01. Next - Michael Crichton
As a general fan of Crichton’s work, Next was a disappointment. I was hopping the topic of genetic engineering would bring back his more complex writing style of earlier novels I really enjoyed like Sphere or Andromeda Strain.
Instead Crichton introduces the reader to so many characters and subplots you need a spreadsheet to track everyone. The one dimensional characters seem like clichéd parodies of what they are meant to represent. In the midst of lawyers, big business techno geeks and bounty hunters I found the African Grey parrot to be the most engaging. The political/social message of the book is dropped so heavily on the reader that the story gets lost and manipulated to facilitate Crichton’s agenda.
The story just abruptly stops, all the subplots having been wrapped up in three pages. As if all this wasn’t enough, once the story ends, there is an additional manifesto added by Crichton outlining the changes necessary to the laws regarding genetic engineering. I didn’t read it.
There were some interesting political and legal angles that Crichton could have focused on to create a more intrecately woven plot. I think overall, he tried to include too much in one novel to create a comprehensive story.
Instead Crichton introduces the reader to so many characters and subplots you need a spreadsheet to track everyone. The one dimensional characters seem like clichéd parodies of what they are meant to represent. In the midst of lawyers, big business techno geeks and bounty hunters I found the African Grey parrot to be the most engaging. The political/social message of the book is dropped so heavily on the reader that the story gets lost and manipulated to facilitate Crichton’s agenda.
The story just abruptly stops, all the subplots having been wrapped up in three pages. As if all this wasn’t enough, once the story ends, there is an additional manifesto added by Crichton outlining the changes necessary to the laws regarding genetic engineering. I didn’t read it.
There were some interesting political and legal angles that Crichton could have focused on to create a more intrecately woven plot. I think overall, he tried to include too much in one novel to create a comprehensive story.