The Bourne Ultimatum

I am done with Jason Bourne and with Robert Ludlum. Ultimatum was only slightly less convoluted than its predecessors and had the payoff of finally killing off Carlos the Jackal, supposedly the ultimate goal of Jason Bourne in all three books. How Ludlum and his estate expect to keep David Webb/Jason Bourne going for another several books is beyond me. Several times, quite pointedly, Bourne says he is almost 51. Equally pointedly are the times his aches and pains are commented on, as if to reinforce the fact that Bourne is aging. I’m getting off this merry-go-round here, I have better written and more interesting things to read.… (more)

The last of this series. It started out better than #2 but lost steam towards the end. The wrap up was really bad: Insane villain, cover up and a somewhat psychologically damaged (and aging) hero, the latter is at least a plausible outcome.
I hated how minor people helping had to be killed off to save the precious hero, but I guess it is the nature of the this thriller genre.
I liked it, but the formula is getting a bit too predictable for me. I do not have Ludlum on my priority reading list anymore.… (more)

This is not the best of the series, which is slightly sad considering it is the end of the trilogy, but I don't think it's a completely inappropriate send off. I didn't finish this one as quickly as I did the other two, and that was sadly largely due to a few failings. This book was just not nearly as exciting for me. Saying that though, I really thought David/Jason came across really well...even in all his slip ups. He's struggling to be two different people at the same time without killing one in order to make use of the skills of the other. And he's not young anymore. He's 50, with a family, and is more than a touch mentally unhinged. A lot of people found fault with Jason's inability to take down Carlos when he should have, I'm not disagreeing completely but I still felt it as oddly in character. However....I do find it an incredible let down to not end it with one killing the other. It just feels wrong in some way. In the same way that those helping him constantly died to save him. Which just leads back to my theory. By the end...I think David was just acting off of Jason's remembered skill than actually acting as Jason...which I feel explains his lack of well complete skill. And it was just slowly driving him mad, which if anything is completely clear in the epilogue. The Bourne series did come full circle in the fact that in the manner David had to be broken down to become Jason...Jason had to be dismantled completely in order to return David. So again, not the best of the series but I did enjoy it on various levels....and I felt comfortable with the characters and I liked coming back to them. And a small part of me still wishes the movies...love them as I do...had stuck a bit closer to the books in some ways. If only so I could keep Marie around.… (more)

Many books have been written about secret agents and international terrorists. Most of these books end up being bland and very similar to a thousand books you've read before, people are in danger so the hero comes to the rescue and saves the civilians. Every once in a while however one comes along and surprises and enthralls you with the writers creativity and competency, sadly though The Bourne Ultimatum, is not one of these amazing reads and as a matter of fact bored me considerably.

Robert Ludlum's Bourne Ultimatum follows David Webb, formerly Jason Bourne, and his family as they are chased and attacked by Carlos The Jackal, a long time enemy of Bourne's. It describes the measures one man will go through to protect the people he loves most while also unearthing deep and terrible secrets from his past.

While this summary portrays an amazing novel full of action, love, and deceit, this being the reason I began reading it, Mr. Ludlums follow through fell far short of my expectations. My main problem with this book was how it became gradually more complicated to follow with new characters being introduced without a proper description of how they fit into the story, new settings further throwing the reader of, from Boston to Europe to a tropical island in the Caribbean. The use of past topics and missions of Bourne's complicating the plot line even more by bringing up the Jackal's and Bourne's past together partially but leaving large chunks of the story out leaving the reader feeling like he or she is missing a substantial part of the story. This however was not my only disgruntlement with The Bourne Ultimatum the use of description being severely lacking throughout the book.

Robert Ludlum ineptly describes most parts of this story by giving it a one dimensional perspective and frequently using childish and quite frankly pathetic excuses for adjectives and adverbs, such as saying bad instead of abominable or atrocious. He also tries using onomatopoeia, very poorly in my opinion, to mask his misuse of adjectives and adverbs. Ludlum himself being a US marine, I would expect a greater use of description especially in an action filled thriller, such as this was meant to be, since he has fought in times of war and has first hand experience with high powered weaponry, therefore I rate The Bourne Ultimatum a 1 out of 5 stars.… (more)

Not as exciting as the first two in the trilogy, I found this story a little too predictable and a struggle to finish. I also found myself geting bored with the whole premis of the storyline. I suspect it would have benefited from some editing to remove a great deal of superfluous narrative and perhaps inject some pace. I also think that the ending was way too "cheesy" for the series. I almost thought we were going to get a re-affirmation of wedding vows on a paradise island beach the way the story was completed, or did they cut that bit?… (more)

Oh my word, this was a long book. It started off quite good, I was once again back in Jason Bourne's world running around and kicking backsides. It didn't half go on though and really lost its way with sub plots and twists which all got a bit confusing and distracting. The denouement was also a bit of a let down, as was the twee tying up of a loose plot or two in about 2 pages. I enjoyed the trilogy overall, but this wasn't the strongest of the books by a long chalk.… (more)

It's good, not great. It's probably too long, all in all, and can't keep up the tension at a consistent level. Possibly would have been better to have condensed a couple of the possible endings into one almighty, cataclysmic ending.
I'd still recommend it and I look forward to reading others in the series.… (more)

This book - this whole series, in fact - is one of the very few instances where I can say the movie is better (by far) than the books. There is almost nothing in common with the movies, rarely even settings or plot. This isn't that uncommon these days, but be forewarned.

My wife had them laying around and I was in a spy mode for a while, gobbling up some of the spy books we've collected. It's odd that Matt Damon can portray a cold killer better than a writer, but I found the books' Jason Bourne to be overwrought and melodramatic. This third book I found the most tedious of the lot.

On the positive side, the advice on a bloody nose that Bourne's psychologist friend received from the trucker outside Virginia (?) somewhere is 100% spot on!! I can't remember which book it's in; probably the second one.… (more)