The Aquitaine Progression

by Robert Ludlum

In Geneva, American lawyer Joel Converse meets a man he hasn’t seen in twenty years, a covert operative who dies violently at his feet, whispering words that hand Converse a staggering legacy of “The generals . . . they’re back . . . Aquitaine!” Suddenly Converse is running for his life, alone with the world’s most shattering secret. Pursued by anonymous executioners to the dark corners of Europe, he is forced to play a game of survival by blood rules he thought he’d long left behind. One by one, he traces each thread of a lethal progression to the heart of every major government, a network of coordinated global violence that no one believes possible—no one but Converse and the woman he once loved and lost, the only two people on earth who can wrest the world from the iron grasp of Aquitaine.

Praise for Robert Ludlum and The Aquitaine Progression

“You won’t be able to put it down. (Don’t ever begin a Ludlum novel if you have to go to work the next day).”—Chicago Sun-Times

“Ludlum at his best.”—Publishers Weekly

This edition includes an excerpt from Robert Ludlum’s The Bourne Identity.

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

706 pages, ebook

First published February 12, 1984

About the author

Robert Ludlum was the author of twenty-seven novels, each one a New York Times bestseller. There are more than 210 million of his books in print, and they have been translated into thirty-two languages. He is the author of The Scarlatti Inheritance, The Chancellor Manuscript, and the Jason Bourne series--The Bourne Identity, The Bourne Supremacy, and The Bourne Ultimatum--among others. Mr. Ludlum passed away in March, 2001. Ludlum also published books under the pseudonyms Jonathan Ryder and Michael Shepherd.

Some of Ludlum's novels have been made into films and mini-series, including The Osterman Weekend, The Holcroft Covenant, The Apocalypse Watch, The Bourne Identity, The Bourne Supremacy and The Bourne Ultimatum. A non-Ludlum book supposedly inspired by his unused notes, Covert One: The Hades Factor, has also been made into a mini-series. The Bourne movies, starring Matt Damon in the title role, have been commercially and critically successful (The Bourne Ultimatum won three Academy Awards in 2008), although the story lines depart significantly from the source material.

Reviews

[Sarah · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was by far one of the worst novels I've ever read. The main character was not particularly likeable, the plot was not only excessively complicated but boring, and the "love story" was as dry as an overdone turkey. I've read cookbooks that were more engaging than this book.
For those of you who have started this monstrous tome and are now looking for encouragement to continue: stop. Get out now. The last 500 pages are as tedious as the first 100. I only finished it because I'm doing that 2015 reading challenge and needed a book over 500 pages. I'm done, and now I have great fodder for my fire pit.

[Julius Gewarges · Rating 5 out of 5]

Joel Converse is a Lawyer who just happened to come across a conspiracy(Code name "Aquitaine") that involves retired generals from around the world and their dedicated soldiers that are aiming at world domination by means of chaos and world violence. In chaotic times, the military will be needed to control chaos and thats where the Generals come in and take over.one country at a time. While Joel is investigating this conspiracy, His cover gets blown and he is a living target by Aquitaine. This book is a long(a plus plus IMO)intense Spy story. Ludlum stuffed ALOT in this book and true fans will stick with it. The Last 150 pages gives this book an epic and truly SMART ending.

[Mike Hernandez · Rating 3 out of 5]

Robert Ludlum, as you know, is a great author. I'd never heard of this book before picking it up, and it was surprisingly good. The plot was good and the writing kept you interested throughout, although the book reminded me a lot of the movie "National Treasure". Not so much in the storyline, but more in the suspension of disbelief that you must achieve to actually enjoy this novel. Some points I found myself saying, "puhhlllleeeeaaaase", but then again, I find almost all fiction books that way, so I may be more critical than most. Suffice to say, if you like the movie "National Treasure" or you are a huge Robert Ludlum fan, then you will enjoy this book. 3 stars, but 4 if you're not so critical.

[Gary Branson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Highly entertaining read with lots suspense. Ludlum is definitely one of the Cold War greats, though this one is more conspiracy theories than spy craft. Highly recommended, sit back and enjoy the fun.

[Rosie Amber · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Aquitaine Progression is an action thriller that was first published in 1984.

