The Ups and Downs of MDT-48

The Dark Fields by Alan Glynn

The Dark Fields is the thriller upon which the film Limitless (2011), starring Bradley Cooper, was based. And I say that the film was based upon, rather than adapted from, the book because, although you will be able to recognise one in the other for their similarities, the film did not follow the plot of the book strictly. Whether you prefer the book or the screen adaptation is, of course, entirely up to you.

The main character, Eddie Spinola, is a bit of an underachiever and fairly down on himself. He has a failed marriage behind him, a history with drugs and doesn't have the healthiest diet. After running into somebody from his past he begins using a drug called MDT-48, an experimental drug that benefits its user with enhanced cognitive abilities and has his brain functioning with perfect efficiency.

From here, Eddie goes on to use his new found intelligence, clarity and motivation to overcome many of the little obstacles his lifestyle has put before him. Then he goes further and amasses a small fortune for himself through trading stocks. However, the drug does not come without its side effects and before too long they make themselves apparent in the form of blackouts. As we progress through the novel we find that the side effects, and the effects of withdrawal from the drug, can be very dangerous for all concerned which leads to the protagonist asking himself some very searching questions.

The themes covered in the novel include drug use, mental health/well being, relationships and the corporate world (in particular, the world of trading). This thriller has plenty of action and suspense to keep the reader interested but it also asks questions.

At the heart of this novel is a theme that is as relevant today as it ever has been and is ever likely to be - people's desire for a quick fix. It can be what makes the drug user use, or the drinker drink or the protagonist use a drug that switches on his brain. Even though it is killing him.

The quick fix, a miraculous transformation, is appealing to the best of us (just think about all those diet books that promise the best results in just weeks!), but they rarely work as well we hope. Much better the route that asks a bit more from us. Of course, we don't want the main characters in our novels to learn these questions too easily - our books would be rather dull! We have them live out these struggles so that we might not have too, yet still learn the lessons those experiences give.

So, yeah. Beware of those that promise the quick fix! 

I Want to Share a Secret

IT by Stephen King

He is one of the wealthiest and most famous authors of our time, he has seen his works adapted for both the big and small screen and has authored close to a hundred works. You can guarantee that fledgling writers will at some point have come across his work, held up as a shining example of modern literature. And, though he is mostly associated with the genre of horror he has also penned works that show his versatility and that have demonstrated he is just a damned good storyteller.

Oh, and, I have read about five of his novels...

Yeah. I couldn't really believe that I had read so few of Stephen King's novels either. To make things worse, I read most of those years ago when I was a teenager ,and I haven't sought to discover more of  his literary output in the intervening years which see me creeping towards old-fartdom. I do not know why, of all the things that I became excited about as an adolescent, I didn't ride a wave of joy and pleasure when reading Stephen King's novels and make much more of a dent in the list of his works available to me as a reader...

Why am I saying this now, at the age of thirty-*cough, cough*?

Well, I recently immersed myself in his novel, IT. This is probably because of the film series which, based on the 1986 novel, concluded last year and had caught my eye when I saw it advertised. I mean, Bill Skarsgard's Pennywise is striking enough to stick around in the mind for a while...

Coming back to Stephen King's works I rediscovered just how great the man is at crafting a story, creating characters that are fleshed out and believable and a world in which the reader can immerse themselves. He does what all great writers achieve, which is to create his stories so well that the readers can become lost in them. There are no irritants such as poor dialogue or information dumps to wade through that get in the way of the story. And, at close to around 1,070 pages, in my opinion, it is a very good thing that it never felt like a chore to read any of this book.

I have since purchased a few more of Mr. King's novels and intend to discover more of his books because I have some catching up to do. I let them go as a teenager and I don't think I should have. The stories are really well written, the characters are so well created that you could swear they are real and the stories stick with you after the book is finished. Also, perhaps most importantly, when I read a Stephen King book, I can tell that there is something there underneath the story, something about being human, something good.

I will be reading the novels I have yet to read and re-reading the ones I read years ago very soon.

Oh, by the way, if you really want to know something surprising, I have never even held a Harry Potter book in my hands. Not once!

