The Bourne Identity

Rating:
Summary: great book
Review: filled with action, leaves a mystery @ the end of every chapter. well written.

Rating:
Summary: Very good spy thriller
Review: After finishing this novel, I promptly ran out and picked up The Hades Factor. This was surprising for me, considering I don't normally care for spy novels - I've tried to read LeCarre, and, to my knowledge, have never actually managed to finish one. I guess that's some sort of bar as to whether the novel's any good or not.

The plot is simple at first, but grows more complicated as the twists and turns continue. The main character, who we later learn is named Jason Bourne (I hope that's no spoiler), washes up in the Mediterranean Sea and has no memory. He's not without his gifts, though. He is fully trained with weapons of all sorts and has military-like reflexes. He acts without thinking. The novel follows him closely as he wanders instinctively into the world and tries to find out who he is. At every stop, somebody is hunting him. He needs to find out why. (I hope I'm not saying too much in disclosing that he will eventually tied in with a network of assassins, who compete for supremacy.)

I found the novel worked on several levels for me. I particularly liked the moral dilemmas Mr. Bourne had to go through early in the novel, when he's just finding out who he is (or was). He has people he doesn't know firing at him - does he fire back? how does he know they're bad? He has to take a hostage to stay alive, but how far should he go? He doesn't know what he's done, what he's wanted for - is it worth killing an innocent bystander for? And, of course, what if, in his past life he actually had deserved to be killed? Could he risk bringing somebody into his world knowing this?

There are also issues with loyalty and personal loss. Even in the extreme distress of their situations, the characters are able to dig for deeper meaning, in people's eyes, and in their hearts. It isn't all guns and politics. I found the loyalties between some of the characters very touching, as when Marie St. Jacques stands by Jason because he saves her - even thought he'd previously held a gun to her head.

Of course, there is the standard fair share of shooting and running and all-round suspense. At every turn, there's something forcing Jason to keep his wits about him and make impulse decisions. It all makes for a great read.

Matty J

Rating:
Summary: A laugh a minute, but a sad laugh at Ludlum's expense.
Review: So *this* is the best-of-genre, best-of-author novel, correct?

I'm not impressed. I'm disappointed, actually, and so thoroughly frustrated by two rampant flaws in Ludlum's work that I found it hard to finish the book.

One, Ludlum has constructed a plot with so many poor and impossible devices that I now see why the genre had acquired a bad name. *This* novel may be the progenitor of all bad cliches for spy thrillers; if not, it certainly represents the pinnacle of achievement. Example: the protagonist's companion has an omniscient ability to root out the intent of the US government; more likely, Ludlum found no way to tie in his loose threads other than to make her a forensic genius. Or: the convenience of all encounters working to our protagonist's advantage. The general who sees something trustworthy in his face, the woman who sees something courageous in his actions, neither holding any grudges or connecting past behaviour to the present. Can you say "inconsistent"?

The characters are unbelievable. It's as if I'm reading a parody, but since it's played straight, it's even worse. For Ludlum to play off these ridiculous characterizations, his tongue would have to be *through* his cheek and not in it.

Two, and this is by far the most egregious, is that this novel was far, far longer than it needed to be. The pacing is uneven; the beginning was hyper and subsequently, all chapters seem subdued in comparison. However, the necessary buildup for the next part of the roller coaster is wholly inadequate. And the complexity of the plot is unbelievable, both in scope and execution. There's a secret government agency, but it's imbued with good people; there's a secret assassination cartel, but it has admirable ethics; the protagonist just happens to hook up with a beautiful woman who falls in love with him - loves him! - in a matter of a few weeks; the protagonist consistently outwits a professional killer, apparently just by going to school for it.

Oh, would that I could get back the time spent in reading this thing. The reviews for this book serve as poor indicators of what's to be found; let this sacrificial review be a warning to readers of Andrew Vachss, Stephen Hunter, even Tom Clancy. You'll find no consistency or solid writing here. Don't pay to read this book.

Rating:
Summary: Great Spy Novel
Review: Jason Bourne washes, shot and left for dead, is rescued from the sea. He has no memory of who is or how he got there, so he attempts to discover his past. He learns he is a trained killer and killers are now hunting for him. They'd like to see him dead. The plot spins on from there, and the plot is one of Mr. Ludlum's best. There's some romance. There's some danger. There's some action. Filled with detailed and intricate the plot is fast paced and action packed. The only down side to it, is it's near cliff hanger ending that pretty much expects you'll have the next chapter of the trilogy ready to go.
Another great book, but of a different genre is The Price of Immortality by C.M. Whitlock

Rating:
Summary: Bourne Identity
Review: I read the book prior to the movie and decided to read it again after seeing it. I have read this one and the Bourne Ultimatum they are both great. Ludlum does an excellent job of telling you what the character is thinking. Brilliant spy novelist Mr. Ludlum.

For all those looking for another of his great books, The Matarese Circle is my favorite.

