Book Review - Next by Michael Crichton
Category Book Review Michael Crichton Next
On my cross-country flight back from Lotusphere, I made a stop at the Orlando airport to pick up some recreational reading material. The book Next by Michael Crichton caught my eye, so I grabbed it and settled in for what I hoped would be an enjoyable read. While not bad, the plot seemed to be somewhat patched together to support the author's views on genetic engineering more than anything else.
The main thrust of the storylines revolve around the practice of patenting genes, and how that is at odds with regular patent law. How can you patent something that already exists in nature? This practice leads to companies controlling entire lines of research as they will sue if anyone attempts to touch their genetic "property rights". Among the plots you have a researcher who used his own genes to "father" a chimp/human hybrid, a family who is hunted down by a company who owns the cell line of the father (and lost them due to contamination), and a parrott who understands human conversation due to a genetic modification. They all come together at the end, but again, it's not a natural conclusion.
Next isn't a horrible read, but it's a novel with an agenda. Normally Crichton does a better job than this. I've come to expect more from him...
On my cross-country flight back from Lotusphere, I made a stop at the Orlando airport to pick up some recreational reading material. The book Next by Michael Crichton caught my eye, so I grabbed it and settled in for what I hoped would be an enjoyable read. While not bad, the plot seemed to be somewhat patched together to support the author's views on genetic engineering more than anything else.
The main thrust of the storylines revolve around the practice of patenting genes, and how that is at odds with regular patent law. How can you patent something that already exists in nature? This practice leads to companies controlling entire lines of research as they will sue if anyone attempts to touch their genetic "property rights". Among the plots you have a researcher who used his own genes to "father" a chimp/human hybrid, a family who is hunted down by a company who owns the cell line of the father (and lost them due to contamination), and a parrott who understands human conversation due to a genetic modification. They all come together at the end, but again, it's not a natural conclusion.
Next isn't a horrible read, but it's a novel with an agenda. Normally Crichton does a better job than this. I've come to expect more from him...
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