Robert Ludlum's The Bourne Legacy

Jason Bourne #4

by Eric Van Lustbader, Robert Ludlum, Scott Brick

Jason Bourne, international assassin of deadly repute, was an identity assumed by covert agent David Webb. Retired from the CIA and now a professor at Georgetown University, Webb's life is finally his own. His newfound calm is shattered when he becomes the target of an assassin and is framed for the murder of his two closest associates—the only ones who knew the full truth about Bourne. Fighting for his life against unseen assailants, the Bourne identity asserts itself and Jason Bourne is once again in control.

Genres: Fiction, Thriller, Mystery, Action, Espionage, Suspense, Adventure

5 pages, Audio CD

First published January 1, 1995

About the author

Eric Van Lustbader was born and raised in Greenwich Village. He is the author of more than twenty-five best-selling novels, including The Ninja, in which he introduced Nicholas Linnear, one of modern fiction's most beloved and enduring heroes. The Ninja was sold to 20th CenturyFox, to be made into a major motion picture. His novels have been translated into over twenty languages.

Mr. Lustbader is a graduate of Columbia College, with a degree in Sociology. Before turning to writing full time, he enjoyed highly successful careers in the New York City public school system, where he holds licenses in both elementary and early childhood education, and in the music business, where he worked for Elektra Records and CBS Records, among other companies.

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

Reviews

[Holly · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you are a fan of the original Jason Bourne book Trilogy written by Robert Ludlum, then you know that the movies are a very loose representation of the story. That isn't a negative comment. When you take a book that is probably 20-25 hours worth of reading and condense it into a 2 hour movie, changes will be have to be made.
The reason I'm pointing this out is because the Bourne books that are written by Eric Van Lustbader are more in line with the movie trilogy than the original book trilogy by Ludlum.

For example, the book trilogy includes a wife and kids that are never part of the movies. The book trilogy lets Bourne have trusted friends, while the movie shows him as a total loner except for a girlfriend who dies. The final book in the original trilogy has Bourne experience aches and pains due to age because he lacks the physical prowess of his younger years. Obviously the movie has a verile Matt Damon as the undefeatable Bourne. Do you recall Pam from the movies? She is the agent who helps him in the end, and she doesn't even exist in the books.

I think these things are important to note, because if you are a fan of the movie trilogy, then Lustbaders writing will probably feel more familiar to the characters you are used to. I think movie fans will enjoy this book. In fact, I think this book would make a great 4th movie in the series. I could picture the movie in my mind while I read the book. I liked it a lot.

I like the original Bourne books by Ludlum also, but I almost consider them a completely different series. Sure the names are the same, but that is just about the only similarity. If you were expecting this book to read like Ludlum, it does not. The authors are different people with different styles of writing. I think you are better off not comparing the two. If you can get past that part, then you might really enjoy this book. It is an exciting spy drama all on it's own.

[K.D. Absolutely · Rating 1 out of 5]

One of the biggest showbiz news last year here in the Philippines was the shooting of the supposedly movie adaptation of this book, The Bourne Legacy. It lasted for almost two months and caused horrendous traffic in Manila. I was not able to watch any part of the shooting and missed the regular showing of the movie during its theater run. However, I watched the movie the first time it appeared in Blu-Ray. Thank you, St. Francis Square for my pirated DVD. I love the movie. In fact, I love all the Bourne movies. So when I saw a second-hand copy of this book by Eric Van Lustbader, I bought this right away. I said I would like to read more about how Lustbader depicted Manila in the story.

2012 Shooting of Robert Ludlum's fourth Bourne movie, "The Bourne Legacy." Location: City of Manila

Unfortunately, the story in the book is different from that of the movie. I only found that out when I was in the first 50 pages of the book. In a way, that disappointed me and to be honest, started my ill feeling towards this book.

