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Jun 04, 2008

Jay rated it:

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 c More...

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Jun 08, 2011

Holjo rated it:

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 tr More...

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Aug 06, 2011

James rated it:

When I first disocvered that Eric Van Lustaber was going to be taking over the Bourne character I was immeditaely repusled. It's not that I had ever read Lustaber before and been against his writing, but somehow I just felt that it was wrong.

For me someone who doesn't create their own characters isn't that worthy of my time; almost like no-one praises karaoke singers when they do well at replicating someone elses work, I feel that authors who use other peoples works haven't shown th More...

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Apr 01, 2010

Zoran rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

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Aug 09, 2011

Emma rated it:

It took me a little while to get in to this, I picked it up a few times, read the first few pages and then put it down again. However, I funally got first the initial few pages and have enjoyed the read. I think Eric Van Lustbader does a good job of starting where Robert Ludlum left off and there is the same tension and action throughout. There is a major character shock in the initial few chapters of the book that significantly changes Bourne's world and really changes the world that he inhab More...

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Aug 01, 2011

Suby rated it:

Somehow Jason Bourne books written by Eric Van Lustbader do not measure up to the original Bourne books by Robert Ludlum. The themes are good, action terrific and suspense maintained till the end. Still Robert Ludlum's works by his own hand were always a lot superior is quality.
This particular book is about how terrorists use Chechins to kill all heads of state in the world by using a biological war agent and how Jason Bourne with held of an assasin for hire, whom he later identifies as his More...

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Mar 20, 2011

Martin rated it:

Like many others I came to the book series (this is my first Bourne) via the two movies. While the book was nothing exceptional it did give some insights on the differences between the movie and book Bourne. The movie makes it seem like Bourne was in Europe from the start, while this book shows us his roots in Vietnam and other info on his background. I like globe trotting adventures, so it hit the sweet spot for me in that sense. A bit too Noir in stages, but overall it was well worth finishing More...

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Sep 23, 2011

Ric rated it:

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 fini More...

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Dec 02, 2011

Carson rated it:

The Bourne Legacy
By Eric Van Lustbader
Review by Carson Deel

Imagine you were on the run from the CIA, an international assassin who really hates you, and had the weight of stopping a plot to assassinate six world leaders from six countries. This is what David Webb (AKA international assassin Jason Bourne) has to go through after he barley escapes death by the assassin’s bullet and finds his two best friends dead, both CIA agents. He is framed for the murders, thus the CIA More...

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Aug 12, 2011

Kevin rated it:

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 m More...

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Oct 16, 2011

Tze-Wen rated it:

As you may know, the Jason Bourne character was originally created by thriller mastermind Robert Ludlum. After he passed away, his estate granted fellow writer Eric Lustbader permission to continue the Bourne (forgive the pun) legacy. To be honest, I have not read any of Ludlum's book as of yet, so I cannot (and will not) compare the two authors in portraying Bourne. To make matters even worse, I decided to download this audio book, because a) I enjoyed watching the three Bourne movies and b) cr More...

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Jul 10, 2010

Samie rated it:

Warrior Angel By Liz and Margarette Weis

Rating : A great modern fairy tale, that’s easy to get into.

Okay we all see these books all the time in the stores. They are romance novels that have a tint of supernatural or fantasy to them. There has been at least a thousand of them in existence ranging from Twilight to Hunter’s Moon to Stardust. As with the ones just mention, they were about love stories between humans, vampires, were wolves and fallen stars. (just in case you d More...

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May 26, 2008

Ryan rated it:

I haven't read or heard the other Jason Bourne books. Only seen the movies. After listening to this one I'll probably take the time to read or listen to the others.

While listening to this story wasn't quite as great as watching the movies, it was still a satisfying experience. A lot of decent fight scenes, cool gadgets, killings, and deception around every turn. And only Jason Bourne can save the world. Naturally.

The story starts out, really, with 2 separate stories More...

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Feb 10, 2010

James rated it:

After reading the original Bourne books, I checked this one out from the library. It was fun in that the writing is cleaner than Ludlums originals. Unfortunately, Bourne in his 50s just doesn't have the charm of the younger Bourne. Bottom line: Bourne Identity is a good book, Bourne Supremacy is good, Bourne Ultimatum is too jumbled, and after listening to this one, I don't feel compelled to read anymore. If you want to read good "spy" novels, I recommend the original Ian Fleming More...

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Apr 05, 2010

Max rated it:

I see I had a gap for this review...

In this novel, Bourne has been dormant for a couple of years, and it is David Webb who now teaches at Georgetown. When an assassin makes an attempt on David, the Bourne persona takes over.

Of course David/Jason gets framed and becomes the CIA #1 target, the assassin becomes obsessed with Bourne and hunts him apart from his contract, and an evil mastermind has a plan for world domination that begins with an upcoming international summit. More...

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Oct 20, 2011

Tony rated it:

try as I might to get into the Bourne books, I just can't. I had read the first Bourne book before the movie came out - liked the movie much better. The movie Bourne character has some good character traits that make you root for him. The Bourne book character is just an asshole.

