Genetic disorder

Michael Crichton's new novel is a satire on the science and laws surrounding genetics. The subject matter is too absurd to treat any other way, he says. Michael Crichton used to tell people that his sense of humour had been surgically removed. His books contained few gags and little irony. But now he has written a satire about the state of the law and the science of genetics. "This makes it a bit of a departure," he says, "but it seems to me that the situation and the subject matter are so absurd that, unless you treat them as funny, you almost can’t discuss them ... and I am absolutely convinced that more people in the UK have a sense of humour than in the United States."