Book Cover

I mean, what was this - a drug for people who wanted to be more anal-retentive?

# Review

This novel is the source material for the film Limitless and follows a struggling copywriter Eddie Spinola who encounters a mysterious drug MDT-48 which grants him heightened cognitive abilities. Eddie quickly becomes reliant on the drug as it propels him to astronomical heights.

Unlike the film, the book is much more cynical; much of the story focuses on Eddie’s struggles with the side-effects of MDT and his slowly-unraveling life. Like a horror movie victim, Eddie makes a series of extremely short-sided and stupid decisions which ultimately leads to his downfall. The downfall is not continuous, Eddie’s story ebbs and flows and appears hopeful at times but the book begins with Eddie near his death so the audience is reminded that the book is a tragedy. The writing is edgy but not overly so. There is almost a comic book feeling to the writing which I liked. The pacing is fast and there is a certain intellectual quality to the book. I also really enjoyed the description of financial markets, from daytrading to large M&A deals, which felt nostalgic to my past roles in capital markets.

# Conclusion

I enjoyed the movie story more but the book is engaging as well.

# Overall rating: 7.5

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