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The Bourne Ultimatum (Jason Bourne #3)

3.96 of 5 stars 3.96 · rating details · 24,654 ratings · 531 reviews

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

At a small-town carnival, two men, each mysteriously summoned by telegram, witness a bizarre killing. The telegrams are signed “Jason Bourne.” Only they know Bourne’s true identity and understand that the telegrams are really a message from Bourne’s mortal enemy, Carlos, known also as the Jackal, the world’s deadliest and most elusive terroris...more

Paperback, 662 pages

Published February 1st 1991 by Bantam Dell (first published 1990)

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Apr 04, 2008 Kevin Michael rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: No one I know

After three grueling months I finally finished reading this book. You may ask yourself: "If it was so grueling, why did he finish it at all?" Good question! After reading the first two books in the Bourne trilogy, I felt compelled to finally see the final confrontation between Jason Bourne and Carlos the Jackal. Now I will admit that The Bourne Ultimatum was not nearly as boring and convoluted as its predecessor, The Bourne Supremacy. However, I'm fairly certain that Robert Ludlum took a class o...more

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Aug 31, 2007 Erin rated it 2 of 5 stars

What can I say? It was intense - a little too intense for me. By about the middle of the book, I wanted to shoot Carlos myself just so that the insanity would end. The plot in this book seems even more complex than in the other two and is impossible to comprehend. Nevertheless, I cared about Jason Bourne enough as a character to stick out the whole grueling story with him, but I felt almost as beat up and emotionally raw as he did by the time it was over. Overall, not a pleasant reading experien...more

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Jan 05, 2011 Brian rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

9/2/04 - 4/10

The Bourne Ultimatum is based on another dumb premise - why would the Jackal come after Bourne 10 years later? This was a pretty annoying book to read. Lot of things about it ticked me off: the Bourne vs Webb (again), putting Marie on a giant pedestal, Jason and Marie totally abandon their kids. There were tons of annoying plot holes with faulty logic or reasoning. I just kept reading and asking myself, why would that happen, or why would they do that? There was abosultely no depth...more

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Oct 30, 2009 Tim Boole added it

Shelves: read-good-list

Not Up To The Usual Standards: Following the successful Matt Damon films, based loosely on the first 2 novels, we have a reissue of the third. Do not expect the story that appeared in the films. They have been updated and reinvented and only loosely follow the books.

This third book finds Bourne again on the trail of the Jackal and follows him from the Caribbean to France and to Russia. It introduces the new Medusa organisation that has known mutated from a Vietnam assassination squad to a corpor

...more

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Nov 28, 2012 Chris Lopez rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The Bourne series is a great set of books to read in order starting with the Bourne Identity. Robert Ludlum does a great job of using military terms and using names of places and intelligence offices to make you think that this stuff is really happening. He may have a lot going on at one time, but if you follow along and read carefully, you should be able to keep up with the challenging writing. I tended to lose track of what was happening a few times but i still enjoyed reading it.

Jason Bourne...more The Bourne series is a great set of books to read in order starting with the Bourne Identity. Robert Ludlum does a great job of using military terms and using names of places and intelligence offices to make you think that this stuff is really happening. He may have a lot going on at one time, but if you follow along and read carefully, you should be able to keep up with the challenging writing. I tended to lose track of what was happening a few times but i still enjoyed reading it.

Jason Bourne has been living peacefully for years after his last adventure and has settled down and had kids. He is forcefully brought into the old world of lies and danger by the jackal his arch enemy who is the most dangerous killer in the world. The jackal is unwilling to let Jason live so he is intent on spending the rest of his life hunting him until he finally kills him. Jason now has to change his mindset from a father and a husband to a killer who has a chance of defeating the jackal once and for all.

The jackal uses old men who are willing to die for him, to carry out his plans and to trust because they have nothing left to lose so it is them that he uses to hunt Jason's family. Jason finds out and and immediately goes to save them. The men as it turns out were meant to be killed once they finished their jobs, and that makes them mad. One of the men kills the other man and then he decides to change sides to get the jackal caught. Jason and the man decide to lead the jackal their and to defeat him. They finally succeed and the jackal is eventually caught but not until later. Their initial attempt fails and the jackal gets away. The death of the jackal finally brings a sense of peace to Jason.

