Book Review - "Next"

It's Book Review Time!!






Today I am reviewing Michael Crichton's novel "Next." This book came out a few months ago, but I just finished reading and thought I'd throw my 2 cents in and tell you what I thought.

In the spirit of full disclosure, I did not read this book all the way through on the first attempt. The narrative was pompous and uneven and also uninteresting, so I took a break, read another book, then picked up this one again and finished it.
The biggest problem i had with this novel was the overly large cast of characters. There are so many characters in this book that the first person to be introduced disappears after page 16 not to be seen again until around the page 250 mark. There were so many characters I lost track of who was who and "who cares!" I am a fan of Crichton's work (mostly) and I don't even mind the insane amount of technical jargon he throws in to tell the reader how much smarter he is than them. I do mind though when i read a book that is over 400 pages long and never produces any sort of real story. All the characters just floated along, most never connecting with the others until some minor event happens around page 350 that draws the story to it's mundane conclusion.
I think by now you probably know my opinion on this book. I would advise against purchase and if a desire to read this book happens against my best wishes, then please, go to a local library and rent it for free. Hell, you might even find something a lot more interesting and well written while you are there.

I give "Next" by Michael Crichton: * out of ***** stars