The story is typical of the Jason Bourne series or books in this genre. Nothing really extraordinary but this suspense-thriller genre has a formula and I have no problem with it. What does not really sit well in this fourth book in the series is the cashing out of the Jason Bourne being an ex-Vietnam soldier. It was pointed out by one of my friends here in Goodreads that the Vietnam War ended in 1975 and this book was published in 2004. By around that time, Jason Bourne should be in his 50's and his son should at least be in his 30's at the very least. His son can still do all the action but somebody in his 50's who has not seen action because he went back to his real persona as the college professor David Webb? I thought it would have been nearly impossible for him to do all those non-stop fighting, car chasing, bomb detonation, running, etc. I think the Ludlum Estate is stretching too far the Jason Bourne series that Robert Ludlum actually intended only as a trilogy. Matt Damon made this series really popular that Ludlum Estate wants to squeeze out up to the last single drop of income out from Bourne's fans. That is very sad because it compromises the believability of the story and makes readers (and moviegoers) look like they already stopped thinking for themselves.

Also, I suggest that the use of amnesia to provide conflict in the story should be left to romance writers. Amnesia rarely happens and Jason Bourne forgetting that he is David Webb because of the death of his family in Cambodia should have ended beautifully like that. When he gets cured, he reverts back to being college professor David Webb and he forgets being Jason Bourne. However, in this book, Eric Van Lustbader wanted to extend the thrill of the trilogy so he decided to subject David Webb again to some kind of trauma by killing his 2 friends and framing him in the process. So, the professor again dons the Robert Bourne persona just like Spiderman getting into his red suit to do some action. This is crazy and too unbelievable. It is as if the character can be switched on and off like a walking doll or a computer game.

I just don't get this book. No wonder, the movie people chose not to use Eric Van Lustbader's plot. It's nice to be reassured that Hollywood people are considering the IQ of their target moviegoers. Something that cannot be said for Lustbader and his target readers.

[James · Rating 2 out of 5]

The fourth Bourne novel, but the first without Robert Ludlum at the helm. Sadly it shows, and Eric Van Lustbader's inexperience shines through. Inexperience, or possibly pressure from the publishers to get the book out there. Lustbader seems to feel nervous in the early parts of the novel and falls back on some overly purple-prose and alliterative-adjectives to cover up the lack of action. Instead these become a huge distraction themselves. Once the story kicks in the 'style' becomes much less obvious and Lustbader seems to find a pace he feels more comfortable with.

For no apparent reason Jason Bourne, as David Webb, is targeted for assassination by Khan (an uber-assassin who also believes he is Bourne's long-dead son). However both Khan and Bourne are being played against each other by a shadowy, power-hungry, figure – Spalko – who is pulling their (and other people's) strings for his own, unknown, purposes. They are led a merry chase from the US to France, to Hungary and then on to Iceland for the well-telegraphed anti-terrorism summit.

While the story is exciting, and you're always rooting for Bourne (and at some points for Khan too), the story between Bourne and Khan is almost totally unconnected to the story with Spalko and the Icelandic summit. Spalko triggers the Bourne/Khan sub-plot, but it serves no purpose toward his main objective. He would almost certainly have stood more chance of success if he'd not tried to get Bourne involved at all. Bourne would have stayed at home mourning the deaths of his friends, but that would have been it.

After four novels of the series, we're all pretty aware that Bourne is a super-spy. His training from Conklin in Vietnam made him the best in the world. Yet, repeatedly, Khan is able to follow him without Bourne noticing. Khan is able to 'guess' the direction Bourne has taken. And all to often, Khan manages to get to where Bourne is going before Bourne does. Pretty impressive when you're following someone. Even more impressive when you're following someone who isn't too sure where he's going himself.

Finally, further proof to me that this book was a rushed job, with the Ludlum estate pressuring Lustbader to get something out there quickly to capitalise on the success of the Bourne Identity film, was that the book having been split into three sections, had them labelled: parts one and two, but followed by book three? The book reeked of rushed cashing in – the only saving grace being the somewhat exciting pace of the story.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like the other JB Jason Bourne got his continuation writer which also means that Bourne needed to rejuvenate into the next century. Like his British equal who came about in the fifties and still worked into the next century Bourne needed to evolve into the twenty first century and so Eric van Lustbader took him there. Lustbader was a writer I was familiar with his Ninja series which I enjoyed immensely.
Mr Lustbader was tasked to bring Bourne back to a new audience who were more invested in Matt Damon's Bourne as they were in Ludlum's and Richard Chamberlain 's Jason Bourne. Ludlum's trilogy had little in common with the new and excellent Bourne who in turn influenced his British cousin with the moniker 007.
We meet David Webb, professor and father of two children and married with his Marie. He finds himself targeted and goes for his friend Alex Conklin and finds him murdered. And Jason Bourne has to return because all evidence shows that Bourne is the killer. Once again the US government sanctions a kill order on Jason Bourne.
David Webb has to lose his live in order to survive and so Bourne takes the steering wheel.
Chased by an Asian killer who has his own agenda Bourne has to figure out what and who killed his best friend. This takes him to Europe where he finds he has more friends than he remembers. His memory has never returned fully so sometimes David /Jason is in the dark. But before this book is over David will confront the loss that changed him into Jason Bourne.

