Receptor

Limitless #2

by Alan Glynn

From the author of Limitless comes Receptor, an irresistable thriller that reveals the origins of MDT-48 and the consequences of unlocking the human mind.

On a Friday evening in 1953, Madison Avenue ad executive Ned Sweeney enjoys a cocktail in the apartment of a strange and charismatic man he met hours earlier. Ned doesn't know it, but he has just become a participant in Project MK-Ultra, a covert, CIA-run study of mind-control techniques. The experience transforms Ned, pulling him away from his wife and young son and into the inner circles of the richest and most powerful people of his day. In a matter of months, he is dead.

It is a tragedy Ned's family struggles to understand, then tries to forget . . . but some skeletons refuse to stay buried. More than sixty years later, Ned's grandson Ray is introduced to a retired government official who claims to know the details of Ned's life and death. Ray is prepared to dismiss the encounter, until he discovers that the now-elderly man once worked for the CIA. Ray digs deeper, and begins to question everything as he uncovers rumors of a mysterious "smart drug"—a fabled black-market cognitive enhancer called MDT-48.

Genres: Fiction, Science Fiction, Thriller, Contemporary, Audiobook, Fantasy, Novels

272 pages, Paperback

First published October 4, 2018

About the author

Alan Glynn is a graduate of Trinity College. His first novel, The Dark Fields, was released in March 2011 as the movie Limitless by Relativity Media. He is also the author of Graveland, Winterland and Bloodland, for which he won the 2011 Irish Book Award.

http://us.macmillan.com/author/alanglynn

Reviews

[Wee Lassie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book better than the first one ❤️

[Jeanette · Rating 4 out of 5]

Knocked my socks off! It's a solid 4.5 star read for me. I nearly gave it a 5. I most probably would have if the ending didn't dither and spread as it did. Alan Glynn is a smart aleck and he wanted to get too many various snark context applications in there for the ending "future" and other extrapolations.

Great plot and perfect era sense. And I was alive in both of them to know. Not a baby either.

I would put it forward that the CIA/FBI and DOJ in general have been routinely violating citizen and base individual civil rights (both) since their inceptions. That's not an outlier opinion either, not in any era. Breaking the law to act a "deed" is the operating status quo.

But this particular drug and route to mind expansion was probably the best premise I read in 2020. Right up my alley of tracking and Cognitive Psychology amongst other brain and chemistry fields. And like the secret LSD trials? Who were the chemical trials tested upon?

Is Alan Glynn always correct in some of his science or definitive personality posits? No. Was he eternally entertaining in this one? Yes! He especially had LBJ perfectly.

Do I agree with his politico snark and slots? Not particularly. And I do disagree on his ULTIMATE document thesis of economic expansions. Absolutely do. And I could refute it with facts and logic.

Regardless, this was a terrific character study on 5 or 6 counts. Also supremely "in" the periods and personalities of the periods. This is SO RARE. And it had oodles and oodles of "think" piece equivocations that were sublimely situated. Loved that aspect. It's even rarer in so much modern cliche track drama writing.

What a devilish smarty pants!

Why oh why- if their minds and personalities were SO expanded to perfections- did none of these 3 major figures who COULD- not divide and secrete their chemical purloined treasures??? It would have been the very first thing I did after experiencing a dose. (Especially within the 2019 period when it was a pill form. 1 pill alone would have been crushed and put into 3 separate locations in tiny isolation packaging just for future analysis purposes.) This would have been nearly the first thing I would do. None of them even considered it! In 1953 and 1954 with the pin drop. I would have after the 2nd try- coated 3 or 4 pins and put them into a sewing kit where they looked like they belonged. I have endless ideas for such a "do" and I am not enhanced whatsoever. You just could NOT keep a find like that "under your hat" for your own personal use in such a superb mind "use" period without such subterfuge as a given. But none of them thought of that?