Robert Ludlum does a good job in describing everything that is happening in detail. What I really like is that it is very hard to guess what is going to happen next like when the jackal and Jason meet to fight. The whole story seems to not go as you would expect like when the old man is supposed to kill Jason's family when they are completely unaware but it doesn't happen. There is always something that happens that changes things which keeps things interesting.

I think that this is a great book for most ages and anyone who wants to read a suspenseful and edgy book should definitely read this. The whole series so far has been great but i have not finished all of the books yet but I look forward too.(less)

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Sep 16, 2012 Tony rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

To be honest I was disappointed with this one. I felt like finishing it - and the original trilogy - was an obligation after only a few pages.

The dialogue is ridiculous - nobody (and while I'm not familiar with American government institutions and their employees I'm pretty sure this covers them too) speaks in such a manner. Every conversation is overly convoluted and then - as if for the sake of an uneducated audience - explained again as part of the same dialogue. Not only that but the way in...more

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Mar 02, 2012 Helen rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: action

For the time reference, this is Jason Bourne in his fifties, with two children, next encounter with The Jackal.

I believe that after all the movies, no explanations required of who is this Jason Bourne.

General impression:
The first third of a book was very promising, but after estate of General Swayne it began feel as a filler, not a masterful artwork as it was before.

Positive parts:
Author's potential, general idea, and a pure volume to read, good for a habitual fast reader.

Strong resemblance w...more

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Feb 28, 2012 Seth Lynch rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: thriller

have now read the first three of these books: The first two were; The Bourne Identity; The Bourne Supremacy. The book really feels like it is dragging out the series. The Bourne Identity was quite good and Supremacy was worth reading. This one just went on repeating the same premise over 540 pages. The Jackal is now old and wants to kill Bourne before he dies. In order to live in peace Bourne must therefore kill the jackal. Bourne is getting old and feels aches and pains he would never have fel...more

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Feb 01, 2012 Ruthie rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This was a hard book for me to get through. I read the first book in the trilogy without too many problems, the second book was eh, and by the time I got to this one it was painful. I'm not sure how much of that was that the writing style changed (it's too long since I read the first two) and how much of that is my awareness of what I was reading changed. I do know that I have been noticing details about what I'm reading much more as my health improves (so I can pay more attention) and because I...more

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Jul 25, 2009 Sarah Sammis rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-2006, released

I was looking forward to reading the final book in the Jason Bourne trilogy but after having suffered through it, I wish I had stopped after The Bourne Supremacy. The book fails in every way that the first two books succeed. The quick pace here is unnecessary and silly; Bourne is out of character; the political arena has changed too much to make the plot possible.

The original book and the one that followed were written at the height of the cold war. They take place in a time were the superpowers...more I was looking forward to reading the final book in the Jason Bourne trilogy but after having suffered through it, I wish I had stopped after The Bourne Supremacy. The book fails in every way that the first two books succeed. The quick pace here is unnecessary and silly; Bourne is out of character; the political arena has changed too much to make the plot possible.

The original book and the one that followed were written at the height of the cold war. They take place in a time were the superpowers were suspicious and paranoid of each other. Espionage was big business for all of the big countries and many of the small ones. It was a time when communication was more difficult due to the lack of cell phones and the modern day internet. Yes; the precursors of both technologies existed but they were not being put to use in the ways that they are now. It was easier for spies to hide and countries to cover their tracks with misinformation and subterfuge.

Here is my BookCrossing review:

The Bourne Ultimatum takes place more than a decade later from the The Bourne Identity. This length of time between events makes the story unbelievable. After successfully being in hiding for so long and with Bourne clearly not active, there is no reason for the Jackal to resurface. Nor is there any reason for Bourne to go into a blind panic and race around the world drawing attention to himself and his family.