Lustbader has managed to cross the boundaries and made Bourne a creature from our modern times and delivers a strong actioner that keeps you in full speed until the end. And even the end leaves you wanting more Bourne.

An excellent new installment in a series of spy thrillers with a very good writer who is clearly up with the task of bringing Bourne a new lease on live.

As for the movie with the same name it has nothing to do with this novel, it does however opens up new avenues which is shown in the short-lived Treadstone TV show and there are two new book series expanding the Bourne universe with the Treadstone and Blackbriar series. Together with the new Bourne novels It seems Bourne is still alive and kicking.

[Tyler Case · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is easily the worst book that I have ever read. I do not know if this is because the writer is incompetent, there was no critical editing, or there was such pressure from whomever held the license that nobody cared about the quality. Regardless, the result is this pile of filth.

Here's the kicker: the story isn't bad. It isn't great, but it is a solid spy novel premise. Jason Bourne is living his life as David Webb, memory holes and all, when his life is threatened by an mysterious assassin. He finds his friends dead and himself framed for their murders. He gets dragged back into his old life as Jason Bourne and deeper into a larger conspiracy as he tries to figure out what is going on. Good, thrilling plot. Ludlum worthy. What destroys this book is the ineptitude of the writing.

First, this book takes place in the present day, with cell phones, laptops, and Grand Theft Auto (more on that later). And yet, the author maintains Bourne's origins from the Vietnam era. The Vietnam War lasted from 1955 to 1975, when the last American troops were pulled out, at least thirty years before the "present day," if we base that off of the copy-write date of 2004. Even that is a bit of a stretch, since Ludlum had Bourne have significant diplomatic and undercover career before Identity, which took place in 1980. That makes Bourne at least in his fifties, and more likely in his mid-sixties. However, the author also makes Bourne's son, presumed dead with Webb's family in Cambodia and the reason Webb became Bourne (not a spoiler, it's obvious from the get-go) in his mid-twenties. Bourne actually talks about having his family die about twenty years ago. Which would have been the mid-80s. All of this would have been easily fixed: change the origin, set the book in the eighties or nineties, or do like the movie did and change the main character.

Second, the author writes about things that he clearly doesn't know about. At one point, a minor character's internal dialogue reflects on how impressed her son was when she cut him off while driving in Grand Theft Auto. Grand Theft Auto is a single player game. All other concerns with this section, like GTA isn't a game for kids and that the cars handle like bricks, are irrelevant because of this. Here's another: Jason's jeep is spinning out of control and heading for a cliff. So naturally, he puts it in neutral (!!!), but that isn't enough. He needs to turn it off. WHAT? Why? How is turning off a vehicle going to help you regain control? If anything, you'd lose power brakes and steering, two very important things if you are trying to control a car. What this does is it takes the reader and slams him (or her) in the face with something so stupid that you literally cannot stay with the story.

Finally, there are the inexplicably poorly written and conceived pieces, where the author was not paying attention to what he was saying. An elevator plummeting down its shaft... for a floor and a half (during which time the character inside the elevator had the time to push a button, realize it wasn't working, pry off a panel, and reconnect some wires). A gun shot rings out, fired by a man holding a silenced pistol. A basement that is pitch black for some characters while others can see clearly (no, they don't have night vision). And, the worst, Jason is sitting in his car, listening to the radio and looking OUT the filthy windows of a diner. These aren't minor, throw-away scenes. Each one of these is a MAJOR plot point. The room being pitch black is what makes one of the bad guys run away, leading to a car chase and the book's finale.

