Synopsis Michael Crichton fuses numerous nightmarish scientific elements, particularly developments in biotechnology, to create a sprawling, multi-character novel about the corruption and abuse of science. As in his 2004 polemic against the validity of global warming (STATE OF FEAR), Crichton has a clear ideological stance on science, and these ideas intermingle with the plot of his thriller.
| Details | | Publication Date: | 2006-12-01 |
| Size | | Length: | 431 pages | | Height: | 9.3 in | | Width: | 6.8 in | | Thickness: | 1.8 in | | Weight: | 24.0 oz |
Publisher's Note 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.
Industry Reviews "...few can match Crichton in crafting page-turners with intellectual substance, and his opinions this time are less likely to create a firestorm than his controversial take on global warming in 2004's STATE OF FEAR." (12/01/2006)
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