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Through fake tongue-in-cheek headlines and imaginative creations like transgenic (TG) dachshund-sized pet cockroaches, Perma-puppies, and deviant cacti growing human hair, Crichton gives listeners a satirical thriller with plenty to think about and more than a few giggles. Are your cells subject to eminent domain? Is genetic engineering already tinkering with transgenic animals and hybridizations? Through several stories that intersect, Dylan Baker gives one of those magical performances in which the narrator disappears and a world appears, populated by amoral biogeneticists, bounty hunters, bullies, and lawyers. Baker is a full-cast recording, creating an especially appealing Davy, a "humanzee." And as Gerard, a TG parrot who imitates famous movie lines, Baker is at his best, doing Clint Eastwood, John Wayne, and a fantastic Bette Davis. Lots of fun. S.J.H. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award (c) AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine

February 26, 2007
Do you own your body's cells? If a doctor develops a cure for a disease using your cells in the process, are you entitled to a share of the profits? These are some of the questions Crichton explores in his latest science-as-boogeyman polemic. Baker does all he can to give life to the characters, but they are little more than tools to convey the plot, so the author leaves him little to work with. Baker subtly shifts the tone of his voice to distinguish between characters and deftly alters the cadence of his speech to keep the narrative flowing. Despite his best efforts, though, Baker cannot turn the nonfiction interludes between chapters into anything remotely interesting. As if these weren't distracting enough, the multiple subplots make it quite difficult to keep track of what's going on, or how one plot line relates to another. Reading a book that goes in this many directions would be difficult enough, but on audio it's almost impossible to follow. Baker's performance is excellent all around, but listeners hoping Crichton would return to Jurassic Park
form will be left wanting. Simultaneous release with the S&S hardcover (reviewed online).