In summary, a mediocre story, written without a stitch of talent and allowed to slip through because they knew it would sell anyway.

[Ema · Rating 2 out of 5]

Since I was so enthousiastic about the first Bourne Trilogy, I thought: "why not continuing?".
This book (4th in the row) is clearly written by another author, since many things that were important in the first trilogy were not taken into account in this book. Some examples...
Bourne is over 50 and clearly felt frustrated about his diminishing physical abilities: in this book it is not even mentioned and Bourne keeps doing things that are very demanding for the body without himself even thinking about it.
Bourne always missed his wife and 2 children terribly: in this book he never really thinks about them, back hiding somewhere in the US. He doesn't even think of sending them some kind of hidden message that he's doing fine.
Although the story as such has quite some suspense in it, I also feel (like many others) that Eric Van Lustbader has not read the first Ludlum books very well, which spoils the 'Bourne-experience' somehow.

[Matt · Rating 3 out of 5]

As the torch of the Bourne series is passed along from Robert Ludlum to Eric van Lustbader, there is some continuity that makes the move seamless, though also some items that I, in my mission to read the series’ books consecutively, have noticed and will address below. That said, the action laid out by the giant Ludlum has continued in this 4th book in the series, even if it is not as thorough as Bourne novel fans may be used to experiencing. For now, though, the action and storyline do seem to move from one to the other with ease and, if you did not know, you might think that this book was also penned by Ludlum.

Some interesting new strategies used in the storyline, as we begin with the now infamous TERRORIST/TERRORISM theme that pervades all books that are tied to political thrillers these days, or so it seems. Biological terrorism makes its first BOURNE appearance, though these are key to Ludlum’s other major series, COVERT ONE (which has also, partially, been taken over by Lustbader). Also, we see the beginning of the ‘USA vs. Bourne’ theme that Hollywood uses to keep the Bourne movies in the upper strata of ratings.

We are to believe, as is revealed in the latter part of the book that the oldest Webb child is 11 years old (Jamie) and he was born in or around 1986/87. That would put the book’s setting in 1997-98. There is a strong focus on Arab-aided terrorists, though, I suppose that could be tied to the Chechen terrorists part of the book, which would put, historically, the entire political event (a peace summit) just before the 2nd Chechen war with Russia. Use of SMS would make sense, as it does occur throughout the book, though I am hard-pressed to believe that Bourne/Webb is as agile as he is portrayed in the book. Playing the Damon-like Bourne with his self-defence abilities at the ripe age of 57 or 58 baffles me, though I suppose if Bruce Willis can do it, anyone might be able to do so. I see this as the potential pivot for Lustbader to move away from reality and turn Bourne into some inhuman fighting machine, ignoring time or all the other factors. I suppose we shall see.

Kudos Mr. van Lustbader on this seemingly seamless book. I have heard the road ahead gets bumpier, but I prefer to find out for myself!

[Zabir Rafy · Rating 5 out of 5]

এই বইটা আমার প্রিয় হয়ে থাকবে এর বিশাল আখ্যান জুড়ে পরপর অনেকগুলো চোখধাঁধানো বর্ণময় একশনের জন্য।

মাল্টিলেয়ার্ড এই থ্রিলারটায় একটা আন্তর্জাতিক কিলিং প্লট নস্যাৎ করতে ডাক পড়লো জেসন বর্নের, আর বর্নকে নেমে পড়তে হলো লাইফ থ্রেটেনিং অনেকগুলো একশনে। একশনগুলোতে মেলোড্রামা আছে মানছি, তবে ১৮ সালে হোক আর ২৫ সালে হোক, আমন আমার্থের মেলোডিক ডেথ মেটালের মতো বইটার মেলোড্রামাটিক একশনগুলো বেশ ভালো লাগেছে আমার কাছে।

সবশেষে বলব, এমন একটা আন্তর্জাতিক কিলিং প্লটের টুইস্ট যেমন হওয়া দরকার, দুর্দান্ত একজন মাস্টারমাইন্ডের প্রায় সফল মিশন, প্রায় বললাম কারণ সফল হলে তো হিরো হেরে যাবে- হলেও এরকম একটা জবরদস্ত প্লট-ক্যারেক্টার টুইস্টের জন্য বইটা অনেকদিন মনে থাকবে।

