Bourne Faces A Hard Ultimatum (The Bourne Ultimatum - Robert Ludlum)

Member Name: Andy.mack

Product:	The Bourne Ultimatum - Robert Ludlum
Date:	10/11/09 (44 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Bourne is back. Well written, some great descriptive passages

Disadvantages: A lot of over chaterisation of old characters, 200 pages too long

Having escaped from Paris, Jason Bourne has now retired and living happily once again as David Webb. With two young children and his wife Marie he has put the events of 13 years previous into the past and now he hopes his days of running are over. That is until his old enemy the Jackal manages to track him down and now Webb must once again become Bourne and head back to Paris, where he spared the Jackal's life previously to hunt him down once again. With help from old friends Alex Conklin and Mo Panov, Bourne must finally finish his feud with the Jackal if he is to ever have a normal life once again.

Having read the previous two books in the Bourne saga by Robert Ludlum after thoroughly enjoying the films of the same names I turned to the Bourne Ultimatum. By now of course the films and the books are different in all but name and lead character. I was expecting this one to be as good and addictive as the previous two books in the series but sadly was left feeling a little flat after making my way through some 724 pages to find it to not being quite of the same standard.

It was sadly lacking in the addictive qualities that the first two books had in abundance and that made the length of this book feel something of a chore. While Ludlum's trademark descriptions and characterisation are still there in full force they seem to be heavily diluted in a book that seemed to be about 200 pages too long. The game of cat and mouse between Bourne and the Jackal does work but he gets close and fails one or two times too many and that is perhaps the reason why it doesn't feel as enjoyable or addictive as the previous books.

If you read the books expecting the multimillion selling movies then you'll be disappointed but with the books and movies having different storylines it negates the inevitable comparisons. It means that Ludlum's novels and Paul Greengrass movies can stand apart and both do justice to the same series. Here Ludlum's portrayal of Bourne is fantastic and the characterisation provided over all three books builds up a character that as the reader you will find yourself caring about. He makes you side with Bourne in his attempts to retire and get away from the events of his past.

There are however moments when Ludlum has taken Bourne's background a little too far and repeats events from his past two or three times in the book when perhaps just the one time would have been more than enough. It's a problem that seems to inflict the rest of the characters as well and you find out information about Alex and Marie two or three times that interrupts the flow of the story and after the first time of reading about these events you find yourself starting to lose interest a little.

It's a real shame as it detracts from what, despite being a little on the long side is actually a very enjoyable story. Ok Ludlum could have cut parts out of the story but as this is his third book with Bourne as the lead character you get the feeling that he perhaps doesn't want to lose the character. While there have been another 3 books by other authors since Ludlum's death this was meant to be the last outing for David Webb as Jason Bourne and you get the feeling Ludlum didn't want to let him go easily.

Despite a few slight faults it is a good way to round off the series. It answers the questions that had been left from the first two books and would have been a good place to end the Bourne books. You can forgive Ludlum's attention to detail as that's what makes his books so enjoyable and the same with his characterisation. This is a really good thriller and while it doesn't keep you on the edge of your seat the same as the previous two it is a book that makes you want to keep reading, simply because you want to know what happens to Bourne.

Amazon: £5.57
Amazon Marketplace: £0.01

Summary: The Third and what should have been final Bourne novel