International Lawyer and Ex-Vietnam soldier Joel Converse is approached by a very old school friend who meets him in Geneva. His acquaintance manipulates Joel into taking on a top secret case.

A group of men have come together intending to take over swathes of Europe, the Middle East, South Africa and America. They plan major civil unrest to be the smoke-screen for the chaos which they propose to unleash. They have sympathisers across international governments, police forces, Interpol and beyond. No-one can be trusted. Joel’s contact asks him to hunt out these men and bring them to justice through rigid legal systems.

Before Joel can really think about the request his friend is murdered, catapulting Joel into a race across Europe; the hunter becomes the hunted and a price on his head has Joel fearing for his own life again and again.

This is a whopper of a story, my paperback was nearly 800 pages long, but I soon became engrossed in the tale. There’s a lot of action and the author did a good job adding twists and turns to the high speed narrative. Joel’s chapters were interspersed with those from his wife, the insiders who set up Joel’s case and the men that he was chasing. At times I wondered where the story was headed, but all the complicated threads came together in an exciting end.

This was the first book that I have read by this author and now I’ve tried one, I shall certainly be looking out for more.

[Matt Crumpton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay so this is book number two on my Robert Ludlum kick I am on right now. I believe there are ten more books I have left to read. Anyway on with the review.

I really liked this novel. Its Ludlum so you have the action and suspense and the plot twists that are standard in his works. In Aquataine you have this organization wanting to take over the world...this is also very standard in a Ludlum work. However I have said it before and I will say it again...its fun and entertaining.

One thing that really got me into this novel was the main character Joel Converse. Converse is not a spy or assassin who works for the CIA, or the State department, or Naval intelligence. On the contrary, Converse is an international business lawyer. Joel is manipulated by people in the government to bring down the evil Aquataine from within. Joel then uses all his legal prowess to bring them down through proper legal channels. However Joel comes to realize that in order to accomplish this he will have to do things he never thought he would do again. Converse has to tap into his experiences as a POW escapee in the Vietnam war. Read it and love it.

[Alexw · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good standard spy novel with 1 person trying to stop evil doers from taking over the world-Ludlum's dialogue bumps the rating to 4 stars.

[Jenna Heller · Rating 1 out of 5]

Incredibly tiresome. Honestly I do not know how I managed to finish it. Perhaps, in its day; it might have been a rip-roaring read but I found the story tedious and not particularly well-written, and ultimately I didn’t enjoy it at all.

[Merilee · Rating 1 out of 5]

I will never read Ludlum again...Ich werde nie wieder Ludlum lesen...Je ne lirai plus jamais Ludlum...Ik zal nooit opnieuw ludlum lezen.... Redundant to hear things over and over in different languages you may not understand? What a concept!

This book was like an episode of 24 without the clock or Jack Bauer.

Ludlum, at least in this book, suffers from diarrhea of the pen/mouth. Never say in 10 words what you can say in 103. If you like thrillers, there are better ones than this. Even the surprises involved people you didn't really care about. I was bored out of my mind and only read it for a challenge.

[Gary · Rating 1 out of 5]

Poor writing style, unbelievable characters and factual errors made this book not worth finishing. As a book lover and aware of Ludlum's reputation I stuck it out longer than I should have. IDK, maybe his good books came later...

[Velvetink · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting, fast paced, slightly on the paranoia side where x WW2 Generals try to takeover the world and a smart NY lawyer called Converse & some M15 agents save the day. Not totally unbelievable.

[Rohit Enghakat · Rating 4 out of 5]

I reread this book after a couple of decades. Although the sheen has worn off, still an original Robert Ludlum novel is thrilling as ever.

[Vijay Chengappa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Only recommended for fans of complex conspiracy thrillers and those who appreciate an intricate, globe-trotting narrative like Ludlum is wont to weave

[Carolyn Hilty · Rating 3 out of 5]

This, in my opinion, wasn't one of his better books. I've liked a lot of his books, but this one was hard to get through. Too many details, too many flashbacks. A bit unbelievable and even corny in some places.

