Michael Crichton's new book: "Next"

[mikefear]

I've read all of his books and just started on this one..

I think he's an incredible author and really likes to take on modern, scientific stories that are relevant to today's society.. here's a blurb about the book from Amazon:

Welcome to our genetic world.

Fast, furious, and out of control.

This is not the world of the future--it's the world right now.

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; test our spouses for genetic maladies and even frame someone for a genetic crime.

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.

So far (I'm on 150 of 450 pages), the book is a little slower than his typical novel; it is, however, still filled with the great scientificly-backed data we've come to know, love and expect from this Harvard-trained medical student.

The thing I love about his books most is that he writes his personal opinions at the end of each of his books and doesn't hold back. If he has an agenda, he is open about it and he gives you information so that you can do research on your own. He seems like a cool guy.

His book, Prey, was my favorite -- it's about nano-technology that 'comes to life.' I'd suggest picking that up first if you haven't read any Crichton.