When it comes to genetic research, I wonder what will happen Next

Genetic engineering holds many promises for curing diseases and correcting genetic defects in people. It's not surprising that many see genetic research as a "magic bullet" that will alleviate suffering and even correct undesirable behavioral traits.

However, there are some drawbacks to genetic engineering that could disrupt our society in ways unimaginable. In Next, author Michael Crichton explores some of these emerging problems and should give pause to anyone who thinks genetic engineering offers nothing but miraculous results.

Next is a collection of fictionalized events in which both people and animals are exposed to genetic engineering experiments. Each story involves separate incidents and unrelated people, until near the book's end when most of the stories merge. Some of the stories are more believable than others, but nothing approaches Crichton's imagination shown in the dinosaur thriller Jurassic Park.

One if the more interesting stories involves a person who had his own human tissue harvested for research. He later finds out that research companies have reaped enormous profits from the research, and that his own flesh may be taken from him again. The story raises questions of research ownership and the rights of medical patients.

One of the odder stories involves a half-chimp, half-human named Dave who is being raised by a family. They pass him off as a boy with a rare genetic defect that causes excessive hairiness. At first it works, but eventually Dave gets angered at being teased and reverts to animal-like behavior, such as throwing poop at people!

Another interesting topic Crichton explores is behavior modification. In one tale a lab worker brings home a genetically modified spray that was being used on rodents. But his drug sniffing brother finds it and uses it to get high. Much to everyone's surprise the guy quits drugs and turns his life around very quickly. However, the spray has a terrible after-affect that ultimately causes pain and sorrow for everyone involved.

While I often enjoy the topics that Michael Crichton writes about, but I have always had mixed feelings about his writing style. The author often leaves little cliff hangers at the end of a chapter, then proceeds on to some other story for several dozen pages. And when the cliff hanger is finally resolved, it is often a letdown. In Next Crichton also mixes together many different topics, characters, and events. In this book I had a difficult time keeping all the characters and their scenarios straight in my mind.

The characters in Next are a mixed bag too. There are too many to list here, and most are not well developed. However, I think most of the characters portrayed in the book behave in a believable fashion; most are concerned about themselves more than anyone else. In one story a talking parrot takes on many human qualities, and in many ways he's the most memorable ''person'' in the book.

Despite the book's drawbacks, I did enjoy reading Next. It is fairly fast paced with a lot of interesting topics covered. Crichton effectively explores some of the not-so-obvious problems associated with genetic engineering, and raises questions about a whole host of ethical issues surrounding the industry. At the end of the book the author includes some suggestions for laws, such as requiring that results of gene testing are published.

Overall I rate Next as 3 stars. While I liked being forced to think through the issues raised in the book, the various storylines were often hard to follow and keep straight. I would have enjoyed the book more if the author had just two or three sub plots instead of six or seven. But I do recommend Next for anyone who is a fan of the author or has an interest in genetic research.

© trailhound. 2007.