[Michał Jabłoński · Rating 3 out of 5]

700 stron ciągłej, szpiegowskiej akcji, która zapowiadała się tak dobrze... Perypetii bohatera było jednak zbyt wiele, jego walka o pokonanie spiskowców oraz własne przeżycie trwała zdecydowanie za długo, by w finale wszytko odbyło się błyskawicznie, niemal deus ex machina. Źli generałowie pokonani rękami i umysłem jednego człowieka, na przestrzeni może dwóch rozdziałów i nagle nasz bohater siedzi w Genewie i popiją kawkę. Koniec...

[Bob Box · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read in 1984. An epic of massive betrayal from the master of action and suspense. 700 pages worth. Wow. Ludlum always wrote long books. One of my favorites that year.

[Christian D. D. · Rating 4 out of 5]

The late, great Robert Ludlum (R.I.P.) in his 1980s prime here. Fast-paced, loaded with tension, international intrigue, seemingly endless plot twists, and plenty of action (though not exactly the "non-stop action" that the reviewers for Publishers Weekly and Richmond Times-Dispatch claimed).

An international cabal of power-hungry generals (an extreme fictitious example of the "military-industrial complex" that Dwight David Eisenhower warned about?) plots to impose a global militaristic government (Aquitaine) to take over Western democracies via a series of worldwide flase-flag operations, and it's up to protagonist Joel Converse, former U.S. Naval Aviator and Vietnam POW cum international business attorney, to expose and thwart their dastardly conspiracy. Joel plays the role of both hunter and hunted--mostly the latter--as he endures flashbacks to his escape & flight from North Vietnam while the well-connected generals and their cronies chase him through Western Europe (a major source of tension is the frequent bouts of frustration a dismay as the bad guys are almost always one step ahead of the good guys).

As a side note, speaking of those generals, I wonder if General "Mad Marcus" Delavane was at least partially modeled on William Westmoreland? Alas, since Ludlum is no longer with us, we can't ask him anymore.

Having been published as it was 30 years ago, in the middle of the Cold War and before the EU, a lot of the items referenced are now obsolete, such as a separate West and East Germany, the use of U.S. currency denominations above $100 (IIRC, $500 bills and higher were withdrawn from circulation back in 1981), and Western European countries with their own individual currencies, e.g. the German Deutschmark and the Dutch Guilder, as opposed to the Euro. Which of course does nothing to detract from the quality of the book, but rather gives present-day readers a sense of historical perspective (and for those of us old enough to remember those days, a trip down Memory Lane).

As entertaining as "The Aquitaine Progression" was, I'm not quite able to give it 5 stars, as Ludlum committed several gaffes in the areas of military jargon and weaponry technical specs that I, being both a military veteran and a weaponry buff, feel compelled to nitpick:

--Ludlum seemed to have no concept of the military phonetic alphabet in telephonic comms, i.e. Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, Delta, etc.

--Ludlum also apparently didn't realize that the US Navy doesn't refer to its aviation component as the "Air Arm" (that's a Royal Navy term), nor the fact that the USN's official job title for a pilot is "Naval Aviator."

--The author makes reference to a "Heckler & Koch PGS auto pistol...its caliber nine millimeters, and with a nine-shell magazine clip." The correct terminology/description would be Heckler & Koch P9S auto pistol, caliber 9mm (millimeter singular, not plural), with a 9-round magazine.

--Ludlum makes reference to the U.S. Air Force using F-18s; the F-18 Hornet is a Navy/Marine Corps asset, while the USAF uses F-16 Fighting Falcons for the same purpose that the USN/USMC uses the Hornet.

As I read the book, I pictured in my mind whom I would cast for a movie adaptation of "The Aquitaine Progression." Mind you, this is purely a hypothetical exercise, as alas many of my would-be casting selections are now dead:

--Joel Converse: Sean Murray (Special Agent Tim McGee from "NCIS")

--Valerie Converse: Teri Hatcher

--US Army General "Mad Marcus" Delavane: Peter Jason

--South African General Van Headmer: Jack Watson (R.I.P.)

--Caleb Dowling: Buddy Ebsen (R.I.P.)

--Wermacht Field Marshall/Bundeswehr General Erich Leifhelm: Robert Shaw (R.I.P.)

--Israeli General Chaim Abrahms: Nick Searcy

--Ambassador Peregrine: Richard Jordan (R.I.P.)

--LCDR (USN) Connal Fitzpatrick: Christopher Cazenove (R.I.P.)