অনেকগুলো সাবপ্লট, অনেকগুলো ঘটনা, অনেকগুলো চরিত্র- অনুবাদ আরেকটু ভালো হলে বইটার বাজারে প্রচলিত থাকতো, আর তাতে অন্যতম সেরা অনুবাদ বইয়ের তকমা অনায়াসেই পেয়ে যেত।

[Wingedbeaver · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was an obvious attempt by the publishers to cash in on the popularity of the movies. Van Lustbader, while keeping to the timelines and events of the previous Ludlum novels, decided to ignore much of what was written in The Bourne Ultimatum. It was pretty clear that Ludlam was trying to wrap up the Bourne story with the major focus of his last book being that Bourne was getting much to old to deal with the physical toll being a secret agent puts on one's body. I thought, since the word legacy was in the title, that Van Lustbader would try to push the Bourne story forward by passing the thrown on to another agent (much like we see in the trailers to the up coming films) but no, he moved forward throwing Jason Bourne back into the action never mentioning the fact that Bourne has to be over 50 according to the time line that he decided to keep.
Although I was getting tired of some aspects of Ludlum's novels by the third installment, I was a big fan of the Bourne books. They were never your typical spy thrillers. There was a feeling of reality and psychology that Ludlum threw into his stories giving them a much deeper meaning then most mass produced main stream novels. Van Lustbader has in no way carried these themes on. I'm sure Ludlum was turning in his grave when the movies butchered and ignored his creation, so I can't imagine what he was doing when this novel came out. The Bourne Legacy is silly, vapid and insulting. By all means, stay away from this book. There is nothing between the two covers except a ridiculous waste of time.

[itchy · Rating 3 out of 5]

fell asleep whilst on the last 50 pages! good thing i was up by 3:00 am; finished and started a new book by 4:00 am.

i can see where lustbader apparently doesn't get his facts straight, but since this is my first novel of his, i'm inclined to argue that he could be just copying ludlum

still, it's dissatisfying that he had to kill off conklin and panov to further his plot

p493: the ar-15 he carried was short-barreled, but it made up for any slight inaccuracy with its awesome firepower. it used .223-caliber ammo... (i'm not sure if 5.56 mm is really interchangeable with 0.223 inches when it comes to firearm specs)

p497: khan had taken a kalishnikov...

[Zabir Rafy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am a huge fan of high octane action thrillers. And the only reason for that is this one book. Back to back colorful action sequences, a
complex plot, cliffhangers in every chapter, and several twists; all of these elements combinedly sparked my fascination for spy action thrillers, and it’s all because of this book.

[Jerome Otte · Rating 2 out of 5]

My first Bourne book. Didn't like it.
The actual story begins with a meeting in which Stephan Spalko hires "Kahn" to assassinate David Webb (Jason Bourne), for no given reason, in fact no plausible reason ever develops.
Bourne is too trusting. And that Hungarian evildoer just has WAY too many resources and henchmen. Bourne's son-turned-assassin has a very easy time tracking his elusive father all over the world, across an entire state, and eventually at least two continents.For two thirds of the book Joshua is trying to kill Bourne, because Bourne abandoned him as a child in Cambodia, while believing the boy was dead??? I like the idea of the son coming around and changing his mind from wanting to kill his father to learning to like him, but...couldn't he have another, stronger motif to hate enough to kill? Also, he finds Bourne way too easy every time Bourne evades him.

