The Dark Fields

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
This article is about the 2001 novel. For other uses, see Dark Fields.
The Dark Fields
US hardcover edition (2002) under original title, The Dark Fields.
Author Alan Glynn
Country Ireland
Language English
Subject Human enhancement
Genre Techno-thriller
Publisher Little, Brown and Company
Publication date
Media type Print, e-book, audiobook
Pages 336 pp.
ISBN 1-58234-224-5

The Dark Fields is a 2001 techno-thriller novel by Irish writer Alan Glynn.[1] It was re-released in March 2011 under the title Limitless, in order to coincide with its 2011 film adaptation.[2]


Eddie Spinola is a copywriter at a small publishing house in New York City. He starts using MDT-48, an experimental drug granting heightened intellectual, creative, and learning powers, and enabling its user to see meaningful patterns in large amounts of disparate information. However, he experiences drug dependence and mental instability.[3] On the run from police and creditors, facing death due to withdrawal from the drug, which he can no longer afford, his new career in high finance cut short by his increasingly erratic behavior, Eddie notices the President on television and recognizes the "alert, gorged MDT expression in his eyes." [4][5]

Publication details[edit]

The Dark Fields was first published in the UK by Little, Brown and Company in 2001,[6] and in the US by Bloomsbury USA in 2002.[7] Macmillan in the US and Faber and Faber in the UK later republished the novel under the title Limitless to coincide with the novel's film adaptation of that name.[8]

Film adaptation[edit]

Main article: Limitless

Limitless is a 2011 American thriller film based on The Dark Fields. The film was directed by Neil Burger and starred Bradley Cooper, Abbie Cornish, Andrew Howard and Robert De Niro. It was released in the United States and Canada on March 18, 2011. (Illuminating) The Dark Fields is mentioned in the film as the name of the book written by the main character.

TV spinoff[edit]

Main article: Limitless (TV series)

A spinoff of the novel, based on the film, was launched in 2015, called "Limitless".


  1. ^ "Alan Glynn: His Dark Places". Evening Herald. Retrieved 2011-03-18. 
  2. ^ Limitless, Amazon, accessed 18 March 2011.
  3. ^ Banash, David. "Alan Glynn's The Dark Fields". Reconstruction. 
  4. ^
  5. ^ Willis, Jessica (2002-03-12). "Alan Glynn's The Dark Fields". New York Press. 
  6. ^ "The Dark Fields". Amazon USA. Look inside - copyright page. Retrieved 2011-02-23. 
  7. ^ "The Dark Fields". Bloomsbury USA. Retrieved 2011-02-23. 
  8. ^ "Limitless". MacMillan. Retrieved 2011-02-23. 

External links[edit]