Next by Michael Crichton

Rating – 9 / 10

Next is another one of the techno-thriller novels written by Michael Crichton. Next focuses on the speed and the direction of genetic research going on in the world today.
The government and private investors spend millions of dollars every year on genetic research. This, although increases the amount of funding for the scientists, but in effect it also makes the research more profit-oriented. Thousands of patent applications are rolling out every day. Many scientists believe that half of the genes in the human body have already been patented. It is this, about which Crichton is most concerned. More patents certainly means no more research on that front without the appropriate permissions. Science, esp. genetic research, is at the risk of getting stagnant very soon.

Next has many stories involving different characters running parallel. There is a genetic firm, BioGen, who win a case against Frank Burnet to retrieve his body cells so as to find a cure to cancer. When Frank goes into hiding, they start to attack his daughter and grandson as they would have the similar cells.
Also, a researcher Josh accidentally exposes a maturity gene, which is still in the testing phase, to human beings. The result is that people infected by the gene begin to get old earlier than usual and eventually die.
Henry Kendall, another genetic researcher finds out that his genes were used to create a transgenic ape who can speak. He brings the ape home, but is unable to keep it as secret.
Also, explorers find an orangutan in the jungles of Sumatra who swears at people in French and Dutch.

I totally loved this book and could not let go off it once I started reading it. The only weakness in the book that I could find was that that the individual stories did not connect very well, and I did feel lost at times. But it is the fate or the ending of these individual stories which really indicate how fast the world of genetics is moving. Crichton points out that the people who matter, i.e. the jury and the government, need to understand very quickly the importance of these changes. They need to take appropriate steps to stop this uncontrolled growth before it gets completely out of control and you may not know what would happen Next.

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