Bourne, Again.

In this day and age of paranoia and technological thrillers, I have personally come to decide that no character better encapsulates the feeling of being lost in all the information than Jason Bourne. I have read all three original novels that share the name of their movie counterparts. The novels were vastly different because it was a different world when they were originally written. If you can keep that in mind, then they are extremely entertaining. The new books, taken over by Eric Van Lustbader at Ludlow's permission before he passed, are faster and more technologically driven all the while keeping the spirit of the original character. I think they are worth it. Let me tell you why.

What You May Like About It:

The action is crisp and easy to follow, but also propels the story forward rather then just being a filler to rack up the page count. Bourne is indeed a man of action, but what Lustbader does well is explain why he punches certain areas, what that will do, why he runs to a certain spot in a hotel. The author takes you inside the head of a man that is still learning about his past and what he is capable of now.

In the first new novel, The Bourne Legacy (I don't believe that there was a pun intended there from Lustbader, but, who knows), it mostly deals with Bourne's direct past in the Far East. Without spoiling, well, anything, I will say that there is a sort of surprise that I kind of saw coming. Having read a lot of these types of novels, you can get worn on plot devices and such, but Lustbader really puts you in the action and develops his characters well. That keeps me in the story no matter what.

What You May Dislike About It:

One thing that someone may be averted to is the length. It could have been a little shorter, but keep in mind that the author wants to re-introduce you to this character and how the world has changed since Ludlow's day. This is not the Matt Damon version either. That may put off some readers as they are looking for the young man to come out swinging at everything with whatever weapon he can get his hands on. Don't get me wrong, there is plenty of action, just know that this Bourne is at least 50 years old.

I say read Betrayal. If you don't like it, make like Bourne himself and forget about it.