I recently finished reading Next, by Michael Crichton. It’s a gripping story, written in Crichton’s distinctive style, with a very staccato flow to the chapters and a very chaotic climax towards the end. He covers a lot of parallel stories that (kind of) tie together in the end. In his last few chapters, especially one involving a judge rendering a long-winded verdict, he dips a little too far into straight-out preaching. But that’s not a problem.

Next is clearly intended to be more than just a work of fiction. It shocks the reader by showing how a work of frightening and bizarre fiction, which sounds more like fantasy than realism, could be happening today (and you just wouldn’t know about it). Even before the story finishes, you are left with such a supreme sense of rage and dismay at how modern laws and unchecked medical powers have distorted everything about the practice of medicine — from the incentives for dishonesty placed in front of researchers, to the perversely indifferent sins of medical facility workers, to the bizarre legal status conferred by genetic patenting.

I was going to write a whole lot more. Then I saw that the New York Times has printed an op-ed by Crichton: Patenting Life. I think you should just go read that, instead.