Next
by Michael Crichton · first published 2006
11mentions
5recommended by
10HN commenters
2012–2025first – last mentioned
50% recommend50% neutral
Why HN recommends it
A techno-thriller on the ethics and legal fallout of genetics and patents, from human-animal hybrids to the real story of Henrietta Lacks. Readers call it prescient, thoughtful and well written.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
Next is a 2006 satirical techno-thriller by Michael Crichton. It was the fifteenth novel under his own name and his twenty-fifth overall, and the last to be published during his lifetime.
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Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy - Adams Discworld series - Pratchett Foundation - Asimov American Gods - Gaiman Snow Crash - Stephenson Next - Crichton 1984 - Orwell
on “Ask HN: Great fiction books that have had a positive impact on your life?” ↗You might enjoy the novel Next, by Michael Crichton (Harvard M.D., author of E.R., Jurassic Park, etc.) Aside from the fact that most of his novels were pretty well written, the scary part is how much ahead of his time his ideas consistently…
on “Is the Supreme Court about to rule software ineligible for patent protection?” ↗I'm glad I read Next by Michael Crichton, or I might never have heard the story of Henrietta Lacks. Not that I've had the need luckily but I've been wary of having so much as a blood test since then.
on “Who owns your DNA? Privacy concerns in genetic testing services” ↗…techno-thriller? You don't need e-books to be relatively successful in that. You don't even have to go the quasi-military route of Tom Clancy - how about Daemon and Freedom(tm) by Daniel Suarez, or Crichton's Next?
on “Science Fiction, big ideas, ideology: what is to be done?” ↗Michael Crichton's novel "Next"[1] was a fantastic exploration of the implications of such issues being brought up here like: liability when the infringing patents are in you, in animals, in human-animal hybrids capable of human-level…
on “Supreme Court: Natural Isolated DNA Not Patentable, Synthetic DNA Is [pdf]” ↗…never, ever escape and reproduce, because we are scientists, really smart, we know what we do, etc" (Modified mosquitoes escape and reproduce) Null Hypothesis is false, and Crichton is still a rich man. Next question.
on “Genetically modified mosquitoes breed in Brazil” ↗Michael Crichton explored the chimera idea extensively in the novel "Next". However he was more interested in "manimals" and how society would react to them. The novel also touches upon the idea of patents and ownership of biological organisms including human-like hybrids.…
on “In Search for Cures, Scientists Create Multispecies Embryos” ↗"This was famously used by Michael Crichton in Next..." Here's the portion of the book [1]: ''' Alex Burnet was in the middle of the most difficult trial of her career, a rape case involving the sexual assault of a two-year-old boy in Malibu. The defendant,…
…it doesn’t seem like anyone has been tasked with the responsibility for cleaning up the carcasses, which prompted a state senator to appeal to the governor to declare a state of emergency." Shades of Next here (the last novel by Michael Crichton): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Next_(Crichton_novel)
on “The unending quest to build a better chicken” ↗Where this could go was covered by (among others) Michael Chrichton's last novel Next [1] which games this out in some detail (as far as I am aware it's his only novel with endnotes). [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Next_(Crichton_novel)
on “Senate Vote Tomorrow Could Give Helping Hand to Patent Trolls” ↗Reminds me of the transgenic parrot in Michael Crichton's 'Next'.
on “Parrots separated at zoo after encouraging each to curse profusely at guests” ↗