And declining societies, going backwards in progress for production, consumption, and health are entirely possible. ALWAYS! Regardless of how production is build upon consumption habits. Or if resources reach a finite end. That argument is truly on the edge of humorous. Even if everyone was a genius and lived without any brain reversals to 200. Look at our own current 2020 year for proof. Up is down and down is up. Criminals (thugs and evil doers of immense injury/ death to others) are good (applauded and encouraged) and decent citizens of every good intent and production are used as scorn and worthy of injury fodder. A disease invented and planted can decimate entire economies. Quickly. Even with a very low death rate. With propaganda and fear mongering to "stay" for far, far "afterwards". And yet the very inventors and distributors of it, are never held to task for recompense either. Let alone the intrinsic blames they deserve.

You can't have good times without the bad either. Ever. Not in Nature, Life forces/forms, or Economics. Not even in space. Every positive has a void or negative opposed that defines its own very nature.

Nearly a 5 star read. I can't wait to read his remaining. All. Schmoozing smarty pants supreme. He also holds hubris imagination. A good thing and often necessary.

[Liam · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is well worth a read as a follow up to Limitless, it explores the hypnotizing effects and consequences of MDT-48 from a series of new perspectives and timezones, mainly the 1960's and our current day.
It's nice to take another dive into the possibilities of the drug and our minds, the new narratives and characters provide a much deeper history of the drug whilst melding the lives of two distant relatives together in an uncany parallel. There's a fair few mentions and occasional crossover moments from the previous book which is exciting, and it answers a few questions that were left over from before.
I did miss the first person intensity of Limitless and would have to say that the explosive and unpredictable nature of that book weren't quite matched here (for me), but it was a good read and I feel like it's been positioned well for another sequel which I'll preorder if it happens. I'd reccomend for any fans of the first book, though I can't picture it to have quite as much pull towards a new reader without the context of #1.

I'm reviewing here (possibly??) for the first time because I really do appreciate the dive Alan took heading back into this world, I hope there are more.

[Matthew · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really fantastic book. I havent read 'The Dark Fields' yet but I 100% will after reading this. Glynn is a great writer, snappy, quick, with well done characters and slick and quick plot. The premise of this whole universe is so simple, a uber smart drug, but what he does with it and how he situates it in larger socio-political frameworks is just fantastic.

[Mason · Rating 4 out of 5]

7.4 Incredible concept and plot. Felt somewhat rushed at times and complacent at others. Really good book that left me wanting a third despite its drawbacks. Receptor < Darkfields but definitely worth the read.

[Aayush · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little iffy in plots; characters can only be as smart as the writer lets them be, but a solid read. At least 3.5/5.

[Drew Keim · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good "origin story" of sorts.

I'll have to go back and reread the first book. I think this storyline was much better done. I recall being disappointed with the first book, as it was not as good as the movie. I finish this book with nothing but good feelings.

__________________________________________
1 star = Did not finish / did not like
2 stars = Had trouble keeping attention to finish
3 stars = Good enjoyable book. A great way to spend my time.
4 stars = Couldn't set the book down. Engaging. Great Book.
Will likely reread when more of the series is released.
5 stars = (4 stars) plus such a good book I will re-read it periodically.
___________________________________________

[Ole Ledger · Rating 1 out of 5]

I love the premise of these books and hate the execution. When I finished this book, my first two immediate feelings was immense dissatisfaction and the feeling that I would still hate read another book if the author decided to do a sequel because I think the idea of a drug that makes you a superhuman is a fun idea to explore.

The ending is terrible. I would say the ending was akin a juggler deciding to end their act by walking away while everything is still in the air.

[Alex Sipigin · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you enjoyed the first one — you'll probably enjoy this one, too.

You can't step into the same river twice, though, so it's pretty much more of the same, yet watered down a little, which makes it a bit dull at times.

Finally, the open ending is rather annoying, at least from my point of view, since the most thrilling thing is about to happen — and then the book suddenly ends. But, maybe, it's a set-up for part 3, who knows.

