Crichton's book, Next, focuses on the ethical and legal issues involved in genetic testing and engineering. The story is woven around a set of characters whose lives have been affected by current scientific techniques. While it may have been a little slow in the beginning and often technical, I liked this book because it left me with questions: What are the implications of patenting something that is a part of nature? How will we cope/deal with the consequences of genetic research? How can such testing be regulated?

Great book discussion book!