I've tried reading a couple more of the books, including those written by EVL - but the Bourne character is still an asshole. Actually begin to root for many of the bad characters to beat the shit outta Bourn

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Aug 04, 2011

Larry added it

Van Lustbader has shown that he can carry on Ludlum's Bourne series of espionage novels. I found this book harder to put down than the 2 previous non-Bourne Ludlum novels I finished recently. This was filled with so many twists that by the end of the story I was expecting more twists only to find there weren't any. If this is any indication of how Lustbader's other novels are written then I have a long list of books I'm going to need to read besides the ones I've missed by Ludlum.

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Jul 21, 2011

Allison rated it:

This author did a great job falling in with Ludlum’s writing style and picking up the Bourne story where the other books left off. Like the other books in this series this was fast-paced and filled with adventure/suspense/violence. My only complaint with this book was that sometimes it was hard to follow as there were quite a few names weaved into the storyline. To add to a bit of the confusion was that the names were complex, not easy to remember. All in all though a quality book.

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Oct 09, 2011

Erik rated it:

I think it is wrong that anyone would try to adopt another author's character. Lustbader's attention to detail is not even close to that of Ludlum and to try to write Bourne as his own is futile and the result a shame. Case in point, an escape to Europe by Bourne was described as occurring on an international cargo flight from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport...but there are no European flights out of DCA, ever, period. Shame on you, family of Ludlum, for giving away the rights and on y More...

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Nov 05, 2011

Angelo rated it:

As much as Lustbader wanted to give depth to his characters, I somehow found it difficult to establish an emotional connection with any of them. The characterization also manages to go so far that the only effect it has had on me was amusement from its typical, garish presentation. No shocking twists from the plot itself as the author already gives us, blatantly, the basic framework of what to expect. If this were to be directly translated into film, I won't be surprised if it generates negative More...

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Jun 15, 2011

Kyle rated it:

This is my favorite book that I've ever read. Amazing. Kinda blew my mind that Eric Van Lustbader took on this series from the master (Robert Ludlum) & not only wrote in the style of Mr. Ludlum but actually surpassed any of the previous three books. And I loved those books. If you like the Bourne series, Robert Ludlum, Eric Van Lustbader, thrillers, spy novels or just really good books, you've got to read this book!

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Jul 27, 2011

Mark rated it:

A good book. Lustbader is actually more readable than Ludlum, although be prepared for more of a screenplay-type plot. My first major complaint is the absence of Marie. She was an integral part of Ludlum's Bourne trilogy, and I didn't like her absence in this book. My other major complaint was how obvious the twist was. I knew who Khan was when he and Bourne first fought.

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Feb 28, 2010

Mike rated it:

Well, reading a Lustbader book's like reading a book from Frank Herber'ts son. Well written. Page turner. By the numbers action. Sure. But the Ludlum voice is no longer there. Yet despite the anodyne 'voice' Lustbader has (and his mixing metaphors) I sorta enjoyed this quite a lot. Nice twist on a series that's shifted quite a way from where the films went.

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Jul 20, 2009

Bill rated it:

It was nice to have more Jason Bourne to read. The author seemed to stay true to Ludlum's Jason (mostly). I had a hard time with Kahn, who seemed to be able to get everywhere without any hitch or snafu. For a young assassin of his age I don't find him to be very believable. The villain was a real bad guy...someone you can really hate.

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Mar 11, 2009

Nicole added it

A lot of the technical, military, spy, government language is harder for me to read and I have to really take my time with them. I did enjoy the Bourne books and found them very interesting. I actually probably liked them better than the Tom Clancy books I attempted to read as a teenager after their corresponding movies came out.

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Aug 27, 2009

Justin rated it:

One word: Arkadin

Read this book it's a very interesting take on the progression of the Bourne Series. Eric Van Lustbader has created a formidable foe for Jason Bourne. I found myself highlighting my favorite quotes from this book since Lustbader has descriptive details about the cerebral battles of each character.

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Jun 05, 2011

Alan rated it:

I've only seen the movies so I can't compare it to Ludlum's original books. This is written by another author (the Ludlum estate appears to be franchising the Bourne brand). It's an easy read and kept me engaged, though the plot wasn't as complicated or as deep as other spy/action/thrillers.

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Dec 08, 2010

Arthur rated it:

I did not like how he treated the character as just another CIA operative. I did not like that he had joined/merged the Bourne/David personalities prior to the traumatic event at the end that would have accomplished it. This new series is pale and tepid compared to the originals.

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Dec 07, 2010

Mike rated it:

I was skeptical of this book from the start, because it is a different author, and I enjoyed the originals so very much. This book is well written and the plot is good, but not fantastic. I found this book entertaining, but easy to put down....While I enjoyed the read, I am not rushing out to get the next Bourne book.

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Dec 25, 2011

Davin rated it:

It was okay. The author puts Bourne in situations in which he routinely gets his butt handed to him, which is a little out of character, but I guess that's okay. The action was also a little lacking compared to the original trilogy, but overall it's not a bad story.

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