Limitless

A Novel

By: Alan Glynn

Narrated by: Fred Berman

Length: 11 hrs and 46 mins

Publisher's summary

Now a major motion picture starring Bradley Cooper, Robert DeNiro, and Abbie Cornish.

Alan Glynn's Limitless is a high-concept thriller for this Adderall age, and a haunting meditation on the allure and the curse of human potential.

A burnout at thirty-five, months behind on his book, low on cash, and something of a loser, Eddie Spinola could use a shot in the arm. One day he randomly runs into Vernon, his ex-wife's brother, and his ex-dealer. Now employed by a shadowy pharmaceutical company, Vernon has something that might help: a new designer drug that stimulates brain function. One pill and Eddie is hooked. His book is finished within days; he learns and synthesizes information at a frightening rate; and he can go a long time without sleep or food. Naturally, he begins to play the stock market. But when Vernon turns up dead, Eddie makes off with the only stash of the drug in existence. Then come the side effects: black-outs, blinding headaches, and violent outbursts he can't seem to remember.

©2001 Alan Glynn (P)2011 Macmillan Audio

Critic reviews

“Alan Glynn has created enough twists and thrills to keep readers up late--even without resorting to illegal and dangerous substances.” —The New York Times Book Review

“A compulsive chemical thriller.” —San Francisco Chronicle

Maximum Wishfulment

Like I'm assuming is the case with most people, I discovered this book after watching the film. After watching the film numerous times and the short-lived series I wanted more. So I watched the film again this time looking for that inevitable line you get with most science fiction films that end up being good, "based on the book . . . " and there it was "The Dark Fields".

I was rather surprised that the publishers had already figured out that a bunch of people were going to be wanting to read the book and made it easier to find by changing the original title to that of the movie; however The Dark Fields is really a different story than the film, that only happens to hit a lot of the same beats. The book is great, and while it still holds true that the book overall is better than the film; the film ends up having the more satisfying ending. The changes made in the film did improve and streamline the book in some places for example I like the name Eddie Morra much better than Eddie Spinola. The love interest is completely made up for the film, though it's injection into that story does raise the stakes and helps make the protagonist a bit more relatable. A lot of instances that played out in montage in the film have a much bigger impact on the story in the novel.

Fred Berman was the perfect choice as narrator for this story. He brings this kind of manic energy to the reading that makes you feel like you're on NZT with the protagonist. Overall if you liked the film you'll probably like the novel, and there are enough differences in the two that you'll still have some surprises.

Great story and read with real emotion

loved it and couldn't stop listening to it. I became obsessed with finishing the story then was strangely left wanting more.

Limitless potential but limitless disappointment

I have never said this before, and really hate to say it, but the movie was better. The character frustrated me throughout the story. A super intelligent character limited to the point of stupidity by lack of story development. I didn’t expect him to become Jason Bourne but I wouldn’t have been the least bit surprised if author had him looking for a gas leak in the oven with a lighter. Disappointed in what could have been.

I was skeptical

I was skeptical about watching the movie. We all know the story, great preview, sucks when you see it. After watching the movie however I thought "Wow, not that bad." then I thought hey wonder if there is a book. And you know the rest. Like most books its better than the movie and has a different ending.

The performance by Fred Berman is excellent and he really makes Glynn's story pop.

In short. Get it!

Different Than The Movie But Still Good

I loved the movie that was based on this book. Having seen the movie first, I decided to read the book as well. While the basic flow of the story is similar, the book and movie have a lot of differences. While I have to admit that there were many elements of the movie that I felt were better than the book, I also very much enjoyed reading the book.

I like one reviewers observation that this was a modern-day Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. I think that is right on. And while the obvious moral of the story might be "drugs are bad," I also thought that the story was quite a good metaphor for our modern society, in which we seem like we always have to be busy, always moving, always doing something.

good story, minus the ending

What did you love best about Limitless?

I loved the writing style. A lot. Totally drew me in with the author-narrator's "voice." And the Narrator, Fred Berman, nailed it with his presentation.

Great story.

I watched this film years ago and it inspired me to become limitless. The book is just as inspiring. If you invest the time in yourself, and have realistic time frames to learn data, you can achieve similar results without the whole experimental drug dilemna.

not bad

It was worth the listen. I found the movie to be much more enjoyable but this was definitely worth the listen.

Awesome book. Terrible short ending…

The movie is almost a 1 for 1 copy of this book up until the end. The end is very short and a bummer. I prefer the movie ending. The book was interesting until the last hour or so for that I’m giving it 3 stars.

Liked the movie better.

I liked the movie much better but it was worth the money. I recommend it especially if you haven't seen the movie because once you read it you will want to see the movie and I'm sure you'll enjoy the movie much more.