Is anyone reading Bourne? What do you think? Is it like the movie?

[Cameron]

I really liked this book. I was exciting and fun. The plot of the movies are completely different from the book. The only thing they have in common are:
1) Secret agent with amnesia.
2) They took several names from the book to use in the movies
3) most of the settings, like France and Zurich.
That is about it. I still love the movies, they are some of the best action movies out there. I also really liked this book. You can't really compare them much because the story of each is just so different.
What did you guys think?

[Phillip]

I just finished last night. I really liked the book, too! I gave it 4/5 stars. When I get the chance I'll probably look into the sequels.
I can see why they had to take some liberties with the movie. The book is pretty long and there were a lot of subtleties that probably wouldn't have translated to the movie well.
Things I liked especially in the book:
- I thought it was cool how it gave some background information into his name(s) and why he had them. I remember wondering why one of the assassins in the movie was calling him Cain.
- I like how Marie wasn't just some chick he picked up at the embassy. She was smart and actually contributed to Bourne's plan.
- The movie is great, but it seems like a lot of the time he was just kickin' trash. In the book he was kicking trash and taking names- he played mind games with people to get them to reveal information and turn them on themselves.
- I liked that it explained more of Bourne's backstory. Why he decided to go into the assassin business.

I do think it was good that they modernized it when they did the movie, though. Lasers embedded in hips are cooler than microfilms embedded in hips.

[Cameron]

The laser in the hip is a lot better, agreed. I too appreciated the backstory that we get with the book. It also nice to see a clear-cut villain in the book. The movie is more Bourne vs. The Government/Organization. While that plot is in the book, kind of, the conflict with Carlos is the most important one.

[Phillip]

Just rewatched all the movies. They're good! I'll have to read the sequels next year.

[Cameron]

I'm also going to read the sequels next year.

[Troy]

Compared to the movie, it was good to actually feel what Bourne was thinking as he's trying to find himself, because he seemed too stoic in the movie. I'll comment some more later.

[Levi]

I read the first three or four books a while back. Really enjoyed them but the start bogging down a bit. But there was some great back story in books two and three.