Robert Ludlum's™ The Bourne Initiative

Jason Bourne #14

by Eric Van Lustbader

Jason Bourne is on the run.

The NSA believes Bourne controls the cyber weapon devised by his old friend, General Boris Karpov, capable of penetrating the heart of America's final nuclear launch codes. Flushed from cover, hunted by assassins and nearly killed, Bourne must join forces with his bitterest enemy, Keyre, the Somali terrorist, whose organization Bourne once decimated.

From the Greek island of Skyros to Somalia and the underbelly of Moscow, Bourne must unravel the mystery of Boris Karpov's last legacy, a weaponized code that may very well bring about the a violent end to America.

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

401 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 13, 2017

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

[Matt · Rating 2 out of 5]

Returning with another novel in the Jason Bourne series, Eric van Lustbader is back to extend a collection well past its ‘best before’ date. As Jason Bourne remains in hiding and mourns the loss of his friend, General Boris Karpov, he is targeted by his own country. A top-secret death squad is sent to kill Bourne and destroy the one item Karpov left him; a yacht. However, Karpov was not as stingy as one might think. The former head of the Russian FSB also created a cyber weapon he named the Bourne Initiative, trusting only Jason to control it. The Initiative, at full capacity, could strike terror into the heart of America, as it is designed and capable of ascertaining the president’s nuclear launch codes. With those codes, no one is sure what could happen, or how devastating the blowback might be. As Bourne learns of this ‘gift’, he realizes that his life is in an even more precarious position. Bourne is left to turn to one of his own enemies to ensure his own safety, alongside an operative who is anything but trustworthy. Bourne learns more about this Initiative weapon and what Karpov might have had in mind as he concocted the ultimate strike within American borders. Will Bourne allow the Initiative move forward, thereby placing the world in a state of dire volatility? Only time will tell, though even that is in short order. An interesting twist in the Bourne saga, though I am not fully captivated by the premise of this novel or the series continuation.

I will be the first to admit that there are times when a book simply does not connect with the reader. This is one such situation for me, though I fear that each book that van Lustbader adds to the Bourne series has been less than impressive and builds a stronger case that he ought to stop churning them out. In fact, as I have said before, it is perhaps time to let Jason Bourne head out to pasture and insist that van Lustbader turn to other projects. I simply cannot connect with Bourne, even though van Lustbader seems to have provided a decent premise for this novel. The characters are some that would appear enticing, though Bourne has left his espionage days behind and has become somewhat flat. Use of a Russian-based villain is refreshing, as it seems authors are still caught on the ISIS and Muslim-centred evildoers, which can only fan xenophobia. Even the plot, when reading the book’s summary, seems to be something on which the reader could grasp. Alas, I seem to have lost the ability to connect with any of it, as though the entire experience were Teflon and the entire novel slips away as quickly as it is delivered. I tried, but could not find myself latching on, no matter the time of day or activity undertaken. It is not the audiobook narrator, for I have much esteem for his work, nor is it that things were dull and one-dimensional, per se. There simply was a lack of anything that reached out and zapped me to attention. One can hope that other readers will find some solace in the plot and premise, but I suspect it might have something to do with the author. It is impossible to fill Robert Ludlum’s shoes and van Lustbader has never sought to utilise the Bourne we have all come to know in early novels. Sure, characters need to progress and become a little more…versatile, but this Bourne is not one I know or even one I want to know. Best to end things now and let Bourne enter obscurity on his own terms, rather than have scores of readers come to the same conclusions I have and risk tarnishing a character and author’s reputations.

Mr. van Lustbader, the time has come to let Bourne fade off your radar screen. Surely you have your own series to manage and the Ludlum Estate can survive off proceeds already in place.

Like/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at:
http://pecheyponderings.wordpress.com/

[G.H. Eckel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This review will be simple: I'm not aligned with where Van Lustbader has taken the Bourne saga. Ludlum's brilliance was creating a tortured super spy, with the emphasis on "tortured," meaning that beneath all of Bourne's superlative tradecraft, he has a conscience. We love him for that and have some sense that the killing he does is never out of a love of brutality but always for self-preservation. Ludlum goes out of his way to make Bourne avoid as much killing as possible. The original Bourne is tortured by the crimes he fears he's committed, by where he came from, who he's worked for, and who he really is. The "who he really is" is both a literal and psychological quest, which is the beauty of Ludlum's creation. He's not just a jailbreak murderer set loose on the world.



