The Dark Fields

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It’s just that, if you sell it, unlike with novels, you’re almost certainly guaranteed the heartache of seeing your work twisted and changed out of all recognition, and multiple times. I’m not sure I’d have the stomach for that. But then, unless you’re in the big leagues, there’s very little money in books. And though my earnings from the movie deal were great and I’m not complaining for a second, it’s still peanuts compared to what other major players involved in the movie get. Alan Glynn: At a reading I did at Partners & Crime in New York when the book first came out someone asked me this question and I said that I would be filling out prescriptions after the Q&A. Which got a laugh. But I do get the question a lot, and I wish I had a satisfactory answer.

I have long been a student of peak potential and have read several books on the subject by Tony Robbins, Robin Sharma, Stephen Covey, etc. Whether or not a substance like MDT-48 exists, there is no question in my mind through my own experience with my development and that of family, friends, colleagues and others that we can approach a state of "limitlessness" by doing certain things. In the book, you'll notice that these certain things include: decluttering, diet, not smoking, exercise, reading, language learning, communication, culture appreciation, instruction from experts, and curiosity followed by research. The book and movie’s impact on me has more to do with approaching the state of limitlessness than about what I would do if someone like Vernon offered me this pill. JRM: Well, the way Vikas Swarup explained it to me, when I asked about the title of his novel Q & A being changed to Slumdog Millionaire for the movie tie-in book, he said he was ready to call a lawyer. And I worked it out from there. I also liked the idea of exploring a sort of latter-day Jay Gatsby, where the great re-invention of the self was reduced to a pill, a commodity. Undeniably clever, and hip enough to garner a cult following, but not much is left once the bells and whistles are stripped away.

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When it comes to tech (AI, cryptocurrency, and other tech buzzwords), the author attitude towards it is anxious and fearful.

I would recommend this to anyone who would enjoy a fast-paced story that considers either a conspiracy theory about what has been done or a what if about what could happen. I would think that anyone who has an interest in neuroethics would also enjoy this, I have forwarded this suggestion to 2 professors I know in that field and hope to discuss it with them at some point. Pee Wee, Potter, Vader honored at Scream Awards". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Associated Press. 2011-10-16 . Retrieved 2011-10-16. JRM: As Leslie says, “Welcome to my world.” She likens it to selling a house that someone else remodels. At least you get a fabulous price for the house. I guess a rights sale is more like selling the lot: nice view, good neighborhood—but someone’s still got to build the house. Alan Glynn: Again my experience is limited, but I’d say very different. My experiences with book publishers so far have been uniformly positive. The whole protracted, stop-start, ten-year thing, though, was a bit of a bummer, even from the remove I was at. I don’t know how people can work in the movie industry and stay sane. And the answer to that, of course, is that they probably don’t.

Alan Glynn: Yeah, Eddie dies. The movie is sort of post-Empire, in the current Brett Easton Ellis sense of the phrase—a just-say-yes, consequence-free rollercoaster ride—whereas the book is maybe more traditionally Empire; a morality tale, a Faustian pact where Eddie ultimately has to pay. There are really two competing stories in this read. The first is the story of Ned Sweeney, an early ’50s advertising executive in New York who is given a dose of an experimental drug called MDT-48. The hows and wheres and whys aren’t really important — at least, not too much for this narrative, which sometimes asks you to fill in the gaps. The thing is, MDT-48 is a smart drug that enhances human intelligence. Within minutes of taking the drug, Sweeney is suddenly hobnobbing with the likes of Marlon Brando and Marlyn Monroe, as well as civic leaders such as Robert Moses. What’s more, Sweeny’s able to hold his own intellectually with them. When the drug wears off, Sweeny will do anything to get another dose, even if it puts his family and work life at risk. Alan Glynn: Yes, absolutely. Lazarus-like. I always felt that it should have done better the first time round. The central idea really appeals to people, and everyone I’ve spoken to who’s read the book seems to love it.

A Publication of:

JRM: Movies seldom wind up what the original author envisioned. How satisfied were you with the completed film? Daisy Buchanan, since the green light, Gatsby's ambitious hopes, and Daisy are all symbolically one and the same. I chose the 48 because of Bach’s well-tempered Clavier, the 48, to suggest complexity, structure and beauty. But it’s obviously made-up shit. Custom made for the story. As it turned out, the book was very Hollywood-friendly, and could be pitched in four words: Viagra for the brain. My subsequent two books, although similar in style and pacing, are much harder to pitch—at least in shorthand movie terms.” In Chapter 5, when Gatsby and Daisy have reconnected, taking the symbolic meaning away from the green light