Introduction
I am big fan of Michael Crichton and the plots that he
generally conjures. His story telling though usually leaves a lot to be
desired. So, when I heard that a movie by the name of Next is coming, I assumed that it was a movie based on the novel Next by Crichton
and as I like to read the book before I see a movie based on the book,
I decided to check the book. Of course, I later found out that the
movie was not based on the book and has nothing in common with the
book.
The Plot
Rick Diehl is the CEO of BioGen Research on of the Biotech
companies booming on gene therapies and research. He is under exceeding
pressure from Jack Watson, the venture capitalist funding BioGen, to
give out something breaking before the IPO of BioGen comes out.
BioGen’s future is based on cell line known as the Burnett cell line
obtained from a patient Frank Burnet when he was undergoing treatment
for Cancer.
As soon as Burnett comes to know of the commercial angle of his
cell line he takes legal recourse to stop the commercialization of his
cell lines and in the least asks for some compensation for the same.
The whole scene gets pretty murky with the doctor who treated him and
the university to which he is affiliated all joining in the fun, but at
the end BioGen manages to get a favorable verdict.
Things suddenly seem to be going great for Rick as one of his
scientists seems to have developed a maturity gene which allows people
to get mature. One accidental experiment on a human being shows up that
the has quit his drug addiction. Rick starts dreaming big and starts
planning to get Jack off his back by getting in other VCs into the
picture.
But, then luck takes another dip for Rick. First, he undergoes a
divorce with his wife who had conjured up the initial investment for
BioGen, then the cell line is some how stolen from his offsite storage
and someone contaminates the ones in his lab. To make matters worse,
the maturity gene seems to make people older quickly thus killing them
off way before their normal old age.
So what does Rick do to get out of this predicament? Check out this
whirlwind tour of the gene research worldwide with Michael Crichton for
the details.
Critic’s Viewpoint
Again Crichton has picked up a novel storyline based on
the current research going on worldwide as the basic plot for his
novel. The controversies and the ethical angle in gene research and
patenting provide enough ammunition for a captivating plot. Crichton
tries to use these controversies and angles and interweave them in a
story that can make the reader think about the issue and start thinking
about it.
But, again Crichton’s story telling fails him once more.
He seems to be interweaving too many stories together at the same time.
In fact, each angle seems totally disconnected and though he tries to
bring them all in one grand finale, it leaves an hollow feeling
overall. Also, the way the novel is inter-weaved with actual articles
appearing in between, should have worked in his favor, but his
selection of the articles again left him high and dry and at the end
you feel all these articles are just in there for fun element rather
than sparking off a thought process.
Also, I have felt in many of Crichton’s book that he has a
strong viewpoint on the issues in his book and seems to portray only
his viewpoint. The other aspects of it somehow get neglected unlike the
likes of Sir Isaac Asimov who had a masterly aspect of portraying an
issue from multiple viewpoints and leave the user as the judge of the
situation.
Of course, the book does highlight the controversies and the
horrors of the gene manipulations and the research, but stays away from
giving a concrete viewpoint on how the Gene research subject should be
handled. All through the book, the courts have been shown to be highly
lacking in making judgements on the Gene research related subject, but
then out of the blue at the end a small court suddenly seems to have
seen light and gives a maturish judgement on the subject.
Even with these defects, the book is still worth reading. It is a
very fast paced book and once you pick it up, it is very difficult to
keep it down. Crichton’s storytelling has improved a bit, but still he
needs to improve a lot if he has to extract the maximum out of the
fantastic story-lines he picks for his novels.
Summary
All in all another novel plot, not fully exploited by Michael Crichton. I would give this novel a four star rating based on the concept.