--RADM (USN) Hickman: Fred Dalton Thompson

--LT (USN) David Remington: Guy Pearce (Lt Exley in "LA Confidential, and also played a military JAG in "Rules of Engagement")

--Admiral (USN) Scanlon: Jason Robards (R.I.P.)

--Peter Stone: Shane Rimmer (CDR Carter in "The Spy Who Loved Me" and Alexander Conklin in the ABC-TV 1988 miniseries adaptation of Ludlum's "The Bourne Identity")

--French Gen. Jacques-Louis Bertholdier: Jean Reno

--Rene Matillon: Dominique de Villepin (okay, he's not an actor, but rather the former French Foreign Minister under Jacques Chirac, but what the hell)

--Surete Inspector Prudhomme: Giancarlo Giannini (played DGSE agent Rene Mathis in "Casino Royale" and "Quantum of Solace")

--Thomas Thayer AKA Johnny Reb: Donald Sutherland

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Aquitaine Progression. DAMN YOU LUDLUM. Now the smuggness of fame and riches makes the loyal readers wait TWO YEARS between book. I can recall the trepidation of weeks leading up to release. Going to the locale COLES book store and ordering a copy.
Now its like release, buy, read, and start waiting for the next release two years ahead. I was able to start going back and devouring Ludlum's first novels.

The Aquitaine Progression the world domination by fucked up ex generals. Perfect for the wanting and waiting Ludlum lover.
I began to love how Ludlum intermixed nationalities and religious characters throughout his novels.
Taught plenty of geo-political backgrounding for a neophile into politics.

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this when it was a fairly new best seller, back in 1984-5. It was the first action thriller I had ever read and I was blown away. Though I haven't read very many similar movies over the years, I was curious whether I would still feel the same way, given all the movies of similar style I have seen in the meantime, including several Ludlum films (the Bourne series). I enjoyed reading it the second time (remembering virtually nothing from the first reading), but as I suspected, the level of angst and suspense was much less than the first time I read it, simply because of having been desensitized by exposure to so much of the genre on film in the interveneing years.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another attempt at world domination. The World saved from the fanatical Generals by an ex-Vietnam hero and now world class lawyer Mr Converse, despite the fact he has a mental block where languages other than English are concerned and spends most of his time in Europe (not England). I'm sure it won't spoil the book to say that the world carries on and there is a happy ending, despite it happening at the very last minute. Great stuff.

[itchy · Rating 3 out of 5]

finally got the nerve to pick up another ludlum novel;
and i find out that he was still bashing adolf and his ilk in this book

p471: ...finding the shadows and letting them envelope him.
p689: ...and reached into his pocket for some kind of small, multifaceted tool. (hmm, must be a hexagonal key wrench)

[Israel Letawane · Rating 3 out of 5]

What a long book. I swear this was my life for a week. It felt like a relationship with a lover. At times I was happy and looking forward to reading it but also at times I couldn't get over how implausible some of the things that happen in this book are. It was unnecessarily long it would have been better if it was half the length of this book. I would never read this again.

[Delta James · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a wonderful suspense book. For me Ludlum hit it out of the park. Unlike many of his contemporaries, Ludlum focuses on his characters--both male and female--and makes you care about who they are and what they are trying to achieve. This is one of my favorite Ludlum novels... and that's saying a lot.

The only problem I find with his work---one I start reading, I can't out it down.

[Apurva Pendse · Rating 2 out of 5]

Impressive research and fast pacing.
However, the intricacies of the plot are a bit too much to handle. They wear you down. So much so that at the end of the book you tend to forget what exactly was the plotline when you started out.

[Dishit · Rating 3 out of 5]

Had read this book during college days. Enjoyed the re-read as only outline had remained after so many years. If we draw parallels of ISIS over middle east, Trump getting elected, the world imagined by generals might still come true

[Patrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting, and fascinating read. It explores how a group of military men try to take over most of the governments of the world. Read to figure out how they try. There is a lot of exciting action in this book.

[FRANCIS J · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not one of his best.

[Carol Panas]

BORING

[Mark Hurley · Rating 5 out of 5]

First Ludlum book I read. Do not start this book during Finals Week.

[Todd · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little slow to start, but stay with it you'll be glad you did.