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B picked up this Michael Crichton book at the airport when he went to Chicago a couple of months ago. I picked it up last week because I was looking for something quick and easy to read while I had a migraine.

I think all of my eye rolling may have made my migraine worse, but I was too stubborn to put the book down. I'll say this for Crichton, he knows how to write a gripping story. But he has the same problem as Hiaason - too many dang characters.

The plot centers around genetic engineering and unscrupulous biogenetics lab stealing genes from unsuspecting patients and around transgenetic animals, specifically a half chimp/half man and a half parrot/half man. The parrot looks like a parrot, but he has a personality and can think and speak on his own.

I rolled my eyes a lot while reading the book because Crichton likes to fill his stories with lots of "facts" and explanations that are meant to alarm the reader. After reading this book, one might think that scientists are on the verge of really stealing genes from people and of creating human/animal hybrids. Crichton includes a long bibliography and recommended reading list at the end of the book, like the reader is supposed to do further research.

I've enjoyed a lot of Crichton's books - Jurassic Park is a fun read, and the Great Train Robbery was a pretty amazing novel - but I can't say I'd recommend this one.