The average user rating for this Book is 5.7 out of 10 (based on 27 Votes).
super man gave it a10: To everyone who thinks this sin't an awesome book, all I can say is that I'm sorry you think that the Jurassic Park movie is better than the book and you think Hilary Duff rocks while thinking Tom Petty is a poser. Am I the only one who liked how Mr. Crichton used the two Jamies and the bounty hunter? Philistines.
Dave gave it a3: The premise of the book was very interesting, but because the subject matter is so complex it came off half baked. Crichton did well enough to keep my attention throughout the book, but that was about it. The ending was the best part not just because it was the end, but because it gave me time to make sense of a very frantic 400 pages with all of the different plots. In a perfect world this book would have been 600-700 pages, allowing for it to be better laid out and more detailed explanations of the complex genetics related material. You do not have to be a biology student to read this book, but if you know anything you feel like this novel was very “dumbed down” for the mass public. Not surprisingly I found the legal battle the most compelling part of the book, which he could have created a novel around. Instead he tried to cram the 5 or 6 different plots into 400 pages, which did not work.
David S gave it a1: This is his worst book ever! It was terribly confusing to read because he kept so many different stories going at the same time. In the end, he threw most of the stories together in a comical and trite fasion. The various stories he could not fit in were either just ignored or the characters suddenly died. I had a hard time making myself finish it.
Rupert D gave it an8: I enjoyed the different style Michael Crichton applied to Next. Although sometimes confusing, it is very easy to browse back through to an earlier chapter to remember each character, and it adds several perspectives to a few key points - most importantly that of gene patenting. Much more interesting than State of Fear, and in a significantly different style than his previous works, I recommend Next for being entertaining and enlightening. Crichton's novels are always well-researched, and this book is no exception.
Joseph S gave it a2: This book is terrible! It has like 12 different plots that lead nowhere. Characters are dull. It is scientifically inaccurate in almost every single fact. It tries to make a non-valid point. And it jumps from one story to the other, making it really hard to follow. It was like reading a "Scientific magazine" written by George W. Bush's advisers. Avoid this book at all costs.
Chris gave it a4: A confused book with no gripping plot development, the story ends before it really even begins. With such profoundly false statements as "the identical cells of a parent can be found in the child", the book focuses far too much on bizarre ways to create transgenic species, and far too little on doing anything with its characters. In fact, there are so many characters and side stories, there are too many loose ends for him to tie up by the end. Some stories have no substantial impact and add nothing to the story line. Others just finish with no conclusion. Still others are strung together near the end just to give the book some coherence, but it's done in a dull and predictable way. There was no sense of suspense from a supposed "thriller". The narration was also not up to par, never quite gripping like his previous work. Finally, the ending was extremely unrealistic and boring. Swing and a miss.
Tye gave it a4: A messy and fantasical plot mar this book's interesting theme. Definitely not in the same league as Crichton's other classics such as Jurassic Park or Andromeda Strain.
Andrew B gave it a2: Next is basically a watered-down version of State of Fear that talks about genetics instead of global warming. Its not nearly as informative, there are too many underdeveloped characters and the storyline is weak and uneventful. It basically contains everything Crichton HASN'T used in the past to make his books famous and enjoyable. I would suggest skipping this one. As for me, the only thing this book made me want to do is go pick up The Great Train Robbery again.
Rob A gave it a10: Sure the book jumped a lot, and had a lot of conflicting story lines, but this is one of the best books I've read in a long time. It made me feel like I was reading Jurassic Park all over again.
Zach S gave it a10: One of the best books that I have read in quite some time.
Jon D gave it a9: A chilling look at what *could* happen if scientific advances outstrip the legal and ethical constraints meant to regulate it. An excellent, informative novel well worth reading.
Karl B gave it an8: I think people are failing to realize the intentions of this book. It's not supposed to be a factually accurate portrayal of man's involvement in genetics and not supposed to make any kind of statement. It's supposed to make you think about how you feel about everything that happened in the book. While slightly freakish and outlandish, in subtler ways things the book discusses are coming true and people are going to have to make decisions on how they feel about it one way or the other. If you want to save yourself some time in the bookstore, just read the last few pages, his conclusions. The novel is good, and basically fictionally illustrates the consequences of each of his conclusions. He needed multiple plotlines to convey these ideas, and while it may be slightly confusing, it's not as bad as everyone here makes it out to be. As far as the child-molesting character bit, I just think that's funny.
Ben D gave it a10: This book is awesome. Not only is it expertly written but Crichton was clever enough to name a child-molesting character after a writer who gave his last book a negative review. His amazing foresight matches his level of talent!
Drunken Master gave it a0: This book is terrible. Not only is it poorly written but Crichton was low enough to name a child-molesting character after a writer whe gave his last book a negative review. His lack of ethics matches his level of talent.
John U gave it an8: I was fairly disappointed by Crichton's last two novels, "State of Fear" and "Prey." They were both entertaining reads, but lacked the power of his earlier novels. (I even loved "Timeline," a book which seems to divide Crichton fans more so than any other.) I find "Next" - so far (I'm almost at the end) - to be far more entertaining, although the multiple narratives are also rather hard to keep track of. It's nice to see him trying something different, but keeping a tighter reign on the storylines might have worked out better. Anyway, if you're a fan of the author's work it's worth a read. It doesn't seem quite as politically-motivated as State of Fear, yet at the same time it still manages to deliver - as all great Crichton books do - a statement on something important (in this case, man's involvement with genetics). I'm glad I read it, and I think the split praise here on Metacritic (it currently has a 58 rating) is a bit puzzling. I wouldn't say it's a great book, but it's certainly better than a 58.
Michael L gave it a5: An interesting read only because there were so many different plots going on, I had no idea which strand to fully invest myself in. Not Crichton's best, but it certainly seems well researched (at least to the unprofessional eye) and relevant to current issues with genetics. I felt Crichton's allusions to contemporary pop culture throughout the novel seemed out of place, and were nonconducive to the eventual outcome of the novel. Overall, a decent read but not what I expected, so I give it a 5.
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