Imagine a world where 20 percent of the human genome is patented. A world in which people have no right to their own tissues. Researchers publish false findings in peer-reviewed journals, and universities pay for discoveries with public dollars and then turn around and profit off them. Imagine a world where transgenic animals are created for research, for art and for pets.
That's the premise of Michael Crichton's newest book, Next."" Crichton's previous book, ""State of Fear,"" made waves by going after a politically-charged issue: global warming. In ""Next,"" Crichton returns to his strengths: explaining biotechnology and the shenanigans of the scientific community to a non-scientist reader.
This new thriller follows a pattern familiar to Crichton's readers: Kill off a pawn in the first chapter in an ingenious manner""in this case, suffocation by nitrogen gas. Explain some science. Toss in characters fighting for their survival (the protagonists) or trying to make a buck (the villains). Explain some more science. After everyone has had a good run around, get rid of the villains, rescue a few of the protagonists and point out it was all based on real science and even some real events.
Those in search of serious literature will be sorely disappointed. The plot follows a father and his lawyer daughter as they fight for human rights. The father's cells bear unique cancer-fighting abilities. A biotech company obtained the patent to those cells decides it needs some more. The argument goes that, as it owns the cell line, the company has the right to biopsy (cut samples from the liver and spleen) anyone in the family. This makes the daughter and her young son de facto fugitives.
The big conflict is established, but Crichton spends little time on character development. As soon as one chapter is over, he moves on to a different character and story. Some of these come together nicely before the end, but for the most part the book reads like a series of sketches.
It's not bad""for a batch of sketches. In fact, a book that tackles more than a dozen plot lines in 415 pages shouldn't be this readable. But Crichton has been doing this sort of thing ever since ""The Andromeda Strain,"" and has got the thriller formula down pat. It lets him concentrate on the real focus of the book: genetic research and the big business that funds it.
Crichton describes everything from patent rules to modern graverobbing. He includes vivid details such as how morgue employees steal bones and replace them with wooden dowels""rather than metal pipes, because crematoriums won't cremate a body with metal in it. And he does not neglect to mention the legal ramifications of genetic testing for everyday people. A daughter takes out a paternity test and accuses her mother of adultery. A man gets custody of his kids by arguing that his ex-wife's genetic predisposition to Parkinson's make her an unfit parent.
The wide range of characters allows for these disparate examples. In some ways, Crichton's hodgepodge of little stories conveys the scope of genetic technology in our society better than a single polished narrative might.
""Next"" is a book to make you think about all the pieces and how they interact. It's a book that points out just how many things are happening that we should be paying attention to but haven't been. Mainly, it is a series of eye-opening facts masquerading as a work of fiction.
As the first page states, ""This novel is fiction, except for the parts that aren't.