Van Lustbader's Bourne, as written in Bourne Initiative, has a "bloodthirst" for killing. We kind of like Bourne because he's our killer who kills "their" super killers, which makes "us" safer. But in the end, this Bourne is mostly a thug without the psychological complexity that thrilled the readers of Ludlum's novels. This Bourne has become Vince Flynn's Mitch Rapp, except Flynn is a better writer than Van Lustbader.

Now, this review is clearly about me wanting something different in the novel than Van Lustbader offers based on the Bourne character I loved in previous novels. That's not fair. A book should be judged on its own. I will say, if I had never known the original Bourne, I would find this Bourne boring. There are the requisite fights with the toughest guys that Bourne wins. And there's the hint of sexual attraction between him and some black widows. But the lack of sophistication is less than scintillating. In this novel, he's a rottweiler hot on the scent of a mission, killing anything getting in his way. He's chased by the requisite "good guys" and "bad guys"--the Americans and Russians who, of course, even in great numbers, cannot match the superhuman thug that Bourne has become.



This is my second Van Lustbader novel and I had to skim my way through large sections of it. I read the novel previous to this one and pretty much came away with the same response. So, I will check out Van Lustbader's first novel in the series to see if he started out with the original Bourne and only later found that he couldn't maintain the mystery and aura that Bourne is.

[Magdalena aka A Bookaholic Swede · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have seen a couple of the Bourne movies, but I have never read any of the books. So, I was curious to see how I would like this one, written Eric Van Lustbader who took over the series after Robert Ludlum died. To be perfectly honest was I never really that fond of the movies since I had a hard time accepting Matt Damon as a secret agent/spy role. But, while reading this book did I feel a yearning both to read the previous books and see the movies. So, perhaps this time will Damon suit the role better.

The Bourne Initiative is book 14 in the Jason Bourne series. I found the story to be easy to get into and I quite liked reading about Jason Bourne trying to survive attacks from left to right and "work" with a hated enemy, Keyre, a notorious Somali terrorist, and the man who "created" the Angelmaker.

I quite liked Bourne working with Mala "The Angelmaker", and I got curious to learn more about Bourne, his past. So, I definitely want to read the previous books. My big problem was that, despite liking, Bourne's POV was I not always overly thrilled about the rest of the books POV. And, that meant that my interest in the book story went a bit up and down while I read this book. However, it got better towards the end, when everything came to a head.

I quite enjoyed the book, despite my interest waning now and then when the shifted POV's away from Bourne and it will be interesting to read what will happen next!

3.5 stars

I want to thank the publisher for providing me with a free copy through NetGalley for an honest review!

[Todd Simpson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent story. I’m so thrilled that Eric Van Lustbader has continued with this wonderful series. I believe Robert Ludlum would be proud. I love the way that this story follows on from the previous book ‘The Bourne Enigma’ It is even more exciting, with some very tense moments. Besides having an interesting and entertaining plot, it always the characters that make Eric’s books worth reading.
General Borris Karpov might well be dead and buried but that hasn’t stopped his legacy from living on. It’s been discovered that he had a very dangerous weapon that was about to be released on the world. Jason Bourne isn’t too thrilled when he finds out it’s been called the Bourne Initiative, especially when he hasn’t heard anything about it. Yes, he may have been close friends with the General, but that didn’t me he knew everything the man was up to. The problem now is the CIA and the FSB are sure he’s responsible, and Jason needs to find this weapon quickly. As always I can’t wait for the next book to come. Amazing!! 5/5 Star Rating.

[Mike Kennedy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Better than some of the more recent offerings in the series, but still nowhere near the original. As with most offerings from Van Lustbader it doesn't seems to have great flow. You always seem to be jumping from character to character. I found the plot decent, but if you are looking for a great Jason Bourne novel this isn't it.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author integrated the work fairly well with the orignal author's intent. The story must not stand alone without a previous book which I have not read as yet. It jumped around and made assumptions beyond the original story.

Still enjoyed it though.

[Dick Reynolds · Rating 2 out of 5]

Got as far as page 90 before bailing out. A multitude of characters, most of whom are not interesting, and a plot that seems to be going nowhere. Shame on me. Now I'm moving on to something different.

[Ray Palen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read my review Friday on bookreporter.com .

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read lots of twists

There were a lot of twists in the book. You do not know where the story will take you to the end. It's a great read

[Bat713 · Rating 3 out of 5]

It started out well. It got too repetitive and boring.

[Speesh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well, from not realising it had been published, to realising this is the best of the latter Bourne books, what a fun, thrilling ride.

