The author, Robert Ludlum, is someone who can really paint a vivid picture of anywhere in the world he wants to take you. In this story there are lots of places involved. He is an exceptional writer with a great attention to detail, unlike any I’ve ever experienced before. He packs a load of information onto each and every page. This makes it a not so easy read, but if you can stay with it, the rewards are well worth it.
This story starts off with a floating body in the ocean waters just off the beautiful coast of Marseille. The a trawler comes by and rescues the man, who is also shot, and hasn’t much hope of living. He’s been in the water for 12 long hours, freezing.
So once they hit the coast, the man is taken to a doctor. He finally comes to and suffers from amnesia, and has no idea who he is. The only thing he has is a fiche, which has been implanted into his hip, with the number and the name from some Swiss bank account. It’s the only clue to his identity, aside from that, he could be just about anyone.
The doctor continues his work with the man, but gradually realizes that this man is not an average man, but a very highly trained professional of some kind, and believes him to be an assassin. The story move ahead to a deadly chase with the man trying to find out his true identity. No matter where he goes, people are wanting to kill him. He begins to realize that he is very capable in dealing with these situations, more than just an average joe. He strives to discover his connection and identity with the Swiss bank, and to find out who he really is. But he has to do it before Carlos (Europe’s most lethal hit man), or the American authorities can do away with him.
While Bourne is trained as a killer, responsible for many deaths, you still find yourself rooting for him. You realize that you only know him since the amnesia, and aren’t sure what he was before that. He could be someone totally different from what’s being revealed at this time.
The whole character of Bourne is indeed quite interesting. It’s a very clever concept, and you are contantly discovering new things as the story unfolds, at the same time as the man himself. And you have no guarantee that everything is as it seems, so you find yourself trying to figure things out and make assumptions as you stay glued to every detail.
The Bourne Supremacy and the Bourne Ultimatum are the two sequels that dig deeper into his past. There’s also one called the Bourne Legacy, written by Eric Van Lustbader as our Robert Ludlum.
I LOVE THE MOVIE BUT THE BOOK IS BETTER IM ONLY 12 I DONT CARE GIVE ME BOTH INCLUDING THE GAME
i just love the bourne novels, the jason bourne character itself,
his nemesis arkadin and the rest.
more power to the authors!
It has come to my attention that I made the mistake of reading one of Eric Van Lustbader’s abomination, and travesty against Robert Ludlum and the character of Jason Bourne. In no part of does Eric delve into the true inner turmoil of WEBB vs. BOURNE. Jason’s only Support structure Marie is killed off like the Movies (also a complete joke), with Van Lustbader’s poor attempt at creating a tie to a former child of David Webb’s former life in Asia, and the tragic death of his family that drove Webb into the madness of Treadstone, thus becoming Jason Bourne. Not just some simple Secret Military Indoctrination or Mind Warping gone wrong. Nor does it show the relationship between Webb/Bourne and Conklin, while in the 1st movie; Conklin is killed off without any real development. Van Lustbader is suddenly all about Bourne the Assassin and part CIA covert operative, something Bourne would never allow himself to be due to all the damage they had done to him, all the way back to the tragedy of his original family. Mr. Van Lustbader, if you read this, put your pen, Word Processor, Laptop away, and never ever produce another piece of trash, defacing the memory of one of the greatest writers of international intrigue and suspense the world has been lucky enough to know.
I totally agree with you, Tim. I had read “The Bourne Legacy”, and Eric’s Bourne it’s completely different from Ludlum’s Bourne. I would like to add that Bourne forgot that he is getting old and there is no more the same force. He forgot his childs. Ow.. He’s not human, he’s just a killer soldier. I hate Eric’s Bourne.
In this book, I decide to not read any other sequence written by Van Lustbader or any other author.
I also hate the other series that followed… Conklin and Panov killed….Marie and Webb’s family disappearing like smoke. It’s pure thrash. Jason Bourne gone awry full time. They should just STOP it and create their own character-series.
If you go on to read the Bourne Betratyal you will come back this follows more in the realm of Ludlum’s Bourne. I agree that the Legacy was way off base I am hoping that the Sanction, Objective and Dominion follow suite.
I think it would be a good idea to create a new “main” character for upcoming stories.
Robert Ludlum created a realistic conspiracy world and a very powerful character. I’m not saying that Van Lustbader is a bad writer, but I would prefer to see a new character created inside the Bourne world.
We know who Jason Bourne is and what he can do, but it would be nice to follow a origin story of another character
The world exists; the conspiracy is there; the bad guys are still there… and there are other agents ready to fight.
The Bourne Legacy movie is going to give us a new character, and I think the books should do the same.