I recently finished reading a book I had bought a long time ago but never read, Michael Crichton‘s latest book, NEXT (the author is known for the book Jurassic Park, which inspired the popular movie with the same name). It was the first of his books which I read, and I must say I did enjoy it a lot. Just when I started reading it, I noticed that in the end there were appendices… interesting, I thought, let’s check them out. One of them turned out to be the author’s opinion on the subjects and situations described in the novel and the other one a bibliography. That blew me away, it’s really refreshing to see a book which: (1) attempts to be clear about the author’s opinion, (2) tells you where you can find more information about what is narrated. It reveals that the author has done his research and is actually trying to say something relevant in an enjoyable way (through a fictional story).

The story in itself is really interesting and the beginning of the book is really fast and addictive with a lot of stuff happening at the same time. In my opinion it slowed a bit in the middle where no major points were being made, and so it is maybe a bit too long. Despite that, I found the book extremely refreshing because it was really trying to be clear about what it was trying to say and didn’t assume that everyone would see everything happening between the lines and figure out the points being made. Even though that can be rewarding for whomever gets it, it only works for people in the author’s mindset. And that would be a shame because some of the points were really important and great food for thought. In fact, I noticed that I assumed that a lot more of what was happening was fiction than it actually was (MINOR SPOILERS in the link).

For instance, I had no idea there were patents being issued for GENES. Just the concept of it is really weird.. how can you patent something you just happened to stumble upon and understand (or made several tests with coincidental results). But it is frighteningly real! In fact, Crichton depicts in the book some legal implications of those patents which are pretty ridiculous and make you wonder if they could ever happen. It makes you realize how in a trial, when the subject in consideration is not fully understood by the judges, lawyers are able to manipulate it to serve their goals. This leads to misinformed decisions, which are of the worst kind. And ultimately, overprotecting commercial interests just kills research, knowledge and the consumers’ interests.

I also liked how almost no one in the book was depicted as morally perfect. There was no wide line between good and evil, as in the real world, and I liked that depiction of morality.

I’d also like to point out why I read it in English and think you should. In fact, I have decided to try to read all books from now on in their original language (if I can actually read well enough in that language). I feel like it really makes the ideas the author is trying to get across much clearer, and the whole experience is just more authentic and enjoyable (even though the paperbacks’ tiny fonts are pretty annoying).

To sum up, it is a really nice read which brings up a couple of important points that might have passed unnoticed in the flood of news we get every day (and I’m not even talking about how stuff gets hidden in mainstream media, as i think you readers have your own means to find news). I am looking forward to reading more of his books, to see if they are as informed and important as this one, which I recommend to anyone even slightly interested in the subject.

– Image from Wikipedia
Edited for clarity@11 Aug, 2008 – 01:40am