I was thinking, Bourne has, I most will surely agree, always - films as well - been more European than American. Most of most of the films are set in Europe and in the books that Eric Van Lustbader has written after Robert Ludlum, Bourne hardly ever sets foot back in America. The nitty-gritty all takes place in Europe, the 'anything goes' stuff in the middle and far east. I think that, especially in the USA where the shaved baboon is in charge, for added realism, added not through the looking glass-ism, Eric Van Lustbader is absolutely right to concentrate Bourne outside of the USA. It gives the whole enterprise much, much more relevance, realism and good old-fashioned nuance.

It's hard to put a finger on, but it just feels like there is something more to this one. More depth, less surface gloss. We even get into Vince Flynn's strong area (you ask me), the American politiking. Then, Bourne is also back in Robert Ludlum territory as well - being looked for.  As I remember, 'they' were always looking for him, while he was looking for answers and looking for himself; who, how, why. Then, in Initiative, as the plot and characters swirl around Bourne, no one is who they say they are, no one is who they seem - except Bourne. He, his character is the one stable, the one who knows, and is, who he is. His stability comes in part from love. Love for Sarah, the Israeli Mossad agent. Not an ideal combination maybe, but in this story, the anchor for Bourne's world.

It's as sharp as a razor-blade, as up to date as tomorrow's news and just generally full of more of everything there should be. There are, of course, the to be expected double-crossings a-plenty - I'm not sure if there isn't a triple-cross somewhere or other - and enough to keep you on your toes at all times. Complicated? You bet. Worth it? Absolutely!

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[thewanderingjew · Rating 2 out of 5]

Robert Ludlum’s (TM) The Bourne Initiative, Eric Van Lusbader, author; Holter Graham, narrator
I was terribly disappointed with this book. What I, as a reader, am led to believe is that there is an effort to bring down the world’s economy by several shady figures from Russia and Somalia. It turns out, instead, to be a plot to enable Russia to expand its borders by invading other countries without any interference. This scheme, however, is not discovered until deep into the novel after an obscene amount of violence and gore with bodies piling up in every corner. The solution to the disarming of the Bourne Initiative doe not become clear until the last few pages of the book, and long before that, I was ready to give up. I stayed with it hoping for some twist that would be more engaging.
The overlay of sorcery throughout became a bit nonsensical at times, especially when the idea of brainwashing would have worked just as well, and probably would have been more credible. It didn’t feel plausible that someone could be in complete control of someone he so thoroughly tortured.
The number of characters, none of whom I admired, and the numerous tangential themes were far too distracting and made the story a chore to follow. It should not be such hard work to enjoy a book.
The characters that were the heroes seemed to escape death in every impossible kind of situation. Yet, since the reader knows that Bourne will live, constantly placing him in harm’s way and then miraculously clutching him out of it made it seem a bit unbelievable, and perhaps, a waste of time. When the author waxed poetic it seemed out of place. When the narrator portrayed female characters, he over emoted and made them too sultry. They whispered in sexy, breathy voices and it became harder and harder to understand or hear them. His interpretation of each character was not very clearly differentiated making it difficult to determine which character was being featured.
After awhile the story became very tedious. Still, I continued hoping that it would morph into some kind of a good mystery that did not demand that I suspend disbelief. It never quite came together for me.

[David Clarke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Never corner a wild animal

A solid formula that just delivers a quality read time and time again. Hunted from all sides, there's only one thing you can do - come out fighting and Jason Bourne is the best.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Once again, Jason Bourne is the center of attention of the world's clandestine services. When an old friend, Ben Boris Karpov is assassinated, he leaves a "doomsday" computer program which Bourne supposedly has the key to disabling. In typical Lustbader/Ludlum fashion, the plot has more twists than a grand prix race course. Amid all of the intrigue, Bourne has to work with old friends, old enemies, and some people whose allegiance is unknown--to anyone. The story moves all over the world, from the United States to Europe, Russia, Greece, and Africa. Suffice to say, Bourne may be up to the challenge, but is his supporting cast?

[Chris Devine · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is just... stupid. I was tempted to not finish this when Bourne somehow jumped out of a moving car, tackled someone off of a motorcycle, and somehow gained control of it as it was still speeding along. The scenarios are all pretty ridiculous, and the writing is sub par. Every now and then though, an action scene was well written and I was genuinely, I don't know, thrilled, or excited reading it. Anyways, this book pretty much sucks, with some non suckyness thrown in.

I won this from a goodreads giveaway.