[Zachary Houle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alan Glynn’s Receptor is a wow of a thriller. That may be surprising because, generally speaking, books that come out in January are crappy. The holidays are done, everyone’s back at work, and nobody has time for reading again, right? Well, for a January book, Receptor is a novel that should be read by anyone with a passing interest in the thriller genre. It’s actually the sequel to the book Limitless, which was made into a Hollywood movie starring Bradley Cooper before he was really famous and, later, was made into a TV show. Here’s the thing: the book doesn’t read like a sequel. I wouldn’t have known it was the sequel to anything unless someone told me. The novel stands on its own.

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.

The second story is the tale of Sweeney’s grandson, Ray, who is in the political game of helping congresspeople win elections through data mining and such things. Well, Ray’s client, a congresswoman, has a father who wants to meet him. It turns out that the man, Clay Porter, knew Ray’s grandfather — and also knows that his grandfather’s early death was not a suicide. Ray gets pulled into the narrative stream of his grandfather’s life, until the two stories co-mingle and merge eventually.

Read the rest of the review here: https://medium.com/@zachary_houle/a-r...

[J Earl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Receptor from Alan Glynn is a sequel (sorta) to Limitless/The Dark Fields. It might be more accurate to say it takes place in the same world and answers many of the questions the other book raised but not necessarily a straightforward sequel. But that is mostly beside the point because this novel can easily be read as a standalone.

The story itself is told in 2 timelines, contemporary and the 1950s. The action is fast paced and keeps the reader wanting to learn more. In broad terms, there is governmental experimentation on civilians, plenty of conspiracies (and conspiracy theories), and even some family drama/interest in the story. Those alone would make this a fun read and well worth the time.

The real fun part, I think, is how the area of cognitive enhancement is explored. The topic is hotly debated, especially in the US, and research often avoids the term enhancement in their proposals in order to gain federal grant money. This book, coupled with Limitless, looks at many of the dark possibilities of cognitive enhancement run amok. Reading, and then thinking, about future possibilities is both interesting and can serve the useful function of helping to consider proper guidelines as research and, maybe, implementation becomes possible. Even aside from any pragmatic aspect, looking at the dark side of any scientific development makes for an exciting "what if" scenario.

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.

Reviewed from a copy made available through Goodreads First Reads.

[Jo-Ann Duff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Full disclosure straight up.  I hadn't read The Dark Fields and only had the movie Limitless with Bradley Cooper to go buy, and I really enjoyed that movie!  What if you could take a pill to expand your brain power? To become whatever you wanted to be? Cure world ills, become richer than in your wildest dreams and more powerful than you ever thought possible? It would be great, wouldn't it? It would! Until you think about the knock-on effects and chain reactions which would ensue. Not to mention the withdrawals and side effects.

Under The Night is a superbly written novel about how this secretive and powerful brain expanding drug MDT-48 came to be. it's a book written in two parts, one from the point of view of Ned Sweeney in the '50s and Ray Sweeney, Ned's grandson 60 years later. The two stories unveil themselves at a decent pace and I enjoyed flicking from the 50's world of dark corners, secret testing, conspiracy and power to a modern day whodunit.

Both characters are relatable and believable and I particularly enjoyed following Ned Sweeney go down the rabbit hole into his own brilliant, chemically enhanced mind and his ever-growing ego. It's a classic moral dilemma. If you had the pills in your possession would you take one? I'm not sure I would be able to resist!

You don't need to have read The Dark Fields, but I do suggest you would have seen the movie Limitless at least.  The book does stand alone, but having the overarching story of MDT-48 under your belt makes this read all the richer.

[Frank · Rating 3 out of 5]

While this book offers a comprehensive, and somewhat of a satisfying backstory of the fascinating compound that is the MDT48, it also exposes the author's lack of research/understanding on the subjects that he wished to impress his audience with.

