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    Audiobook (abridged)6 hours

    Next

    Written by Michael Crichton

    Narrated by Erik Singer

    3.5/5

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    About this audiobook

    From Michael Crichton, the #1 bestselling author of Jurassic Park and The Andromeda Strain, comes an astounding, eye-opening look at the world of genetics: Next.
     
    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 a chimp fetus resembles a human being? And should that worry us? There’s a new genetic cure for drug addiction—is it worse than the disease?
     
    Devilishly clever, Next blends fact and fiction into a breathless tale of a new world where nothing is what it seems, and genetic ownership shatters our assumptions.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperAudio
    Release dateNov 28, 2006
    ISBN9780061336263
    Author

    Michael Crichton

    Michael Crichton (1942-2008) was the author of the bestselling novels The Terminal Man, The Great Train Robbery, Jurassic Park, Sphere, Disclosure, Prey, State of Fear, Next and Dragon Teeth, among many others. His books have sold more than 200 million copies worldwide, have been translated into forty languages, and have provided the basis for fifteen feature films. He wrote and directed Westworld, The Great Train Robbery, Runaway, Looker, Coma and created the hit television series ER. Crichton remains the only writer to have a number one book, movie, and TV show in the same year. Daniel H. Wilson is a Cherokee citizen and author of the New York Times bestselling Robopocalypse and its sequel Robogenesis, as well as ten other books. He recently wrote the Earth 2: Society comic book series for DC Comics. Wilson earned a PhD in Robotics from Carnegie Mellon University, as well as master’s degrees in Artificial Intelligence and Robotics. He has published over a dozen scientific papers and holds four patents. Wilson lives in Portland, Oregon.

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    Reviews for Next

    3.5/5

    1,700 ratings90 reviews

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    • 5/5
      This book is absolutely captivating, and was a great joy to listen to. The added feature of the interview of Michael crighton at the end, just enhanced the experience.
    • 4/5
      Enjoyed. Over too soon.
      "The future is with us, & we are it"!
    • 4/5
      This book is based around the Genetics Industry and how everyone of the companies is trying to be the first with the miracle cure to the diseases of the world. Unfortunately the reason behind it though for the companies is not the glory of helping mankind but the money they would make on the sales of the products and the pantents.The story is loosely based around the company called BioGen who own the Burnett line. DNA from someone who they cured of cancer and from this used his cells to create the next big selling drug. At the same time as this we follow seperate stories where tests have been carried out on Parrots and Chimps so that they gain the chance to talk and act as normal human beings (the latter in the case of the Chimp. But no one wants to bring this forward as the radical finding it is as it was all done in secrecy and illegally.The strands come together when the Burnett line is destroyed by an investor who thinks that the control is has over the company will be diminished if this new line succeeds as planned. All of which leads to Frakn Burnett going into hiding and the BioGen company sending Bounty Hunters to chase down his daughter and grandson. The reasoning being if they owned his DNA/cells then they also own those of the Daughter and Grandson. And they were going to get them at any cost.A good book and an easy read. And totally believable to be honest. You could see this happening even if the morals behind the companies thinking were dubious. But when money is involved.............
    • 5/5
      One of Michael Crichton's best novels, with a keen focus on genetics
    • 3/5
      I often consider myself a fan of Michael Crichton's books. The mix of science fiction and science fact has always left me feeling satisfied. When I read the dust jacket of Next I thought that this book was going to be really great. In reality this book was more of a chore to get through than I cared for. While I thought the premise was intriguing, a majority of the story's characters were not very interesting, and almost unlikable at times.
    • 2/5

      This book is about genetics and raises questions about who can own a person's cells. The blur is a little misleading, dramatized to make the book sound more interesting. It's not. For me, it read like a magazine article or a documentary with characters acting out scenes in the attempt to make it more ‘real’.

      While the issues raised about ownership of cells gave off some creep factors, there wasn't much of a story, there was a lot of... this was done, that was done, this happened to him, this to her, all to lead up to the end. And the characters', (there were a lot of them) personalities were plain, and there wasn’t much that set them apart from each other except for Gerard. He didn't have much of a reason to be in the story, but he had a personality that set him apart from the others. I can only remember three other characters; names and they’re not  MCs either. And two of them have the same name. (That doesn’t happen often in a book, but it was a ‘convenient’ way to add to the climax, bring some drama, all to finish the story.)

      Not bad of a story if you don't mind more science and law jargon than characters’ personalities and a visual story.

