit that every single little chapter gripped me by the throat and provoked serious thought about what is happening in genetic engineering and where we are headed. And yes, he scared me. And I loved it.
Good work, Mr. Crichton, four stars only--plot could have been tighter.

Just how far corporations, institutes or even individuals should be allowed to go when it comes to holding patents?

Where should the line be drawn when it comes to patents, copy writes, intellectual property?

What if these patents and the like involve the very building blocks of all life as we know it, the very genome?

While we're at it, how far should various companies, corporations and even research institutes be allowed to go when it comes to mixing genomes.

When does playing god go too far?

These are just a few of the questions that are not only raised, but speculated upon and answered in Michael Crichton's latest thriller, Next.

The novel delves into the world of genetic engineering, transgenics, chimera's patents on genes and everything that is involved.

The human side, how people react and are affected by all these factors.

I'll come out and state it. Because of various genetic defects that are prevalent in my bloodline, I've always had a keen interest in biogenetics and the entire field. Not enough to go into it as a career, but still, more than a passing interest.

This novel was right up my alley. It took me three days to read it, and it wasn't a small book by any stretch of the imagination, it was a massive five hundred pages long.

People who pick up the book and read it, I should warn you right now, without giving away any spoilers, that it can be quite confusing.

There is a massive cast of characters. Each character has a role to play in the novel, and at first, all these different roles, stories if you will, don't seem to be connected.

Of course, as the novel progresses, all these stories begin to become intertwined, and even though it is very complex, it all begins to become clear to the reader what is going on.

Sorry, one minor spoiler here - two of the characters in the book are not even human. Yes, I am breaking one of my self imposed cardinal rules, I am giving a spoiler out. Albeit not a huge spoiler, but a spoiler none the less.

It is amazing how two characters that aren't even human can have such an impact. And they are important to the novel, as they do touch on one of the hottest and most debated aspects of genetics... genetic engineering, or creating transgenics, or as they're also know, Chimera's.

For the scientific novice, like yours truly, the science aspect of the novel is present, even the technical terms, but it has been written in such a way that it is easy to understand.

And it was nice, in the case of chimera's, to see something touched upon that I have in the past couple of years, seen a documentary on the television. The major case in this documentary was even mentioned in the novel.

Very cool!

Michael Crichton has gone out of his way to write a novel that is not only entertaining to read, but touches upon many of the different aspects of genetic engineering that I mentioned in the opening paragraphs of my review.

The ethical, the legal, what is considered property and what isn't, and just how far corporations could possibly go to obtain or protect what they consider belongs to them when it comes to the very foundation of our bodies, our genes.

Hell, our very heritage.

Even if you have only a passing interest in genetics, you should read this novel.

Genetic engineering, transgenics, is one scientific field that allows us to take a hand at playing god. It is still, for all intent and purpose, in its infancy, but the potential for curing disease and prolonging human life is staggering.

But it's a double edged sword. The potential to use it for financial gain, or to create weapons that come from your worst nightmare, are equally, if not more staggering than you can imagine.

5 out of 5

Crichton has always had a "point" to his books, but in the good 'ol days of Jurassic Park, he always kept the story at the forefront, and if you were thoughtful you could get the point. Not any more. For the last 3-4 books, he's gotten to where the whole book is nothing but "the point" with story to glue it together. This one is no different, and in fact is so very disjointed you may have a hard time figuring out which sub-plot THIS chapter is dealing with. You hope that perhaps the various pieces will fit together in the end, but even that's a disappointment.

I long for the days when the book was 95% story, and 5% "message". Now you're lucky to get 50% story. This'll be the last Crichton book I buy -- not worth the price of a paperback, much less hard cover.

If you're a die-hard Crichton fan, save yourself a few bucks and get it from the library. If you're interested because of the subject matter - genetic engineering and bio-engineering business, then it might be worth having a copy for reference.

Next is a much more complex novel than Crichton's previous work. It is less intensely exciting and more realistic. The large cast of characters ring true, resembling many researchers I have met in biotechnology (though they are a bit over the top and over sexed). Their stories a very good job of addressing many of the issues surrounding biotechnological research, though sometimes Crichton brings in a few too many small disconnected underdeveloped stories in order to address some obscure ethical issue. The crazy hippie, the rebelling teenager and the ruthless advertiser are all stock characters overpopulating the novel and proving points that Crichton clearly wanted to make.

The tone is much less heavy handed than his constant preaching in State of Fear. The complexities of the ethics is complemented by the complexity of the cast. Each character has their own flaws, unlike the Mary Sue of other popular fiction writers. They show the bio industry as it really is: no selfless heroes, many decent people. No one has a perfect vision of biotechnology's future. The best one can expect is to escape death by poetic justice.

I listened to the unabridged audio CD version of this story.

The author presented some good ideas and some good scenarios and cautions against the dangers of gene ownership in current court decisions, but the ideas never really came together into a story for me.

Halfway through I still wasn't sure what type of story I was reading. Was this going to be a courtroom drama? A competitive business (including industrial espionage) story? A genetics run wild with strange creatures evolving story?

Finally I just relaxed and enjoyed the vignettes without trying to put them all together. It was sort of like flipping through channels on your tv set. Something might catch your interest for a few minutes, then flip to the next totally different storyline, etc.

Worth reading but not his best.

Don't get me wrong: I still couldn't put it down. Perhaps it was just my frame of mind...

The worlds that Crichton writes about are always filled brilliant, cynical, ruthless people and we always get a voyeuristic thrill from peeking in on them and their clever schemes.

But this time, the evil guys seemed just a little too evil, the cynics a little too cynical, as if subversion and subterfuge were held as prime virtues, rather than as exceptional devices brought out by exceptional circumstances.

In comparison with earlier novels, I was left with the feeling that Crichton had perhaps sacrificed a bit of plot and storytelling for the sake of showcasing new and startling social issues raised by genetic engineering.

But, I still read it breathlessly from cover to cover, and I'll still read the next Crichton novel as soon as it comes out.