Available to purchase here (Disclosure: if you make a purchase through links in this blog, I may earn a commission from the seller, but that does not influence the contents of this blog).

Who Wants To Be A Writer?

The Five-Minute Writer by Margaret Geraghty

Margaret Geraghty has been inspiring students of the written word for over twenty years. She has run writing workshops, written for magazines (Writing Magazine and Writers' News) and authored books detailing techniques on how to characters, dialogues and plots. As if that weren't enough, she also has a degree in psychology which probably comes in handy when discussing the development of characters and their motivations and driving force.

Her book, The Five-Minute Writer, was gifted to me by a family member because it is well known amongst those close to me that I have a keen interest in prose and poetry, both as a fan and intrepid (though, as yet, unpublished) creator. The purpose of the book is to inspire you to write, as simple as that.

Each chapter discusses a writing-related topic - how to describe details and peculiarities, naming characters, and how to find triggers for writing, amongst many other topics - and each chapter ends with an exercise that, as the title of the book suggests, should take five minutes (or so) each. The idea being, I suppose, that it is better to spend at least five minutes a day, rather that no time at all, contemplating and considering one's writing. 

As somebody interested in writing, someone who has hopes of seeing some of his literary pursuits in print some day, I welcome any and all endeavours that may lead to an inspiration to write. And, having said that, I have nothing but praise for Margaret Geraghty's book and am glad I spent time reading it and undertaking the exercises therein. It has lead to my having a file on my laptop that is absolutely full (well, perhaps not absolutely full, but more than enough to be going on with) of ideas for short stories, a novel, poetry, articles etc. And, since the purpose of the book is to inspire, I can only say that, in my opinion, the author has done exactly as she set out to do and done so very well indeed.

I would recommend this book to any and all aspiring writers and, if this book is anything to go by, think it shall probably worth the time to check out other books by the same author ( More Five-Minute Writing and The Novelist's Guide).

Available for purchase here (Disclosure: if you purchase through links in this blog, I may earn a commission, but that does not influence the contents of this blog).

My First Blog Post Ever!

Who am I?

I am a fairly ordinary guy except that I love books, and I don't know many others who share that love. However, being the kind of guy that prefers to immerse himself into a novel than mingle at a party - or any other kind of social gathering - it could just be my social circle is limited by my own introverted interests.

This is my first blog. This is my first blog post ever! I am in my mid-thirties, an old millennial, I suppose, and I am slow to embracing all the technological flim flam that was really only just breaking into consciousness - at least in my experience - when I was a young and awkward teenager.

Perhaps the joy I find in reading stems from the awkwardness of me. I don't know. And, to be honest, I am not sure that I want to know; I wouldn't want to analyse this love of mine too much. That isn't what this blog is going to be about. This blog is going to be about the ever increasing collection of books that find themselves on my shelves. I won't be posting reviews as such. I will simply be sharing my love with you and, from there, let you make up your own mind.

Why am I blogging?

I am blogging because I love the written word. As an extension of my love of reading, I have a love of writing. Whether I have any talent as a writer or not (as opposed to this just being the ramblings of another hack with internet access) I am unsure - perhaps you will be the judge of that...

If you have made it this far, thank you for sticking with me. I can only try to assure you that this will get better. Remember, this is my first post...

What will I be blogging about?

Books, books, books! All the books that I have read, am reading or about to read will be written about here. Whether those posts will be lists, How-To Guides or any other kind of layout, I will decide upon based on the book itself and what I have learned from it. Basically, whatever format best expresses my experience of the book I am reading or have read.

Who am I writing for?

Book lovers, of course!

It may well be that you find a book here that you haven't read but have been curious about for some time. It may be that you have read all the books that I will write about but that my experience of that book was different from your own. I am certain that there will be people out there that can point out a thing or two, things that they noticed from their perspective, that I may have missed when reading.

It is definitely going to be my intention to get any readers of my blog involved in a discussion, to share their thoughts and feelings about books discussed and what I have had to say about them - it's the only way I will learn.

I hope that this can be fun and informative. As I finish this first post, preparing to press publish, fairly certain that there are things I am going to have to come back and tweak later, I hope that this is the beginning of something good...

So, yeah, hi. I am Phil and it's nice to meet you.