      I listened to the audio version through Scribd, and I'm sure the guy's monotoned voice helped make it sound more like an article than a story. And some of his voice changes just didn’t sound right, and there was one that sounded so familiar, as if it was a TV character’s. That distracted me as I tried to figure out where I had heard it from before.

      2 stars
    • 3/5
      I liked how most of the multiple storylines came together in the end, but some of them were just completely ignored. Additionally, while the individual chapters were intriguing, the book as a whole was a bit disjointed.
    • 2/5
      I did not enjoy this book. The problem was NOT the science. The science in the book was ridiculous, of course. Anyone who actually knows things about genetics will roll his eyes at various points throughout the story. But I do not find this objectionable in fiction. The only reason, in my opinion, that he has gotten criticism for the science aspects of the story is that he couches them in such "plausible-sounding" terms that it tends to make people think (or feel) that it's NOT fiction. It is "Da Vinci Code" syndrome, which is (in my opinion) a problem with the readers, not the story. No: anyone who can suspend disbelief enough to accept the "transporter room" in Star Trek should also have no objection to the science in this story.The problem I had with this story was the characters. They were all caricatures. The women, for example, we all the same. Every single female character had the same personality: emotional, demanding, and irrational. Oh, except for the whores, who were manipulative and viscious. There was no real complexity, no real development. The men were plot devices used for describing situations that he wanted to set up, and the women were there as foils for the men.Crichton obviously knows a lot about genetics, as is displayed in this book and many of his others. My recommendation to him is that between now and writing his next book, he get out in the world and learn a little more about women. Or even people in general.
    • 5/5
      Crichton is always one step ahead for reality. And in typical fashion there is the story after the story where the motivation for his writing is revealed.
    • 4/5
      Lots of character in this book, way too many to be able to remember without bashing your head into pieces. However, it's the ideas and whole advent of genetic engineering that earns this book my stars. It cautions that with our current society's addiction with patents and copyright infringements, genetics will be the next huge industry that'll control how society functions. Very scary indeed.
    • 4/5
      Good story seemed short - I wanted more - a lot more from where it ended
    • 4/5
      A very interesting book on what could happen when science goes too far to achieve something that it cannot truly handle or control. I enjoyed reading this book and I love the way the author broke down the story. Some of the character stories overlap with others and some more stand-alone instances by themselves. A very fast pace and enough action to keep the reader engaged. I really like this author.
    • 4/5
      Not the standard Crichton fiction action/adventure but I enjoyed it and feel too many gave it a bum rap. The novel is a loosely-knit collection of possible quandaries / anecdotes that illustrate some real and some possible problems within the big picture of genetic research today. Crichton's NF 'Author's Note' about his research for this novel along with his insights and thoughtful conclusions about gene research, gene patents, gene testing, human tissue ownership, unenforceable research bans, & the Bayh-Dole Act (in light of its unintended consequences) are worth the price of admission alone! I recommend this book both as an fun interesting pop lit read and for Crichton's NF research notes.
    • 2/5
      One of Crichton's weakest.
    • 3/5
      it wasn't as bad as I had heard this was - it was educational - made you think about the ridiculousness of gene patenting - however I think the end was rushed and forced. I don't think Crichton tidied up all the business as nicely as he could have.

      Crichton got much more open about his politics since Prey. He's always been political but I just felt he was much more open about it towards the end of his career and in this book more so. Maybe I've just noticed the politics more as I have gotten older, but there just seemed to be some cheap shots in the book that hasn't been in his past works.
    • 5/5
      How far will scientists go with genetic testing? This book explores all aspects of this question and spins a tale of a very scary possible future for humans. Michael Crichton is a master at bringing science and adventure together and this book excels in entertainment.
    • 3/5
      A genetic based thriller about a possible near future where genetic research and treatments become abused by corporations, the court system, and other areas. The story has multiple POVs that deal with different areas of concern with genetics in a health system, financial, and in our culture. While the idea of exploring a science fiction genetic thriller is a great idea, the execution is poor. The main problem is that the POVs jump back and forth very quickly. Some chapters are shorter then 1 page. There was not near enough time to figure out the characters and their story line. The ideas and the implications behind the book are entertaining. If the author would have just focused on one POV for a longer period of time before moving on, it would have been a much better read.
    • 1/5
      I shoulda heeded the cover copy. "As good as anything since Jurassic Park" or something similar.

