50 Books in a Year: Book #16 Limitless (The Dark Fields)

 "He had come a long way to this blue lawn, and his dream must have seemed so close that he could hardly fail to grasp it. He did not know that it was already behind him, somewhere back in that vast obscurity beyond the city, where the dark fields of the republic rolled on under the night." ~The Great Gatsby

          Book #16 came out in 2001 and was aptly titled The Dark Fields from The Great Gatsby. In releasing the movie adaptation they changed the book title to match the movie, rereleased it and Limitless (The Dark Fields) was born.
          I truly stumbled upon Limitless, first in a bookstore and second, in the theatre and would not have watched it (and, therefore not have read it) if I would have just watched the previews; previews that made the movie seem more like Wall Street III and not the techno-thriller it is. Even Bradley Cooper was not enticing me to watch this, what I believed, over-done premise.
         And, then I saw the book and read the back, all of the sudden it sounded Science-Fictiony (yeah, that's a word) and cool. I did not buy the book then, though, didn't have time as we were on our way to a different movie.
        Time passed.
        Last Monday, I had the whole day to myself and the idea of watching a movie in the theatre all alone seemed appealing. The movie was pretty (nice wardrobe, cinematography that genuinely astounded me and, well, Bradley Cooper) and made me feel really, really good, like I could conquer the world good--the intro is trippy, the action intense, and there's this scene with a pool of blood that had me on the edge of my seat. The perfect movie to watch alone. I had time, not only, to watch it as an action film, but to think about it as a cautionary tale, which it is, how could a movie about the ultimate drug not be. I even got to watch the credits all the way to the end and learned that the director is the same guy who directed and wrote The Illusionist (which is a lovely short story itself, found in The Barnum Museum, should you ever get the chance to read it, and the movie is beautiful and mesmerizing) and Interview with the Assassin (a strange, but intriguing little film). I downloaded the book onto the Nook as soon as I got home. I love a good technothriller as the genre brings together all the suspense and action of the Bourne trinity with deliciousness of a good science fiction story. The movie did not let me down and so far the book is fast-paced and has me on the edge of my seat, frankly, I want to be reading it right now, as I am almost finished...and, if Eddie's descent is as meteoric as his rise, I can't wait.