Rating:
Summary: Diffrent than the movie
Review: just because a book has been brought to the silver screen,it doesn't the contents of the book has to be the contents of the movie.they can sometimes be very contuary to eachother.my uncle is a producer in the film industry,and i know that books are much more deeper. especialy the story background and character development.in movies,people don't care about the story background.all moviegoers want is action,action and more action.and that is THE driving force of the film industry.

i just want to make it clear that[YOU SHOULD READ THE BOOK CEFOUR SEEING THE MOVIE!]

Rating:
Summary: The movie isn't even CLOSE!
Review: I recently saw the movie- I liked it a lot so I decided to read the book, and man they're quite different. The movie skipped over many important things and added things that weren't part of the book...Bourn never had a ton of passports in his safety box in Zurich like he did in the movie- he had to steal them in the book...and there are many other differences also...If you enjoyed the movie you should read the book- (it's not like books that were written AFTER the movie was made so it isn't repeating what you saw..) Or if you want a good spy thriller this is the book for you! I'm on my way to reading the Bourne Supremacy!

Rating:
Summary: Glad I saw the movie first
Review: Okay, I admit it, I saw the movie, then decided to read the book. I am a big fan of anything involving spies, yet had not read anything by Robert Ludlam until two weeks ago.

First off, the movie and the book part ways in the scene when Bourne is pulled out of the Mediterranean. From that point on, the main character's motivation is the same, the past history seems the same, but the two stories are completely different. I loved the movie, I thought it was great, and hope they can make a franchise out of it. I am not sure how well it will work, given that a big draw is the man trying to figure out who he is.

The book is very good. The story is clever, the characters are very well developed. It is a page turner, which means you might be going to sleep late if you start reading it.

I finished the book last night, and will probably pick up the next one on the way home from work today.

Rating:
Summary: Much better than the movie
Review: First, let me say right off that if you've seen the movie, you do NOT know the plot of "The Bourne Identity". The only two things that were taken from Ludlum's book were that the protagonist is an amnesiac who apparently is a living lethal weapon, with all sorts of people trying to kill him; and that the name of the woman he kidnaps and who eventually falls in love with him is named Marie.

Beyond that, the plot of the movie is nothing like the plot of the book.

I had gotten bored with Ludlum over the last few years, because most of his stories followed the same basic formula - innocent foil uncovers global conspiracy, which then sets out to silence him. Along the way, he picks up an incredibly gorgeous woman; they fall in love and reveal the conspiracy to an astonished world, which rewards him with the life he's always wanted. The guy is always incredibly good-looking, and the woman could pass for Pamela Anderson Lee's twin sister. And both happen to have the exact skills and knowledge required to foil the conspiracy.

Maybe the reason I liked "The Bourne Identity" so much is because I hadn't read any of Ludlum's books in several years, and I'd forgotten how he writes his stories. Whatever the reason, the fact remains that I did like it. Despite the formulaic writing, the story's sequencing is seamless - you don't turn a page and suddenly come on a plot twist straight out of left field. Ludlum also doesn't bother with the hokey secret agent mumbo-jumbo you see in some other spy/action novels.

But he doesn't do a good job at all of getting his main characters to talk about their feelings for each other. When it comes to love talk, Ludlum's writing isn't any better than what you'll find in your average Harlequin romance.

With all that, though, I'm glad I picked up this book. I even went out and bought the next book in the "Bourne" sequence - but I think I'll wait a few years to read it.

Rating:
Summary: Bourne to be bad
Review: After seeing the movie (pointless, by-the-numbers, unsurprising snoozer) I figured the book couldn't be any worse. Boy, was I wrong.

Besides being perhaps twice as long as it needs to be, the book is incredibly juvenile and inconsistent. First of all, you have the problem of the love interest. Who wants to read a spy story where every other page the spy is calling someone "my darling"? Or endless sequences where the spy with no memory and his lover hold hands and talk about how important they are to each other?

And how many times can Bourne be shot before he dies? In the first third of the book he is shot like six times - in the head, in the chest, in the stomach, the shoulder, the leg, and on and on - all to heal, all leaving him perfectly mobile.

Then there are the inconsistencies. Bourne meets Bergeron, speaks to him in person, and doesn't think he's Carlos ... then later DOES think he might be Carlos. But in a different scene he sees Carlos, in disguise, and just the color of Carlos' skin triggers a flashback. Hello? Wouldn't seeing the guy in person and having a discussion with him trigger something then?

Not to mention the ridiculousness of the whole Treadstone idea. If our top-secret organizations are so easily found and neutralized, we're screwed as a country. And what gullible, idiotic government figure would believe an agent would disappear for six months, have consistent reports of sightings and contacts in Paris and Switzerland, then suddenly appear in America and kill a bunch of people (all without ever being seen to leave Europe), then RETURN TO EUROPE to be spotted? Why would the government not send agents to attempt to rendezvous with the missing asset?

It's just a bad book. But I will say it reads fast, making for a good summertime distraction - and when it's anywhere near its mark, it's pretty enjoyable (the spy stuff is, as always, interesting). It's just the rest of the book that blows.