By the time of the third book, the cold war was ending. Germany was reunifying, the USSR was on the brink of collapse and mobile communication was becoming more ubiquitous with early cell phones. This environment is not one where Jason Bourne or Carlos could function using the tricks they had perfected after Vietnam. First of all, they'd be too old for chasing after each other. Second, the nations that had backed them were under new leadership and different foreign policy. What had been political maneuvering was now a silly personal cat and mouse game that is out of character for both major players!(less)

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Dec 10, 2008 John Flores rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I recommend this book to the old youth it’s a really disturbant book and it would not be good for a child to read it. The line at the end of the book was tight it went “and I will be born one’s again” I felt scared because I didn’t know if somebody would ever want to kill me when I have no idea that I did something bad to somebody. Mrs.Trice was the reason I was reading this book because I have to graduate and she will give me a really bad greade and I will not pass so therefore I would have to...more

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Dec 02, 2011 Borat Sagdiyev rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The last book I read this first trimester was The Bourne Ultimatum-written by Robert Ludlum in 1990. It is the third book in a trilogy following protagonist Jason Bourne. The series of books installed a diehard fan base, and were popular enough to be made into a trilogy of films. Robert Ludlum is an experienced author, but also a controversial one. He is unafraid when writing about real life terrors: such as the Vietnam War and terrorist cells in China.
If you have ever read a “Bourne” novel yo...more

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May 16, 2013 S957 rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Jason Bourne is on the run still and he meets up with others like him. He ‘teams’ up with them in a way, although he doesn’t trust them and they don’t trust him. He is almost killed multiple times and discovers more to his past.
The movie follows the book fairly well. Although some of the characters are very different then how they were described. They left out a few tiny things that were important but not said. Also the movie is out of chronological order.
No I wouldn’t recommend the book. But...more

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Nov 07, 2007 Diane rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: No one

Well, I finished the series, just to finish it. It took me nearly 2 1/2 weeks to finish this book. I was motivated simply to finish it, not because I was interested, really. I was disappointed, once again, in the language, too thick of a plot, violence, and sexual innuendos. My husband bought me the first and third books of the series for my Birthday, before I'd read either of them. Now that I'm done, I'm donating them to the library. I know I'll never read these again.

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Oct 18, 2012 Kimme Utsi marked it as to-read · review of another edition

Shelves: ebook

...more

The world's two deadliest spies in the ultimate showdown. At a small-town carnival two men, each mysteriously summoned by telegram, witness a bizarre killing. The telegrams are signed Jason Bourne. Only they know Bourne's true identity and understand the telegram is really a message from Bourne's mortal enemy, Carlos, known also as the Jackal, the world's deadliest and most elusive terrorist. And furthermore, they know that the Jackal wants: a final confrontation with Bourne. Now David Webb, professor of Oriental studies, husband, and father, must do what he hoped he would never have to do again—assume the terrible identity of Jason Bourne. His plan is simple: to infiltrate the politically and economically Medusan group and use himself as bait to lure the cunning Jackal into a deadly trap—a trap from which only one of them will escape.

From the Paperback edition.

From Publishers Weekly

The literary faults and stylistic excesses that characterized The Icarus Agenda , The Gemini Contenders and other of Ludlum's works are present in his latest mammoth thriller, but fans will nonetheless cheer the return of his most popular character, David Webb, aka Jason Bourne, the assassin who never was. When the international terrorist known as Carlos the Jackal penetrates his civilian identity, Webb must again assume the Bourne persona to protect his wife and small children. In their renewed struggle, the two master assassins uncover the revived existence of Medusa, the sinister alliance that originally led to the establishment of the Bourne identity. In action that moves from the U.S. to Montserrat to Paris before concluding in Moscow, Bourne and his allies prove incredibly inept, barely escaping the Jackal's traps and failing in their repeated attempts to ambush him. The Ludlum trademarks are present: improbable bloodbaths, repetitive action, stilted and off-the-point conversations and--most annoying--the use of italicized words or entire paragraphs to simulate passion. This is formula writing that delivers even less than its meager promise.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"Vintage Ludlum."—The Cleveland Plain Dealer

From the Paperback edition.

(less)

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Feb 07, 2013 Al rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

EDITORIAL REVIEW:

The world's two deadliest spies in the ultimate showdown. At a small-town carnival two men, each mysteriously summoned by telegram, witness a bizarre killing. The telegrams are signed Jason Bourne. Only they know Bourne's true identity and understand the telegram is really a message from Bourne's mortal enemy, Carlos, known also as the Jackal, the world's deadliest and most elusive terrorist. And furthermore, they know that the Jackal wants: a final confrontation with Bourne. No...more

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Jan 22, 2008 Lisa Lap rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: mysterythrillers

Finally. Okay, so the book was good but I have to say it really could have been wrapped up in about 250 pages instead of the 663 it took. So many misses that were just frustrating. All the integral plot points tied up in the end and it definitely didn't leave any questionable loose ends. While I'm glad I read the books as they are SO different from the movies, I'm also glad that I'm done with the series.