Comparing to the self-contained stock exchange theme in The Dark Fields, which is insightful in regards to what it takes in order to excel in the stock market (ability to see connections in an almost indefinite amount of data, the concern of micro-trading bots...) Under The Night tries to explore the effect of MDT over too many fields: advertisement, politics, physics, and tech. While Ned Sweeny's "insights" regarding the 1940s' political scene seemed amazing to his peers, to us, and the author, it's all just regurgitated hindsight.

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

I sincerely hope this MDT saga stops with this second book. Book 2 is disappointing but all in all not a bad read. If the author insists on writing a third book in which he's likely going to depict a scenario where humans valiantly combat the advent of AI with their 'intuitions' aided by MDT, I don't think it's gonna be an enjoyable read given his knowledge reserve.

[Lutz Barz · Rating 1 out of 5]

Trying to cash in in the last decade when everybody was Autistic is this writers background theme. [I have been diagnosed with that by my now defunct psychiatrist]. After making that declamation of his character, the forgets about how Autists think, operate and make their way through life. Utterly ignorant but had to pretend to be au fait with the trend at the time. The plot is not original. An advertising executive gets drawn into the murky world of the then CIA who aim to destroy him. In reality the youth culture by flooding the West with LSD. That is for real people. The plot isn't. It veers off into the gosh, the evils of smoking. The setting is the early mid 60s. No one cared and everybody puffed away. The executive gets dowsed with acid and the trips he has are so badly written they are not even funny but ridiculous. Another writer who pretended to know the drug scene and then described alcoholic benders. Read it and be amazed how bad writing sells.

[Kim McGee · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is part of a series but you can read it as a standalone and the series continues after this one. This story begins in New York in the 50's where an ad man is given a hallucinogenic drug that opens up his world- it alters how he thinks and suddenly he craves it as much as the power and knowledge it gives him. But, he burns too bright and bad things happen. Fast forward to his grandson who learns more about the grandfather he never knew and the secrets he held. A breakthrough drug, secret CIA druggings, brilliant minds, and a dangerous conspiracy leads to the question of whether this dangerous drug was a mistake that was covered up in the late 50's or is it still out there. This is the kind of book that brings up more questions than answers and like the drug, you can't get enough. My thanks to the publisher for the advance copy.

[Jamin VanderBerg · Rating 3 out of 5]

This has none of the best parts of the first book. Instead, it appears to be a reflection of the movie. All of the dangers of the drug are completely ignored (or worse, mentioned and disregarded), instead favoring the wish fulfillment fantasy that the Limitless movie was. While the movie was fun, I expect more introspection from a novel, especially after reading the first book. The first book was a dark story of an unlikeable man struggling with addiction. It sounds awful, but it was brilliant (in my opinion). This books swaps the enemy within for an external one, and all the consequence of drug use are discarded in leui of a shadow organization trying to keep the drug from getting out. It was a good read, but I found myself disappointed overall. It just lacked depth.

[Alfred Appiah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I never read the first book, I actually just picked this one up by accident at the library but it was a great accidental find. The book had me on the edge almost the entire time I was reading it. The pace was very well set. I enjoyed the fact that it transitioned between time periods in chapters and not in between chapters which helped avoid confusion. It also seems like a follow up to the movie (which I have seen) which was an interesting take. It seemed almost like a prequel to the events of the film, with events effecting the main characters grandfather, the events of the film, then the events of the main character himself. Would definitely check it out from the library and read it again

[Katrina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Been more years than I care to remember since I stumbled across a proof copy of The Dark Fields, so discovering Under The Night was a very pleasant surprise. The plot moves quickly without Glynn sacrificing the quality of his writing to move things along. The story being told across two separate time periods was a nice touch and the plot flowed very smoothly. While admittedly, I didn't feel Under the Night was as intense as its predecessor - which may have been down to the first person narrative - there was enough here to make up for it.

With thanks to Faber and Netgalley for the arc.

[Meg · Rating 4 out of 5]

The plot for this novel is based on the known fact that the CIA experimented on US citizens with mind-altering drugs without the citizens' knowledge. The fictional mind-altering drug, MDT-48, is still being produced but is only available to a select few. The effort to keep the drug hidden while other people want to use it makes this novel an interesting read. I received this book as part of the Goodreads Giveaway program.

