The Bourne Legacy

Features

• Cover Type: Mass Market Paperback with 560 pages
• Published by: St. Martin's Paperbacks March 1, 2005
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 0312999526
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-0312999520
• Book Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.2 x 1.3 inches
• Weighs: 8.8 ounces

From Publishers Weekly
Veteran thriller maestro Lustbader (Black Heart, etc.) seizes the reins of Robert Ludlum's bestselling Jason Bourne series, proving that even Ludlum's death can't stop the ex-CIA operative. David Webb, a mild-mannered Georgetown professor, harbors his old Bourne identity deep within his psyche—except in moments of danger. A mysterious assassin, Khan, has targeted Webb. Seeking counsel from his old CIA handler, Alex Conklin, Webb arrives at Conklin's home to find him, along with Webb's psychiatrist and friend, Mo Panov, murdered. Unsurprisingly, it's a setup, and Webb is declared a rogue agent and the prime suspect. His only clue to the real killer is a pad of paper with a faint impression of the notation "NX 20." Meanwhile, in Reykjavik, preparations are underway for the upcoming summit on worldwide terrorism. Even the dimmest thriller reader will immediately intuit that Bourne, pursued by the world's leading intelligence agencies, will end up in Iceland confronting some evildoer out to wreak havoc on the international terror conference. And thus it comes to pass. Lustbader has wisely eschewed mimicking Ludlum's signature style—short punchy paragraphs with lots of exclamation points. His own prose, often cliche-ridden ("Khan felt as if his brain was about to explode. He was shaken to his very foundation"), is perfectly serviceable, effectively conveying the myriad cinematic hairsbreadth escapes, crosses, double crosses, explosions, furious fisticuffs and careening plot twists. It's a hearty serving of meat and potatoes action adventure, just the sort of fare that both Ludlum's and Lustbader's fans relish.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From AudioFile
Jason Bourne, former CIA agent, now David Webb, linguistics professor at Georgetown University, is framed for the murder of two associates and becomes an assassin's target. Forced to resume his former identity, Bourne resurrects his survival skills. Scott Brick depicts Bourne as focused and deadly--willing to risk everything in his pursuit of the murderer, who has a bio-weapon that threatens millions. Well-done British and French accents add to the narration. Espionage, betrayals, and torture culminate in a shocking encounter with a family member from Bourne's past. Eric Van Lustbader skillfully resurrects the Bourne character created by the late Robert Ludlum. G.D.W. © AudioFile 2005, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

Reader Reviews
This review is from: Robert Ludlum's The Bourne Legacy (Hardcover) Robert Ludlum was often credited with being the creator of the modern day action/adventure/international conspiracy genre that provides a riveting reading experience and at the same time reinforces the cynicism so prevalent regarding our powerful political institutions. The sales of his novels certainly reached unparalleled heights, with each successive book further embellishing his reputation and delighting his legions of devoted readers. As difficult as it usually is to identify the most memorable character among the many created by a writer as prolific as Ludlum, the adventures and experiences of Jason Bourne in THE BOURNE IDENTITY almost undeniably created a character who universally captivated Ludlum's fans and whose presence seemed to demand that Ludlum return to create a series that would further enlighten his readers about both Bourne's future and his past. Thus, over the next several years THE BOURNE SUPREMACY and THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM formed a powerful trilogy which has led to the character coming to life on film, with the timing of the release of this book roughly coinciding with the movie sequel starring Matt Damon. Ludlum's fans know that Jason Bourne was the identity created and embellished by the CIA for a legendary undercover CIA operative whose real name was David Webb. Unfortunately, a deep cover operation in which Bourne/Webb was engaged went perilously wrong, and Webb has struggled for years to recover his lost memories and return his life to a semblance of normalcy. He has officially retired from the life of clandestine ops, has a wife and family and is a professor at Georgetown University. However, his deep friendship with his former CIA controller (Alex Conklin, who plays a key role in this story) allows him to maintain contact with his previous world. Suddenly, Webb finds himself the target of an incredibly skilled assassin and after his escape he finds himself at the center of a very complicated plot to frame him for several murders. Thus, cut off from most of his usual resources in the international law enforcement community, he must retreat into deep cover and use all the skills developed during his career as Bourne to stay alive and untangle the web which has been spun by a master at the high stakes game of international political intrigue and terror. The story is fast paced, the action almost non-stop, and the storyline sufficiently convoluted and the misdirection frequent enough to maintain the reader's interest. There are several other interesting characters, and a really dislikable villain, although I cannot go into details without providing spoilers. This is the first book that I have read by Eric Van Lustbader, so I cannot compare it to his previous work. Fortunately, he did not choose to attempt to imitate Ludlum's style (this fact might disappoint some readers), but rather chose to continue the Ludlum and BOURNE LEGACY by adopting the trademark Ludlum techniques which I have previously described but utilizing his own methodology to tell the story. Much of Jason Bourne's backstory in the jungles of Vietnam is cleverly interwoven as an essential element of this tale, I hope that some day it will be revealed how much of this was created by Ludlum before his death and how much was this author's invention. ( Many of Ludlum's fans remain curious regarding his role in the creation of THE JANSON DIRECTIVE and THE TRISTAN BETRAYAL, the two novels completed by others after his death.) This book is also much more philosophical in tone than most of Ludlum's work, but that factor is essential to the story. I highly recommend this book despite one meaningful flaw and one personal dislike. My dislike is the descriptions of torture and violence, which while infrequent were a little brutal for me. More importantly, there were a few instances where the escapes were a little too miraculous and the feats of physical prowess were unbelievable rather than improbable. All authors in this genre walk the fine line of implausibility veering into impossibility, and in some cases I thought this author wrote his characters into situations which left him without any believable methods of achieving the objectives of his narrative. I want to emphasize that despite these criticisms this is a pageturner with the type of palpable tension which epitomizes the Ludlum style. I was fortunate enough to discover Robert Ludlum when THE SCARLATTI INHERITANCE was first published, and read every subsequent book immediately upon publication (except THE ROAD TO GANDOLFO, originally published under a pseudonym) and enjoyed them all tremendously. Not only will this book provide enjoyment to Ludlum fans, but clearly if it achieves commercial success THE BOURNE LEGACY will include a further sequel. The conclusion of this story and the new addition to the cast of characters certainly foreshadow such a development. One final recommendation for Ludlum fans - as you may be aware Ludlum was a fan of the writer Gayle Lynds and she was his coauthor for three of his last books. While the plots were not as complex as the books for which he was the sole author, this collaboration allowed him to increase his productivity in the years preceding his death. While these stories never achieved the success of his other work, they alerted me to the work of Lynds, and I strongly recommend two of her works which I have read. The initial volume (which definitely should be read first) is MASQUERADE (review 3/4/2004) and the sequel is THE COIL (review 3/16/2004).To date these have not achieved the success which they deserve in my estimation, but they are definitely Ludlumesque in plotting and complexity, although with much greater character development. Tucker Andersen