Last week I finished reading Michael Crichton’s new book, Next, and I thought I’d just give a short review. Michael Crichton is my favorite author, but lately he’s been slowly letting me down.
Once again, Michael Crichton has tackled another hot topic. Last time it was global warming, before that nanotechnology. This time it’s genetic engineering.
He basically tells a few different story lines simultaneously that all touch on various aspects of genetic engineering from gene therapy to the hybridization of species. I’ll just leave it at that.
Like his last book, State of Fear, Next seems to exist only to push a political agenda. The difference is that it’s not as good or entertaining. Even at the end he’s got his recommendations on the topic of genetic engineering. I miss the days when he could just use the cool technological innovations and ideas to embellish a great story instead of using a mediocre story to point out issues with leading edge technology.
I give Next 6 stem cells out of 10.
P.S. – If there’s any chance at all that you’re reading this Dr. Crichton, could we maybe get a great story next time? Remember when you wrote Andromeda Strain, Sphere, Airframe, and Jurassic Park? We want something that’s on par with those novels; they were awesome.
