Next by Michael Crichton

Next is Michael Crichton at his fastest pace yet, but it's also him at his most paranoid. Crichton's always been a man with a message - specifically messages that aren't too difficult to discern. Stop unregulated genetic engineering, stop animal testing, stop being ignorant about history, stop time traveling - the list goes on. Next is also Crichton at his most opinionated. Not only is the writing in the novel decidedly didactic, but he even goes so far as to include a list of talking points at the end of the novel, which he discovered at the conclusion of his research. Now, I'm not opposed to fiction with a point or political purpose. Who would be? I think it's great to see fiction do something other than give us something to pass time with. But the key to that, as it is with everything in life, is moderation and subtlety. Those are two things that Crichton often lacks. It's not that his causes aren't worthy of being championed (although, apparently I need to read State of Fear), but he's just so damn ham-fisted about it all the time. I think he tends to forget that people sometimes run across his novels in the periodical section of Giant Eagle.

All that aside, Next was certainly an exciting read. There are about two and a half million subplots going on, but none of them get confusing and all of them end up coincidentally intersecting with one another. How modern, right? The most interesting thing about this novel is the possibilities that Crichton imagines for the future of genetic engineering - sentient parrots, chimp/human hybrids, advanced gene therapy replacement sprays - and of course, there's also the disturbing element that is common with all of Crichton's science fiction - he makes it all seem possible and some of it actually is. I guess I don't really have much more to say about the actual reading experience of the novel. That's probably because I finished it a week ago. But hopefully I'll have more to say when I do my Crichton wrap-up later this week.