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A review by hunterjwspears
Next by Michael Crichton
4.0
Michael Crichton’s magic comes from teaching you a lot of very niche information, (be it paleontology, climatology, or in this case, genealogy) in a way that is entertaining enough that you hardly feel like you are learning. The excellent part is that you are!
Next, to me, has a perpetual cloud of foreboding dread over it. Even though the book ends with every single plot line wrapped up in a bow with all the good guys getting their days in court and all the bad guys getting their karmically appropriate comeuppance, there is a constant mutual understanding that both reader and author are suspending disbelief for the sake of storytelling.
I suppose I wish this book was willing to go further, perhaps that’s a part of Crichton’s style that I don’t completely vibe with, it seems everything does work out in the end with his stories even when stakes are so high. The most exciting parts of the book was the strange transgenic characters, Gerard the film-critic parrot and Dave the humanzee. Even though they both got to play their unique roles in the action climax, I feel they offer an interesting story path that was never explored as far as it could have.
In addition, while I initially liked the concept of having so many different characters and chapters from different narrators in similar sub-stories acting as a way to paint a broader picture of genetic engineering as something that transcends the individual, I think it did get away from the author. I’ll admit there were a touch too many stories and characters that ultimately didn’t go anywhere. What about the 16 year old who was selling her eggs? What were the bruises from? I read another review that proposed that Crichton read all he could about the state of gene engineering and the related politics and wrote several anecdotal stories regarding this, regardless of their relation to the plot. Taken as just that, they are interesting, but it does seem rather unfocused. A call back or something towards the end would have done a lot for closure and cohesion I think.
To return to the sense of foreboding, Crichton lays out 5 takeaways from his research, where he makes the case to policymakers and the public about how the future of genetic testing, patenting, and research should be conducted and regulated. For all his positivity in storyline conclusions, his pessimism about congressional action comes out in the authors note, where he acknowledges that despite the increasingly urgent nature and potential negative outcomes for the majority of constituents, he is doubtful that reform will occur.
~~~
The thought that I wish Michael Crichton was still around and sharing his work with us is one that occurs every time I read a novel of his, but especially now. It is evident that he viewed genetic tampering as a pivotal issue at the time of his writing, and while he was certainly correct that it would be an important aspect of human life from then on, I feel like he would have a hay day in this very current moment with consumer facing artificial intelligence. With ChatCGT as the harbinger of a changing world, I can only imagine where Crichton would have explored, and what absurd but likely plausible realities he may have arrived at.
Next, to me, has a perpetual cloud of foreboding dread over it. Even though the book ends with every single plot line wrapped up in a bow with all the good guys getting their days in court and all the bad guys getting their karmically appropriate comeuppance, there is a constant mutual understanding that both reader and author are suspending disbelief for the sake of storytelling.
I suppose I wish this book was willing to go further, perhaps that’s a part of Crichton’s style that I don’t completely vibe with, it seems everything does work out in the end with his stories even when stakes are so high. The most exciting parts of the book was the strange transgenic characters, Gerard the film-critic parrot and Dave the humanzee. Even though they both got to play their unique roles in the action climax, I feel they offer an interesting story path that was never explored as far as it could have.
In addition, while I initially liked the concept of having so many different characters and chapters from different narrators in similar sub-stories acting as a way to paint a broader picture of genetic engineering as something that transcends the individual, I think it did get away from the author. I’ll admit there were a touch too many stories and characters that ultimately didn’t go anywhere. What about the 16 year old who was selling her eggs? What were the bruises from? I read another review that proposed that Crichton read all he could about the state of gene engineering and the related politics and wrote several anecdotal stories regarding this, regardless of their relation to the plot. Taken as just that, they are interesting, but it does seem rather unfocused. A call back or something towards the end would have done a lot for closure and cohesion I think.
To return to the sense of foreboding, Crichton lays out 5 takeaways from his research, where he makes the case to policymakers and the public about how the future of genetic testing, patenting, and research should be conducted and regulated. For all his positivity in storyline conclusions, his pessimism about congressional action comes out in the authors note, where he acknowledges that despite the increasingly urgent nature and potential negative outcomes for the majority of constituents, he is doubtful that reform will occur.
~~~
The thought that I wish Michael Crichton was still around and sharing his work with us is one that occurs every time I read a novel of his, but especially now. It is evident that he viewed genetic tampering as a pivotal issue at the time of his writing, and while he was certainly correct that it would be an important aspect of human life from then on, I feel like he would have a hay day in this very current moment with consumer facing artificial intelligence. With ChatCGT as the harbinger of a changing world, I can only imagine where Crichton would have explored, and what absurd but likely plausible realities he may have arrived at.