Next

By: Michael Crichton

Narrated by: Dylan Baker

Length: 13 hrs and 49 mins

Publisher's summary

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, Next shatters our assumptions and reveals shocking new choices where we least expect.

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

What's next:

The abridged version of Next,

the free interview with Michael Crichton, and

an exclusive sneak preview of Next.

Take your pick.

©2006 Michael Crichton (P)2006 HarperCollins Publishers

This is the worst book ever

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

No plot. If you have no mind, don't care about a story and enjoy non-existant character arcs then this book is for you.

What was most disappointing about Michael Crichton’s story?

This book is nothing but idle ramblings by Crichton about fraud in science. I'm sure it happens and that it does is bad. There is no main character to this book. What characters that exist have no development. You can't identify with them and the story line wanders all over the globe. The moment you get some continuity he breaks into a 5 page

What aspect of Dylan Baker’s performance would you have changed?

Dylan's performance was ok. He had nothing with which to work from.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Extreme disappointment.

Any additional comments?

Mr. Crichton started down this road with his epistle

Muddled structure leads to fits and starts.

What has happened to Michael Crichton? While never being the most brilliant prose-man, he has been able to consistently present great tales over the years. But, from "Airframe" onward (with the notable exception of "Prey") he has either launched into absurd storylines ("Timeline's" more-psuedo-science-than-most time travel theories) or crazed polemics in the guise of books ("State of Fear's" thinly plotted rant to undercut environmentalism). I'm a huge fan of his, I've read everything he's written, even in non-fiction. But with "Next" he has again lost his way. The book, as he himself tells in a post-book-recording interview with the publisher, is structured to resemble genetic mutations... i.e., it moves in odd patterns, stumbling down one plot only to drop it entirely for hundreds of pages while picking up another string when it seems time to address it. What this creates most notably are forced endings where many characters end up at the finale crossing paths. But none of it feels organic. There are some fun chapters here where transgenic animals talk like humans or where the intricacies of genetic testing are illuminated by political and legal wrangling, but it never solidifies into a great story. It feels like Crichton took a notebook in which he's been keeping random thoughts about the subject and strung them together as opposed to throwing out what didn't work and refining a core set of ideas. He's cast a wide net and ended up letting the fish slip through the holes. Read this book if you enjoy the subject matter of genetic manipulation and if the future of this industry (vis a vis the political and financial ramifications) is interesting to you. If you want a good thriller, skip it and go back to his earlier work.

Love Crichton, but this was weak delivery.

I love the research and technical items Crichton put in his books. But this one was researched and delivered with so much detail, that he seemed to forget to add a plot. there are a bunch of themes, and subplots tied together, but nothing really adds up to a story. Although I enjoyed this to some degree learning about genes, etc, yet I felt I had heard nothing really.

Drivel

I was barely able to make it through 1/2 of part one. I don't even have that much to say, it was contrived and boring.

-Chris

Find another book

I always enjoy Michael Crichton, but I can't believe I am over half way through this book and I am still listening to it. I will typically allow authors a lot of leeway in science, law, and common sense to make the story work, but every story line is this book depends on a continuous series of unreasonable actions, assumptions, and naivety.

A poor effort

Thge least enjoyable of his books. could not stand to listen to the entire tape. Hopefully, will do better on next book.

next stinks

I was very disappointed by this book. It lacks any credulity whatsoever even considering the scince fiction genre. I felt it did not flow well and it would seem Mr. Critchton is a bit off his game with this one. I stopped listening after just a few CDs and will throw the rest away.

Slow and boring

Unlike the work of the Michael Crichton in the past this book meanders through numerous subplots some of which merge and some of which are never resolved. If it wasn't for the general subject matter and Crichton's afterwards about genetic engineering I don't think I would have been interested enough to finish this book. A definite low note in Crichton's otherwise impressive career.

The performance by Dylan Baker was good, but because of the large number of characters and plots, it was hard to keep track of who was who and what plot was going on based on the character voices. Unfortunately, in many cases character voice was the only way to tell you had moved from one plot to another.

Waste of time

As a Chrichton fan, this book was a total disappointment.

Throughout the book, it does not even feel like listening to a novel. Sure, the author did a lot of research on gentics, but the result was a lot of anecdotes listed without any rationale or connection to the story. As for the story, I started wondering if there was any and then the author seems to remember about it half way through the book and tries to wrap up his list of stories on genetic research.

Save your credit and valuable time

Disjointed, hard to follow

No one will accuse Michael Crichton's work of being easy to read. But he set the bar even higher with this thing.

Like all Crichton's books, this one was a soapbox for him to preach from. I just wish he had put a little more effort into making the story and characters interesting.