This is the title of Michael Crichton's latest novel. I'm not quite sure if I like this entry more than State of Fear because I felt like Fear's storyline was held together more consistently than Next's was. My favorite thing about his novels, though, is how they are always on the cutting edge of science and technology. With Next he constructs, as usual, a credible plot about how big private businesses are involved in advanced genetics research and the way it is starting tie in with the pharmeceutical industry. Crichton usually does a good job of holding multiple stories together and bringing them into the larger context of a grand plot but I get the impression that a personal investment in the subject matter prevented him from keeping this novel as tight as it should've been. It's good but it doesn't quite have the cohesion that Prey and State of Fear have. It definitely is a conversation starter though, if you're into debates about cloning and genes being responsible for certain behaviors, disorders, addictions and whatnot. Lot's of ethics issues like whether or not a company should be allowed to patent (or own) specific gene types and animal testing regulation. Crichton is like the Tom Clancy of science fiction, nothing unrealistic or unreasonable about where the technology is now and where it is going. I love the amount of research he puts into all of his novels, makes them more educational than your average Trek or Star Wars-esque novel. Next receives my fiction stamp of approval with the only qualification being that it is thoroughly secular. If you've read and enjoyed any of his previous novels then you shouldn't have any trouble getting into this one.
The expansion for World of Warcraft (WoW) has finally arrived. I should have already attained the new level cap by now had things gone according to the original plan (an October '06 release). Nevertheless, it is here! I spent about two hours playing it last night which is quite amazing since I was fully expecting the realm servers to be crashing all night long. The 'Dark Portal', the gate that gains you entrance into the majority of the expansion's content, opened at midnight server time which, in my case, happened to be midnight EST. There were a few select retailers open to sell the game at 12:01am and about a half an hour later I was creating a new character with one of the two new races. A little less than two hours later I am six levels up and am quite enjoying the new beginning area for this particular race. The art and map design seem more solid and polished than Blizzard's initial effort with the other races (not that it was bad). While there's nothing really new with the core system (combat mechanics, quest types and tasks, etc.) the change of scenery (new flora and fauna, architecture stylings, weapons and armor, etc.) is enough to make the beginning experience seem fresh. It'll be interesting to see if the same is true of leveling my 60 character to 70 in the new zones and dungeons. I have high expectations but Blizzard has never disappointed me.