      True enough. It was a fast read, quite interesting, for sure, but not exciting in the slightest. Buy it used if you have to read it. DEFINITELY don't pay airport book store prices.
    • 5/5
      Scary that this is actually the world we live in...
      I'd like scientists 'round the globe to grow a pair and be honest all the time...is it that hard?
    • 2/5
      This was only the second of Crichton's book that I did not enjoy as much as the others I've read. It wasn't as much of a page-turner and the ending was disappointing. When reading, it felt like I was not sure where the book was heading, not in the way where it was suspenseful, but in a way where it felt all the different stories and characters were disconnected, although the storyline connected them to the issue of trans-gene therapy.The ending was anticlimactic.However, I still love the "Author's Notes" that Crichten adds to most of his books, discussing the factual issues on which his book is based.
    • 4/5
       This book raises a lot of important philosophical questions about the development of other species and our own anthropology.
    • 1/5
      I was very disappointed in this book and almost didn't finish it. I was disappointed, because the author Michael Crichton has written some of the best speculative fiction, and I was hoping for something on the order of Jurassic Park or Prey. It was a mess of two incoherent story lines that were based on the ethics of genetic manipulation, but they stretched science and good story telling as to lose credibility.

      If you want to remember Michael Crichton as a good author, don't read this book.
    • 3/5
      Decent enough sci-fi tale, involving ape/human hybrids.
    • 4/5
      In Next Critchton explored a frightening future in which genetic manipulations interweave existing species and create legal chaos. There are currently prohibitions against this kind of genetic engineering, but this novel illustrates why these sanctions are unlikely to remain in place over the long term. There's lots of action and adventure here, as well as humor, making for an entertaining story.
    • 4/5
      A scary (and scattered) smorgasbord of the potential physical, moral and legal horrors in the applications of biogenics, i.e. viruses, DNA, genetics, by scientists, corporations and individuals. Next did make me consider things I hadn't thought of but there was too much going, too overwhelming. I think the novel would have been more effective if it had focussed on just one or two scenarios.
    • 3/5
      Great science fiction novel, but also has some bleak undertones. One of the main character's outlook on humanity is pretty gruesome -- believing that humans are nothing but lying, thieving monsters. But, that only the good ones can overcome the fight or flight reactions and be compassionate, and caring. Good book.
    • 2/5
      I found this book to be frustratingly fragmented, to the point where it was virtually impossible to keep track of all of the characters and to identify (much less follow) the central flow of the narrative. There really is no clearly defined protagonist or antagonist, and I couldn't find any character for whom I felt sympathy. Crichton's point seems to be that the "wild, wild West" of genetic engineering / biotechnology is pure chaos, a world tied into so many legal and ethical knots that it's impossible to disentangle at this moment in time. Everyone involved in this world seems to be portrayed as selfish, ruthless, and avaricious, completely ignoring the consequences of their self-serving actions.There's certainly compelling science here, and Crichton makes a strong case for why we need to impose some semblance of order and sanity on this emerging area of technology that is fraught with potential dangers for human society. But this felt more like a polemic than a novel.
    • 5/5
      Of course this was terrific although the audio had me puzzled for a good chunk of the first disk because Crichton had to introduce the characters in the different and/or overlapping stories and all the names were a little confusing---I'll admit I started over about three times. The interview with him at the end is a little old but just as the book covers some very current happenings, so do his answers to questions. He knew that the world was catching up too fast to anything he could possibly write---in many ways, very sadly. Dylan Baker made for terrific listening with all the different voices---particularly Dave and Gerard, very special characters in the book.
    • 2/5
      Of all MC's books, this is by far my least favorite. It read like a thick biology textbook. He continued to introduce new characters every other chapter for the entire length of the book, most of whom were somehow connected to other characters. It was impossible to keep them straight, and I read the book much more quickly than I normally would. If I'd read it over the course of two weeks, I'd have been hopelessly lost. Finally, what was probably supposed to be a cautionary tale felt more like an excuse to get up on a soap box and show off how much he knows about genetic research, then to smack us around and tell us how the world was soon to be ruined by it and its political interests. I enjoy his works best when he wraps science in adventure. This was politics wearing a thin, dry coat of science, and I was very disappointed.
    • 4/5
      Michael Crichton never fails to give you enough information to understand his topic. Unfortunately, it's sometimes overwhelming. The storyline is gripping in its concept - genome manipulating technology is already here and hard to control. That's the thing about Crichton - he can make things real enough to scare the pants off you.