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Jun 21, 2010 Shane rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is the 2nd book of the series of 'Bourne' books that are entitled exactly as the movie-tie-ins. Someone had told me that the books do not follow the movies very well and I agree. I loved the movies. There is something about the scenery; the almost believability of Jason Bourne's character/ability to be super-human yet he shows emotion as he chooses to grasp at the areas of his person that have been brain-washed away. That last sentence was in reference to the movies. About the books - a 'ca...more

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Sep 27, 2012 Jeff Cothern added it

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Aug 24, 2011 Adam rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: abandoned

I am a stubborn, anal-retentive completionist when it comes to books. If I start it, I finish it. That being said - this is the first novel I have ever started & then given-up on. It really is that bad. I read The Bourne Identity & its sequel, The Bourne Supremacy & while neither was spectacular, I still enjoyed them. I figured I'd finish the trilogy with Ultimatum. I had noticed the abysmal reviews on Amazon.com, but decided I had to see for myself. I just couldn't bring myself to n...more I am a stubborn, anal-retentive completionist when it comes to books. If I start it, I finish it. That being said - this is the first novel I have ever started & then given-up on. It really is that bad. I read The Bourne Identity & its sequel, The Bourne Supremacy & while neither was spectacular, I still enjoyed them. I figured I'd finish the trilogy with Ultimatum. I had noticed the abysmal reviews on Amazon.com, but decided I had to see for myself. I just couldn't bring myself to not read the final volume of Robert Ludlum's Bourne trilogy.

Stubbornly, I slogged my way through one-third of the paperback, while also reading Vince Flynn's Extreme Measures on my Nook. That's what finally did it for me. I absolutely love reading anything Flynn writes. The man really knows how to write a page-turner of a thriller. While being so absorbed in one of his novels, I couldn't bear the thought of picking up where I left off in The Bourne Ultimatum. I became painfully aware of the lack of fun in reading it.

Many of the common criticisms of this novel I found to be true. I'm normally not one to be critical, but the dialogue is at times atrocious. I understand that when reading a work of fiction it is sometimes necessary to employ a suspension of disbelief, but considering how Ludlum seeks to write fairly realistic fiction, he failed miserably with Ultimatum. Carlos seemed a fairly believable opponent in Identity, however, I felt that in Ultimatum he was a caricature. Ludlum seems to be incapable of referring to Carlos without the word "Jackal" being in the same paragraph. Funny, I hardly recall the moniker of "The Jackal" being used in Identity. Also, how many times must the reader be reminded that David Webb, aka Jason Bourne, aka "Delta" is over-the-hill in this book. Only 5 years have passed since the events of Supremacy, yet the reader is led to believe that the protagonist who was on top of his game as a 45 year old in Hong Kong & China during the events of the preceding novel is now almost lacking in competence at 50. Identity introduced the concept of Carlos utilizing old men on the streets of Paris as his eyes and ears (in a very believable fashion), yet now 13 years later he seemingly has an endless supply of old men who have nothing better to do with their miserable lives than to throw them away by pursuing Bourne around the world (beyond ridiculous). If Bourne is so inept & Carlos is still "the man" then why does Carlos need so many helpers in his quest to assassinate Bourne? I could go on with a laundry list of complaints, but I really don't feel like spending any more of my time even thinking about this rag.

