Okay, I liked State of Fear. Started out really slow with some so-so characters, but it all worked out in the end. Very thought-provoking, which made up for the Crichton's usual flat characters (not to knock him, love his books, but he uses stock characters a lot).
I think I liked Next better, simply because I find genetics more exciting than global warming. That being said, these two books were also about science and politics in the new century -- something hinted at in his earlier books, but not with the same force.
"You're either lying or stupid." "I'm stupid! I'm stupid!" Megatron and Starscream