He states that Bourne running through a stream would get some dogs off his trail because they would never pick up the scent - wrong. Dogs find it easier to follow someone when they cross water because they disturb the bottom of the river and the scent is easier to follow. Then he was talking about Bourne stealing the ID of a baggage handler in the US... and then using it in a French airport. Somehow I don't think baggage handlers actually get on the plane and then get off in the destination country to take everything out of the plane. He also talks about Bourne crashing his bike into an "18-wheeler". There aren't any in Europe. Or some French government agent pulled out a tri-band mobile phone so he could phone the US. Why? You only need a tri-band phone if you GO to the US from Europe.
Jason Bourne is supposed to be human, even in a novel. His physical ability to withstand hanging on to planes in the air by one arm, jumping on to trucks moving in the opposite direction off a speeding motorcycle, physical beatings beyond belief, swimming for two minutes in freezing water that we are told 50 pages earlier no human can survive in for 30 seconds, etc. is too much.
Throughout the book, there are acts of violence that seem to take place right in the middle of public places, yet nobody seems to notice. Two key characters, (I won't mention them in case you still want to read this drivel), in the past books were killed before they said a single word. I don't know what purpose that served if not to relieve Mr. Lustbader of the burden of trying to replicate Ludlum's own characterizations. Yet another key character was not even written into the story until the last four pages. Continuing with that same line, the characters in this story were sometimes very conveniently stupid. I will give an example. When the two murders I mentioned earlier were being investigated, a gun was found on the scene. After checking the gun, it was found that it was registered to David Webb. The report of this information was given to the DCI and he asked about fingerprints. He was told that the fingerprints had been wiped off. "The mark of a professional," said the DCI. Apparently, the Director of Central Intelligence believes it the mark of a professional to wipe the murder weapon clean, then leave the thing at the scene of the crime. What? How can anyone in their right mind believe that this is anything but a set-up? I read this part several times to make sure I had it right. Certainly Lustbader has more faith in his readers than this, doesn't he? No, he doesn't. Another example of this type of thoughtless writing involves another character. This character at one point dyes his hair blond and wears blue contact lenses and a fake nose as a disguise. But, it seems that Mr. Lustbader forgot that he gave this worldly well-known philanthropist a horribly disfiguring burn on one whole side of his face. How could this go unnoticed by the security guards in the story or, for that matter, again, the editors.
In the Eric Van Lustbader story, Bourne is carrying a switchblade that seems to be a cross between a Swiss Army knife and a crowbar. You must endure this magic switchblade throughout the entire book. Another annoyance for me was an obvious mental lapse by the author. In one chapter he snatches a carved stone Buddha from his attacker's neck (Bourne's lost son) and a few chapters later, it's miraculously back on that same attacker's neck. The author must have taken a vacation and forgot where he left off.
Here are several examples of the sorts of sloppy mistakes that steal the joy of reading this book.

1 - a van Lustbader-invented assassin loads his sniper rifle with "the smallest caliber round it will take." What? Firearms by design and definition require a specific and single caliber of ammunition. Does this guy know nothing? And why in hell would he want the smallest caliber, if indeed there were such a thing? He never explains this weird concept.

2 - He has first-response cops showing up at a crime scene complete with tracking dogs. What? That's something that would be called in later at the discretion of the on-scene commander, rather than something that police officers routinely travel with.

3 - He has the Bourne character checking in with a motel clerk who is watching television. Bourne goes to his room, turns on his own TV, and finds himself featured as a wanted man on all channels. Yet he eats, showers, shaves and rests, never even apparently thinking that the check-in clerk, watching television, might have recognized him and might at that minute be calling out the mountes after him.

Check it out if you have nothing else to do.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wasn’t sure how I would feel reading a book in the Bourne series not written by Ludlum. But I have to say it was very engaging and I can’t wait to find out what happens next. Great job, Mr Van Lustbader. This book was filled with action and started off with a bang. I surely didn’t expect the tragedy, the surprise, and the eventual hope at the end. I hope we see a lot more of Khan.

[Amor Asad · Rating 3 out of 5]

Watching Bourne films again left me yearning for more!

But I know quite well, there aren't many films like The Bourne Trilogy and then it dawned on me. I only read the first 3 books of the Bourne series, the ones written by the original author, Robert Ludlum. After he died, another guy named Eric Van Lustbader picked the series up.

Eric's first book, The Bourne Legacy, tells an alternate story, not anything like the film adaptation. Picking up his book, I noticed something right off the bat, Bourne is not as fierce a fighter in this book as I considered him to be from the films. And in the book, he is a veteran of the Vietnam war. Had a wife and children in Vietnam as well. His estranged son, thought to be killed in Nam, comes back as a young man. That didn't make any sense, Vietnam war ended in 1975, and bourn is officially born in 1970.