Bottom line - this book should never have been written. Just read The Bourne Identity, and then The Bourne Supremacy, and assume that David & Marie lived happily ever after following the events of Supremacy. (less)

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Feb 13, 2013 Jamie rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: assassination, espionage, political-conspiracy, terrorism

The Bourne Ultimatum is nothing remotely like the movie. Completely different story with maybe a few similar names and settings with an idea or two that has been reshaped. The premise of the book is a simple showdown between Jason Bourne, very different than the Bourne in the films with Matt Damon, and Carlos the Jackal, the elusive assassin and terrorist. Add a mysterious global organization referred to as Medussa that again is different from the original Medussa out of Saigon, Bourne's Medussa...more

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Sep 14, 2012 Karis rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I made it halfway through chapter 18 before I just gave up. Although, I liked the Bourne Identity and I could not put The Bourne Supremacy down, Ludlum's writing style is just not for me. I could handle the redundancy, superfluous tangents, and his serial overuse of adjectives until I began reading The Bourne Ultimatum. Not only did it take me 15 chapters to get remotely interested in the plot but the style went from slightly irritating to flat out obnoxious. The characters, even Jason and Mari...more

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Jul 17, 2011 Danica rated it 3 of 5 stars

Pretty good book with some dynamite action sequences. It doesn't actually parallel the movie AT ALL, which is both good and bad. Good because you don't feel like you are reading something that you already know, and bad because I particularly enjoyed the movies and preferred that version of Jason Bourne/David Webb. I have not read the first two in the trilogy.

The only thing that felt false to me about the book was Jason/David's relationship with his wife and family. The dialogue seemed unrealisti...more

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Jan 23, 2012 Brent Soderstrum rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This final book of the Jason Bourne series by Robert Ludlum is all about a final showdown between Bourne and Carlos the Jackel. Bourne and the Jackel have locked horns over the years and with Carlos facing old age and failing health he seeks his final grand finale-a battle to the death with Jason Bourne. Bourne and the Jackel criss cross across the world nearly having the battle multiple times each time the Jackel miraculously escaping. The final showdown takes place in a Russian training facili...more

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Feb 19, 2009 Slacker rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Of the three books so far, this one is the worst.

First off, it has nothing to do with the movie. So forget that. Second it has more twists and turns than a plate of spaghetti. And it is as improbable as any. The story takes place 13 years after the first book. Jason is 50, and is doing things and tasks that he couldn't have done when he was 37. The story is obviously the last book in the series, and you can tell by the way that it is constructed that it was meant to be the last. So I am a bit c...more

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Oct 10, 2012 Joe rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The third and final story of the trilogy takes place 5 years after the crazy saga in Hong Kong and 13 years after Bourne's first confrontation with Carlos The Jackal at Treadstone Seventy One.

In this final installment a message is sent cryptically supposedly from Bourne to Conklin and Panov to meet at a carnival, but the message ends up being from The Jackal, who has found Bourne and nowhere is safe. Bourne is forced to send his family to stay at Monserrat with Marie's brother Johnny. As we have...more

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Jan 07, 2009 BoekenTrol rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: all people who love thrillers / espionage

Shelves: books-i-own

How the author did it, I don't know, but he caught me with his story and the 'adventures' of David Webb / Jason Bourne. This last book in the trilogy I find good.
It shows the dilemma of the person David, that influences the person Jason, no matter how hard the latter is fighting it.
It shows a battle of a man, in his 50's, that is going 'to war' again with his oldest enemy Carlos, to protect himself and his family. He goes all around the globe again, finding old friends / allies to help him with...more

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Sep 20, 2010 Twharton rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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

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Nov 19, 2011 Josh rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Wow I actually really enjoyed this book. There was a profuse amount of horrid language in it and quite a few racist things. The racial slurs I can justify simply because of the time frame it takes place in and the fact that those kinnds of references were more rampant at that time. The foul language.... well there wasn't really a need for THAT MUCH. However, the story itself kept me intrigued most of the time. The previous two books there was a lot of planning and meetings and just slow boring s...more

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Dec 06, 2011 Scott Rhee rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

In "The Bourne Ultimatum", the third and final Bourne book written by the late Robert Ludlum, the world's greatest assassin and Jason Bourne's arch-nemesis, Carlos the Jackal, is back! David Webb is living a somewhat calm life as a college professor with his wife and two children, when Carlos sends a clear message to him, his family, and the select few men in the U.S. government that he knows about Webb's alter-ego. Once again, Webb is forced to resurrect the personality of Bourne, an aspect of...more

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About Robert Ludlum

Robert Ludlum was an American author of 25 thriller novels. There are more than 290 million copies of his books in print, and they have been translated into 32 languages. 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,...more

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“A man's weaknesses may intrude on his faith but they do not diminish it.” — 13 people liked it

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