The Dark Fields Final Recap Blog

(SPOILERS!!!)



The Dark Fields was quite the book; it's easily my favorite book I've read this year. It was hard to get into though, to be honest, especially after seeing the movie beforehand. I wasn't expecting totally different things to happen, but they did. Even though it was tough to get into at first, the book really was intriguing, and a very captivating read.

 The Dark Fields also touched on some very contemporary and controversial topics, such as drug addictions and secrets. If The Dark Fields wasn’t one thing, that thing would be sugarcoated. Everything is right there, all of the alcohol, sex, drugs, and violence; it was a no bars type of read, and was very satisfying.  

 On the topic of drug addiction though, it approaches this problem is a different way. Most of the time, drug addicts in books are always taking hard, bad drugs like heroin and methamphetamine. These drugs don’t really give people anything except this “fix” they’re looking for, it may feel good as well, but it doesn’t really offer anything else. MDT, on the other hand, seems to be more like a medical miracle rather than some drug.

 MDT allows people to tap the 75% of our brain we allegedly don’t use. I say allegedly because it’s proven that we use all of our brain, just not all at once. Back on topic though, this drug allows people to perform things better than they ever have, to learn things faster than they normally would, and to remember even the most minute details over years’ time. There is another layer beneath though, that still gives people dependency, like these other hard drugs do.

 In a way I think that MDT is an allegory on all drugs, how they offer this seemingly good thing, but really have deeper consequences that aren’t worth it. Unlike the movie, at the end of the book Eddie dies, but I think it was satisfying if you take the book as a warning more than entertainment like you would the movie. I do prefer the movie’s ending better though.

 Another thing the book showcases are secrets. Everyone in the book keeps secrets, which end up ranging from non-essential, to life threatening. In the book, the Russian mobster really dreams of being an actor, and getting a big hit. Eddie, obviously, has his secret of MDT that he keeps from everyone, even his on and off girlfriend. At the end of the book there it even hints at the notion that the president is on it. As Eddie lies in a motel room dying, he looks into the president’s eyes on T.V. and sees the familiar hint of MDT in his eyes.

 I think that The Dark Fields was my favorite book I read this year because of how fast paced it was, but how it still took time to cover all the details and really delve into it. If you enjoyed the movie, I recommend though book, but be warned that you are probably not going to get what you expect. Anyone else who just enjoys a good thriller or sci-fi book would probably enjoy this as well.