Clearly, Eric Van changed the origin story of Bourne, while that is not a problem, I didn't like his portrayal of Bourne as an emotional, vulnerable, and not that sharp of a person. Bourne is supposed to be invincible, cunning, resourceful, and adaptive. Always one step ahead of the CIA. I missed that bourne in this book.

However, the book had its perks, it was an enjoyable read despite its predictable tropes and twists. If it was not a bourne book, I think I would love it. However, I will not read any more of this author's bourne books—gives bourne a bad impression IMO.

[Arsenovic Nikola · Rating 3 out of 5]

Setivsi se kako sam voleo da citam Lustbardera kao klinac uzeh ovu knjigu da citam i osecaj je bio totalno drugaciji. Radnja prati dva brata kriminalca i tece u dva nezavisna toka koji se ponekad prepliću. Ali tako je jadno uradjena da sam zaista knjigu izgurao ne na znatizelji sta ce biti vec na misice. Kraj takodje ništa posebno. Vracam se Sandrsonu u sledecim citalackim poduhvatima

[Tricia Douglas · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this is my first Jason Bourne book although I have seen a couple of the movies. Like the movies, there is murder and suspense! Jason has "retired" from the CIA and is now a Georgetown professor under a new name. Until he is shot at by an assassin. He is now hunted by the CIA as a rogue agent. Good story but so much like the rest of the Bourne tales.

[Jackie Layton · Rating 5 out of 5]

It kept me in the edge of my seat!

[Lyndon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Listened to the audio version. Good narration, and good but sprawling story with a number of plot threads. Very Ludlum-esque in the telling, better even than book 3 by the original author. Lots of fighting, chasing, and double crossing going on. If you like lengthy political/world crisis thrillers, this is a good one. No need to have read the original three but it will help to know Bourne's backstory. Solid 4 stars.

[Karel · Rating 1 out of 5]

This would have been two stars but for one niggling factor: I couldn't stand the sexism the book was saturated in. Don't get me wrong, I rarely give a shit about sexism and the last thing I had in mind when going into this book was lots of women being badass. But the treatment of women in this book is appalling.

Of the six or seven or so women in the book, one was repeatedly referred to as a bitch-woman by her co-workers (which becomes cringe-worthy after the first dozen or so times), one was a backstabber, one existed to sleep through the organization and be remarkably controlled by sex despite being a 'smart woman'. One appeared for about two paragraphs to have sex with a - you guessed it - muscle boy officer by way of introducing him.

The only two neutral women in the book were dead and missing in action respectively. Now ain't that a message.

I'm not really expecting Salt or Lara Croft here, but in this case, I'd rather the author not write about females at all than forcefully put such shallow creatures in there. I found myself cringing every time a woman appears because you know at the end of the day she'll be a slut, stupid, or dead.

Beyond that, this was a mammoth pile of unlikely events: strangers who trust Bourne so much they just spill their life's secrets without so much as blinking an eye, getting in and out multiple high security places with nothing more than a pilfered ID tag, a drain large enough for people to crawl through in a villain's impenetrable fortress... and all the assorted action movie things you expect from this genre.

[Jay · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is proving a tough book to read. Since this is not by Ludlum, fans of the original, both the author and Bourne character, are already set up for expectations of disappointment. The characters are somewhat flat and I suspect readers will find it hard to care for the protagonist. Bourne's nemesis seems to have an unreasonably easy time following the supposedly well-trained and supposedly elusive main character across the globe. Bourne also seems to have lost his fantastic close-quarters combat skills he had in "Identity" since he is repeatedly beaten up by this same thuggish character disadvantaged by a far inferior training level. These tended to tax my already overloaded 'willing suspension of disbelief'. On top of this the writing style doesn't flow for me, with a few common "writer's mistakes" and plot inconsistencies thrown into the mix for good measure. I would not recommend this book, though I finished since I was past critical mass and because, to the author's credit, I do at least want to see Bourne vindicated.

[Anna Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have to admit - I had just finished the first three of Ludlum's books and was disappointed in them. I wanted them to be better than they were, but they were tedious and more and more contrived as they went along. So my *hope* was that Van Lustbader could do better.

