We expect Crichton to tackle something “futuristic-only-really-it’s-not” and his topic matter here is genetics, which is fascinating and makes for some thought-provoking reading, esp the stuff on gene patents. Crichton's got his activist hat on again and includes a final chapter where he makes five recommendations about how genetics should be handled - they all sound reasonable to me, though I fully admit I don't know much about this area.
Crichton still takes out some time to make side swipes at some of his more usual targets - academia, the media, the way teenage women dress, environmental movement - but to compensate he does offer a fresh structure. The last few Crichton novels would establish some bland hero and basically follow him or her on their journey; here is has a wider canvas and introduces a whole bunch of characters and you're not sure who is going to be the hero (though when you see one is a single mother you get the feeling she'll get a lot of the action towards the end... and you'll be right.)
The tone feels a bit lighter here - there is peril, but it doesn't seem as deadly, and there is a bit more humour than usual. The stuff about the talking parrot and chimpanzee boy didn't quite 100% work. I'm not saying it's not true or won't happen soon, it just felt a little bit silly. On the other hand the stuff about bounty hunters trying to extract genes felt all too believable and was terrifying and exciting.
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