[Cj Zawacki · Rating 5 out of 5]

The CIA had committed drug trails on American Citizens in the 1950's. Lsd was some of the drugs used on unknowing victims to see if it could be of benefit to use in the Cold War. But what if a drug increased a person ability to concentrate, understand and work on today's problems with all the functions they learned from their life?
This is the base for RECEPTOR, by Allan Glynn. A well written novel that bounces between today's timeline and the 50's of a discovery that the main characters finds that his grandfather did not commit suicide like he was told. The book is a sequel to the authors LIMITLESS, but stands alone to read. A great mystery, sci-fi novel.

[Ahmad Briz · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was originally very happy to find this book that is allegedly the sequel of Limitless.
But I didn't enjoy this one as much as I did Limitless.
Please don't get me wrong it's a captivating story with some connections to the original one. But Alan tried something new here which is telling 2 stories in 2 different timelines I personally found this distracting and I found myself disappointed at the end because all I wanted is another dose of MDT48 experience. But this one was too watered down.

[Marion Schloemer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Again, this is a “good not great” book. Each chapter alternates from present day to the past. And sometimes it’s hard to remember where you are. It can be a little disorienting. In the end, I had it on in the background while I organize some files and cooked dinner… It was entertaining that way, but I can’t actually tell you what it was really about. Which kind of means that I wasted an audible credit on this one.

[Luisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This sequel about the mind drug MDT-48, Receptor/Under the Night (published 2018), is much better written than Limitless/The Dark Fields (published 2001). From the novel's ending, it's likely there will be another novel in the series - but hopefully before 2035.

Alan Glynn's writing is like, but not as good as, in my opinion, suspense/thriller novelists like Michael Connelly, Steve Berry, Gregg Andrew Hurwitz, Brad Meltzer, and James Rollins.

[Derek Moore · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you for the opportunity to receive a free copy of Receptor by Alan Glynn. However after reading some of the book I regretfully could not continue and finish for this is not part of my liking genre. Once again my gratitude for consideration of being chosen to receive Receptor. I have already passed this on to a friend.

[Spencer · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great follow-up to Glynn’s “Limitless” exploring the effects of MDT-48 in a slightly different way. A thriller in every sense of the word, this book puts you right in the middle of the action from accidentally discovering the effects in the 50’s to tracing down the real story in the present day...a page turner to say the least.

[Ryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Didn't quite compare to the genius of the first book "the dark fields".
It takes the story much further down the conspiracy and nature of the drug route.
The constant moving between future and past didn't really work for me as it felt like 2 short stories that both skipped on detail.
If you lived the first like me though you will still like this follow up

[Myles · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very cool addition to the limitless book and world of MDT-48. It's one of those books that goes back and forth between which character the chapters are about. At first this is confusing since the main characters are referenced by the same last name. Eventually it helps give an odd flow to the book that actually helps build the story and keeps you reading.

[Karen]

For the moment, I'm going to have to DNF this - I can't seem to follow it all, possibly because I've not read The Dark Fields, nor seen the movie Limitless which they are saying is both the sequel and prequel to this one. Most definitely the fault of this reader who has had a few goes at this one now and just can't get into it.

[Adrian Kleinbergen · Rating 5 out of 5]

MDT for me, see?

Great follow-up to "Limitless." It was funny having Trump show up at one point. Imagine everyone hopped-up on MDT; what a whirlwind of dangerous possibilities. We saw that MDT doesn't make someone good; look at Gennady in the first book. Imagine the kind of destructive James Bond villains that might be made with a dose of MDT? It was a good read.

[Angstreichian · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed it better than the first and the plot flowed well. The different perspectives were intriguing and I feel there is enough material for a sequel. As for Glynn's writing he was concise and showed a strong and almost autodidactic level of knowledge of different topics to demonstrate the effects of MDT.