The first thing he did was enanger me all over again by killing my favorite character. Then I felt insulted by the introduction of the Khan/Bourne hypothesis. After which I felt like I was being run ragged.

But then... something happened. The sacrifice of my character wasn't in vain. (I still don't like it, but I saw what happened, and could allow it). The Khan/Bourne angle began to hook my heart. And the plot... it was both merciful and just. It was both exciting and riveting. And by the end of the book, I found myself exhaling deeply, as though I were... satisfied. This was unexpected. It was GOOD.

And I liked it.

[Ric · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm half way through this and to be honest I'm forcing myself to continue. I want to like this but it just doesn't feel like the same Bourne as in Ludlum's trilogy. The characters seem to have less depth including Bourne and his inward struggle (that is almost non existent, but to me was a major theme in the originals - Webb/Bourne/Delta). The main characters that you grew to know and love are MIA or dead. I couldn't really care less about Khan. I feel sorry for Marie and David, the trilogy finished nicely, but now after all they went through more tragedy so we can read another book.

Maybe this book is better for people who are reading after watching the movies, I wouldn't recommend for fans of the first 3 books.

[Kevin Sorensen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I know quite a few die-hard Bourne fans really ripped Lustbader's attempt to write of Jason Bourne. I'm not sure if they were ripping on the previous books by Ludlum or on the movies, featuring Matt Damon; doesn't matter to me. I enjoyed the book. I don't read these like they were real or historical; they're fiction, for heaven's sake. With all the heavy reading I do, this type of reading let's me escape into another world for a while. Are there inconsistencies? Probably. Were there parts that made me suspend belief? Absolutely. That's why it's called "fiction."

So, put your mind at ease, turn on that reading light and prepare to not fall asleep early tonight.

[Caren · Rating 1 out of 5]

SPOILER ALERT::

Very disappointing in my opinion. Not Ludlum-like at all. Bourne is too trusting. He would never hang out at some woman's apartment soaking in Chopin when he is being hunted by so many people. The son who survived the family slaughter returns with a vengeance? Give me a break.

I also didn't buy the Spalko guy with so many resources and followers. Someone mentioned, too many characters floating around, of which I agree. It just didn't feel like the Jason Bourne Ludlum created.

[Camille Siddartha · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am not into this kind of shit...I loved the movies though...anyone that was sent to kill me is rotting anyway...some force...my force is everywhere....good book anyway

[Nešo Shonery · Rating 4 out of 5]

Uz sve svoje mane, Lustbader je uvek zanimliv... :)

[Brittany McCann · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one felt like a very strong follow-on to the original trilogy. Eric Can Lustbader did a phenomenal job taking on the character of Jason Bourne and expanding this series. It felt like he understood him at a cellular level.

With that being said, the main difference that I felt was that Robert Ludlum wrote powerful characters all around, and here the women seem to be a bit less powerful that we have seen before, hopefully this is just for this book which was based on a strong male relationship.

The character depth was wonderful for Bourne as he explores the different facets of his being and how those play into his overall life.

I loved the new MC and the development there was just spectacular.

Many ancillary characters were less developed though, and this is the main reason for the loss of the star.

It would be easy to pick this up and not be sure that it was written by someone else.

I will happily continue on in the Bourne-verse.

4-4.5 Stars

[Angie · Rating 1 out of 5]

I am trying to clean out some books from an old bookcase and I came across 2 of these Jason Bourne novels. Neither was very good. It seems like this author was rushing to get these books to print and the market and no one did a good job of proof reading. For example, there is Part One, Part Two but Book Three for the remaining pages. Jason is sitting in a car but all of a sudden he is looking out the windows of a diner? Some hears a shot that comes from a gun that is equipped with a silencer? I don't believe that this author has read any of the preceding Bourne books as this character seems off. Don't waste your time.

[Daniel MacManus · Rating 2 out of 5]

Van Lustbader's writing style is different enough from Ludlum's that it sometimes distracts from the flow of the story. Reading the first 3 in the series right before this one makes this obvious. If I had gone several months between, it may not be as noticable, but back to back it is obvious and distracting.

[Heather Singh · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the problem with books they make into movies. They depart so far from the book, it’s hard to read the books when you watched the movies first. But without having watched the movies, this would have been a good book.