The Prestige (2006), plus Dan Trachtenberg on Predator: Badlands and more

The Nolan Variations offers a comprehensive look at Christopher Nolan's career, featuring never-before-seen photographs, storyboards, and insights into his filmmaking process. The book delves into themes such as time, chaos, and dreams, providing an intimate portrait of one of Hollywood's most successful directors. Written with Nolan's full cooperation, it explores his influences, vision, and the evolution of his films.

The Prestige is a science fiction novel that tells the story of a bitter and deadly rivalry between two stage magicians, Alfred Borden and Rupert Angier, in late 19th-century England. The narrative is structured through a series of diaries and journals kept by the protagonists and their descendants. The feud begins after a tragic incident during a séance and escalates into a cycle of revenge and obsession, with each magician attempting to outdo the other through increasingly complex and dangerous illusions. The novel explores themes of obsession, deception, and the moral consequences of their actions, culminating in a dramatic revelation that ties together the past and present narratives.