The Bourne Identity January 5, 2008

So, everybody’s seen the popular movie series, The Bourne Trilogy, right? Wrong. Not me. Yeah, you heard right, I’ve never seen the movies. I’ve seen a lot of good movies, okay, just not those particular good movies. At least I assume they’re good, but I wouldn’t know, seeing as how I’ve never… yeah, just forget it. I have, however, read the first book which the first movie was based on. I have also read the last two books in the series, which the last two movies were NOT based on. Confused yet? I thought so. Basically, the original series author, Robert Ludlum, wrote three books about Jason Bourne/David Webb. Then, he died. No, not Bourne, idiot, Ludlum! Those three books are the ones the movies have been based on. But, unknown to the general populace (except you of course, because you are smart, reading my book reviews and all), the Robert Ludlum estate let this other guy, who writes a lot like Robert Ludlum, and has a last name a little bit like Ludlum’s, Eric Van Lustbader, write two more books about Jason Bourne/David Webb. Sweet, huh? Well, I thought so, anyways. Okay, so enough history lesson. Time for the book review.

Plot: Well constructed. Well, what am I saying. It was an international bestseller. Of course it had a good plot. Basically, Bourne wakes up on some obscure Island with a drunken doctor to help him recover. He recovers, then goes on a trip around the world, but mostly Europe, to figure out who he is. Along the way, he kills some bad guys, shows that all action heroes really DO have ten lives, not just nine, and all the other good stuff that Jason Bourne does. Oh, did I mention he kidnaps a woman professor, too? I didn’t? Well, good. Thanks for reminding me. He kidnaps a female professor by the name of Marie. Oh, and I’m told that a part not in the movie was about some terrorist named Carlos. Yeah, pretty spooky, eh? Which is really a shame, because, quite honestly, without the added factor of finding, or perhaps avoiding Carlos, the book would be a whole lot worse.

Character: Beautifully done by Mr. Ludlum. His characters, especially his protagonist and the main antagonists, are multi-layered and complex. Kind of like real people. Only kind of. This kind of thing doesn’t happen in real life. Or does it?

Overall, it’s a fairly good read. There’s a few sexually graphic scenes, or maybe it’s just one, I can’t remember exactly, which you kind of have to skip over if you have any sense of decency as regards that type of thing, like I do. Not the most gripping military/political fiction I’ve ever read, but still really cool.

On a scale of 1-10, 10 best, 1 worst:
Plot: 9
Characters: 8
Moral Content: 4
Overall: 7.7

Recommended if you like this type of book.