Next - by Michael Crichton (Hardcover)

About the Book

In his brilliant new blockbuster, the "New York Times" bestselling author of "Jurassic Park" and "The Andromeda Strain" journeys into the realm of genetics: fast, furious and out of control. Provocative yet playful, dark and disturbing, "Next" is Crichton as he has never been seen before.

Book Synopsis

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?

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 and to 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 the 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.

Review Quotes

"NEXT is one of Mr. Crichton's more un-put-downable novels. Its emphasis is on excitement." -- New York Times

"[Crichton's] in top form with NEXT....There's a lot to like and to scare you." -- USA Today

"[NEXT] is a tribute to Crichton's storytelling skill...the docmentation he sprinkles throughout the narrative teases us with speculation." -- Los Angeles Times

"NEXT is a romp and a potboiler...a blockbuster science thriller...an entertaining read." -- Philadelphia Inquirer

"Under Crichton's imaginative scrutiny, body-part theft, the extinction of blonds and transgenic experiments...all loom on the horizon." -- People

"His plot, involving a score of main characters and a dozen different strands, defies summary but is completely brilliant." -- Daily Mail (London)

"[Crichton] invites a mass audience irresistibly into some of the Most Important Conversations We're Not Having." -- Time magazine

"Crichton creates a series of fascinating dramatic situations that hold a reader's attention right down to the last page." -- NPR (All Things Considered)

"Crichton addresses complex contemporary issues...into thrilling reads." -- Newsweek

"Crichton has created a series of vivid, thought-provoking morality plays, presenting key questions engendered by genetic research." -- Globe and Mail (Toronto)

"Crichton's latest techo-thriller raises fascinating ethical questions." -- Christian Science Monitor

"A compulsively readable beach book about the dawn of the biotech revolution." -- National Review

"You realize what [Crichton]'s fictionalizing could be happening now, not "Next." And that's what makes it all so terrifying." -- Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

"As entertaining as anything he has written since Jurassic Park." -- Dallas Morning News

"Read this book. It's enough to scare the DNA out of you." -- Baton Rouge Advocate

"NEXT will frighten, worry and amuse you, and keep you thinking long after its final words are read. Highly recommended." -- Bookreporter.com

"A cracking pace...fast-moving plot with highly detailed research." -- Sunday Telegraph (Australia)

"The writing is mentally sharp, with vignettes that make you wonder if you are reading satire or simply mild exagerration." -- Houston Chronicle

"A satirical thriller that will have bookworms glued to their armchairs." -- Denver Post

"(Crichton) is one of the most reliable purveyors of brain-engaged popular fiction at work today." -- Sunday Express (London)

"It is devilishly clever...thoroughly enjoyable." -- Aberdeen Press & Journal [Scotland]

"Crichton sets up mind-boggling scenarios. The pace and intrigue last to the final page." -- News of the World (UK)

"A complex and credible extension of present reality into the realm of the imagination. A highly readable novel." -- South China Morning Post

"NEXT is a page-turner, natuarlly; deft and dashing, eminently professional. " -- Daily Telegraph (London)

"[Crichton's] latest is in genetics and his literary success is assured." -- Mail on Sunday

"[Crichton] is a punchy, modern storyteller. NEXT is a popular thriller worth serious reading." -- Adelaide Advertiser

"A cracking dark tale about biotechnology and transgenics. Epic in style." -- Birmingham Post (UK)

"(Crichton) carouses through the landscape of scientific development, presenting one frightening possibility after another. Michael Crichton isn't for scaredybabies." -- Daily News

"Wonderful...NEXT's a regular romp." -- Evening Standard (UK)

"Provocative and entertaining." -- Calgary Sun

"NEXT is populated with blood-pressure-raising villains who will keep you turning the pages." -- Forbes