[Ngozi Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I usually don't read this type of book. I just wait for the movie to watch but i got a copy from goodreads giveaway so i decided to give it a nice read. I liked all of the characters (what's there not to like) but I liked the angelmaker more: a woman that protects the ones she love but believes in the rittuals performed on her. A VERY Well written book, keeping you hipped up to the end. At some point rho, the tension breaks and becomes plain notes/story but I guess it was necessary to carry the whole story through.

[Michael Bell · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Bourne Initiative was a spectacle that no one truly understood the origin of or the impact. Was it to start a nuclear war? Was it to rob banks? The premise kind of reminded me of the one in Die Hard. I loved the Angelmaker in the novel. Her story of torture and blind fealty to Keyre was tragic. Morgana was the ultimate. Jason Bourne needs a period of recuperation after the punishment he took in this novel. I would be sleep for two weeks. It is amazing how the persona of Russian spies is built up. I learned a few new words also. Great book.

[Greg Strom · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perhaps a 3.5 but it was enthusiastically read, and often exciting as JB found his way through a tangled web of double crossers and scorpions. Was formulaic of course and had many characters to try to keep track of as again the Russians play the bad guy du jour. One could say that his so called weakness is also what keeps him alive despite all odds. Not a lot revealed on his previous life so guess we have that to look forward to in future episodes.

[Wayne · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is almost necessary to have a detailed list of characters readily available in order to follow the many tense and exciting situations that occur in this latest Jason Bourne adventure. With at least 3 opposing groups all using one another to find the Bourne Initiative, all with different reasons, it would be best to read this book in one sitting....just to keep it all straight. That said, it is a typical, page-turning Jason Bourne thriller.

[Carla Law · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got this book free from goodreads Giveaways. It's been a while since I've read a Bourne novel and it showed! I admit I was quite confused at first, there were a ton of characters and twists and turns. It's not a book that I could start and stop for a few days, I had to read some every day just to get it all straight! Entertaining and kept me on my toes for sure. Not sure if I'd go back and read all the others or not quite yet, maybe I'll reread this one again first!

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have always been a sucker for this series, so it was a given that I would like this book. At first, like all Ludlum stories, there were a lot of characters and it was confusing. I had listened to the previous book, so some of them were familiar to me, and with a little time, it was fine.

One of my favorite aspects of a Ludlum/Van Lustbader book is the vocabulary; I always learn new words. I also love the various locales, the suspense, the intrigue...

[dennis barron · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Bourne Initiative. Eric Van Lustbader

Jason Bourne has to stop the Bourne initiative...at all costs. If not the end game will be disastrous. Everyone wants him dead. This is an extraordinary read. Action, betrayal and in the end the death of someone he cares deeply for, a fellow assassin. Another Bourne classic!! Enjoyed tremendously!!

[K-BRC · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eric Van Lustbader marches on in the Ludlum tradition and energizes the drive any Bourne story offers its readers. The only misgiving about the story is Bourne’s encounter with a stingray that rescues Bourne and delivers the knock out punch to the bad guy intent on blowing Bourne to the great beyond.

[Garry Thompson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Disappointed in the story, perhaps my expectations were too high. Great plot, but I was buried in all the different names used for the same characters. Needed to keep a "who is who" list nearby to keep up with the characters. It was difficult to follow all the shift in loyalties. I love the Bourne books, but this one took me out of my comfort zone.

[Rajesh · Rating 2 out of 5]

"So predictably unpredictable" - this can define the events in a Bourne book now. The only surprise for me was that Bourne didn't end up betraying himself. Even the author must have been surprised by some surprises in the story line since they seemed made up on the fly.

[Bill Donhiser · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this a great deal more than the last Eric Van Lustbader novel. He does much better when writing with the online of Robert Ludlum's best known hero. This is a good Bourne novel and well worth reading. The novels are much better than the movies

[Kirk G. Meyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another good read

The book is another great Bourne novel as one has come to expect from this author. The ending was a bit abrupt but will most likely set up the next book very well.

[Kat · Rating 5 out of 5]

To be honest, I haven't read a book purely for fun in a very long time. I could not put this one down, it was such a quick read. I haven't read any of his books (but I have seen the movies) but the characters were well-defined. The only gripe was the ending was a bit abrupt. Excellent overall!

[Bruce Gleba · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wow what a disappointment. The book was 9 out of 10 for unbelievably and used too many words I never heard of. I didn't see the words adding any value or being more descriptive in most cases so it was just a waste using them. I would not recommend this.

[Lori · Rating 2 out of 5]

Fascinatingly violent or violently fascinating, either way, this is quite the bloodbath featuring the usual array of international bad guys/girls and characters much larger than life (or death). Kept me hooked on audio but I wouldn't have spent precious reading time on this.