Next: A Novel

by Michael Crichton

Synopsis: Is a loved one missing some body parts? Are blondes becoming extinct? Is everyone at your dinner table of the same species? Humans and chimpanzees differ in only 400 genes; is that why an adult human being resembles a chimp fetus? And should that worry us? There’s a new genetic cure for drug addiction—is it worse than the disease?

We live in a time of momentous scientific leaps; a time when it’s possible to sell our eggs and sperm online for thousands of dollars or test our spouses for genetic maladies. We live in a time when one fifth of all our genes are owned by someone else, and an unsuspecting person and his family can be pursued cross-country because they happen to have certain valuable genes within their chromosomes . . .

Devilishly clever, Next blends fact and fiction into a breathless tale of a new world where nothing is what it seems, and a set of new possibilities can open at every turn. Next challenges our sense of reality and notions of morality. Balancing the comic and bizarre with the genuinely frightening and disturbing, Nextshatters our assumptions, and reveals shocking new choices where we least expect.

The future is closer than you think. Get used to it.

Published: November 2006 | ISBN-13: 978-0060873165

Mini-bio: John Michael Crichton, MD was an American best-selling author, physician, producer, director, and screenwriter, best known for his work in the science fiction, medical fiction, and thriller genres. Wikipedia

Author’s Homepage: http://www.michaelcrichton.net

While I’m not a massive Crichton fan (State of Fear was an atrocious piece of anti-climate change propaganda), this is an interesting book that will – at the very least – get you thinking about genetic bioethics. Not bad for a novel. – Jack Scanlan from his list, 10 Great Books on Genetics

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