From: "Rich Gauszka" 

I agree that it was a quick read yet Crichton he did present some
interesting concerns about gene patenting and it could have been a pretty
good corporate/patent horror story without the gene mutants portion of the
story.   I agree about your  suspend disbelief remark and Crichton did
waste
an opportunity to present his case in a real world scenario instead of a
mutant fantasy land - nothing against mutant fantasy lands but others have
done that part far better than Crichton

Crichton's key points

. Stop patenting genes.
   2. Establish clear guidelines for the use of human tissues.
   3. Pass laws to ensure that data about gene testing is made public. He's
referring to results of gene therapy trials.
   4. Avoid bans on research.
   5. Rescind the Bayh-Dole Act (that allows universities to patent and make
money off their research).





"John Beamish"  wrote in message
news:op.tobrxarvm6tn4t{at}dellblack.wlfdle.phub.net.cable.rogers.com...
>I think the first reference I saw to "Next" was here and so I feel
>somewhat compelled to report back.
>
> If you weren't aware, the plotline revolves around genetic engineering and
> the book has an approach similar to "State of Fear" with just enough
> science mixed in with cardboard characters and thinly sketched out
> plotlines to stretch out for several hundred pages of prose.
>
> It's a typical Crichton read:  it's a page turner.  It's also a chapter
> turner ... in two cases the chapters were a page long.  It's also a
> plot-turner ... there are enough sub-plots to compare this with Syriana
> (though they are nowhere nearly as well handled).  And it's also an
> interesting -- but very, very brief -- exploration of some of the moral
> and ethical issues.
>
> I don't think it will be to all tastes ... even to fans of the genre.  It
> requires a lot -- a LOT -- of willing suspension of disbelief:  a
> transgenic monkey/man who converses and can be enroled in school; an
> African Grey who has rudimentary conversational abilities; an orang with
> unnatural vocal chords letting it speak and curse in several languages
> (haul out your English-French and English-Afrikaans dictionaries to learn
> some new phrases!) and a court scene that defies all belief.
>
> But those are minor cavils.  A significant resolution of the plot depends
> on the African Grey (after making a cross-country flight) and the
> transgenic monkey/man inadvertently thwarting a kidnapping!
>
> The book has all the care and gentle nurturing of an idea that one would
> expect from someone who seems to have needed a quick "few hundred
thou".
> I have trouble recommending it for anything other than a library borrow.
> At best, it's an "on the hammock under the tree or on the beach with a
> couple of cool ones" read.  At worst it's an "who will give
me back the
> time that I spent reading it" book.
>

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