Customer Reviews

Robert Ludlum's The Bourne Sanction

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(15)
2 star:		(12)
1 star:		(19)

 

 

To agree with a few previous reviewers, I thought this title was pretty mediocre compared to the earlier Bourne books, and others I've read in the genre. The plot was a bit confusing at times, but I expect some of that in an action-thriller. My main problem was that the character of Jason Bourne was incredibly shallow! Much more time was spent developing the character of his nemesis in the book.

There were definitely a few grammatical errors and typos. Something else that annoyed me: Lustbader seems to be in love with the word "preternatural" and used it every time he could throw it in there. Why use a little-known word so often when a simpler one would suffice? Also, his knowledge of weaponry, spycraft, etc seems very sketchy-- an "HK 1911 .45" handgun is something that doesn't exist, for example. The action scenes and fighting scenes were confusing and difficult to understand as a reader. If you've ever read someone like Clancy, this will sound to you like it's been written by an 8th grader... Lustbader is much, much better at describing beautiful scenery and vistas than he is at describing action and espionage.

My other problem with the book was more subjective. If you're like me, you may get tired in this day and age of things that smack of anti-Americanism. In this book, the NSA is depicted as wholly evil, and the only military man (the general) is a ridiculous caricature of every negative military stereotype you've ever heard. I realize that there need to be villains, but I found it a bit silly. The subject of waterboarding is raised, and it's treated as the most horrible, inhumane thing that's ever been seen on earth. However, numerous people are shot, stabbed, tortured and maimed in far more damaging and invasive ways without a second mention.

Let me preface my review with my Ludlum/Lustbader history. I travel quite a bit for work, and as with most of my reading I picked up the Bourne Identity in the airport. I found the Bourne character and story to be well written and compelling, and quickly devoured the remaining two books in the trilogy.

I am also a huge fan of Lustbader's Nicholas Linnear books. I read The Ninja and the following books in high school and loved them.

When I saw that Lustbader had been tapped to continue the Bourne series, I instantly snapped up a copy. The first two books fell well below my expectations, and I mentally struck the series from my 'must-read' list. This weekend I was again in the airport and saw the Bourne Sanction. I started reading the first few pages and was pleasantly surprised. No glaring inconsistencies, no magical coincidences. Some very entertaining writing. So I purchased the book and boarded my plane. Thirty pages later, I regretted my decision. 150 pages after that I was convinced Lustbader's main objective in writing the book was to personally insult me. The plot devices used in the book are so egregious they actually made me feel slightly nauseous. Unfortunately, I am rarely able to stop reading a book once I start it. And so, I was forced to finish this one. Along the way, I promised myself two things: never read another Lustbader novel, and write a review to hopefully help someone avoid the agony to which I was being subjected.

In this book, as with the other Lustbader Bournes, Jason Bourne is the beneficiary of coincidental events so improbable it appears he is an incompetent who must rely on luck in order to survive. In fact, Bourne is so lucky that he should consider getting out of the spy business and playing poker. There is no doubt based on the events of this book that he would be dealt a Royal Flush on every hand and win the WSOP every year!

Our antagonist, who goes by the name Arkadin, is another world class assassin who also seems to get by more chance than by any innate skill. Supposedly, he is the equal of Bourne, yet leads such a low profile life no one has ever heard of him. Surprising then, when early in the book he uses his real name when introducing himself to another character.

By the finale of the book, the happenstance which allows the ending is so ridiculously improbable, I was convinced no one had ever read a draft of the book before it was published. The last chapter alone, which relies on a coincidence of incalculable odds made this reader want to vomit.

Never again my friends, never again.

P.S. I purposely did not describe events from the actual story in the event someone who reads this review might still feel the need to read the book. If that is the case with you, I can only suggest, DON'T DO IT!

P.P.S. Usually when I get done with a book, I will leave it somewhere with a sticky note on it that says, 'Free Book'. I threw this one away. If someone had picked it up and read it, I didn't want to get tracked down by my fingerprints and charged with crimes against humanity for leaving it lying around.

Like a couple of other reviews I've read here on this title, I have to agree that Lustbader is not worthy of writing in Ludlum's "Bourne" series. There are a few things that bother me immensely.

First...Either Lustbader or his editors have chosen to make EVERYONE say "do you" as "d'you". I'm only half way through this book (and I will finish it just to see how Lustbader muddles through the story), but in three and a half books so far, only one person has said "do you". What gets me about this is that even foreigners are saying it, whether they are speaking in their native language (as we would assume they would be if they are in their home country) or in English. I know quite a few people from foreign countries who very rarely use ANY English contractions, so Lustbader's use of it for everyone is a little ridiculous. Since Bourne is supposed to be so educated, I would expect him to speak more properly, at least.

Second...He can use every kind of Russian slang or proper term for everything except the scarf we all associate with old Russian women. For this, he uses the word "babushka". This means "grandmother", not "scarf". All he needed to do was use "sharf" and give the English equivalent, as he has done with all of the other Russian terms he's used. Why is Lustbader so inconsistent? Bad writing in a series he shouldn't be writing in is the answer.

Third...Bourne is a product of the Vietnam War. That puts him today closing in on 60 years of age. I can't remember if Ludlum ever gave an exact age or not, but that seems like it should be fairly close. And yet, he's able to run, fight, etc., as if he were still in his prime. In Ludlum's last Bourne book, I remember Bourne commenting on how he was getting too old for some of these antics. Now he's a revitalized superman.

Fourth...Everything "wrong" with Bourne now seems to have stemmed from the death of Marie. He doesn't even really seem to care about his kids anymore. Everything is, "Oh, woe is me. Marie is dead. My life is over." Suicide would be an excellent choice right about now.

Fifth...From Ludlum's books, we get the feeling that Alex Conklin and Mo Panov are the ONLY people (aside from Marie) that he has ever really trusted. And yet, every story of Lustbader's has more and more "true friends" popping up. I think Lustbader needs to take some time and read Ludlum's books more carefully. He's taking a hell of alot of freedom ruining one of Ludlum's greatest characters.

I'm sure I could add more once I struggle through the last half of this book, but you get the idea.

I hope this is the last of Lustbader's Bourne books. He's pretty much ruined the character. I just can't believe I've wasted so much reading time on them. I guess it was more of a morbid curiosity on my part to see what a train wreck the Bourne series is becoming.

This is the third book written by Eric Van Lustbader about Jason Bourne. As I've commented before, this isn't the same Jason Bourne as Robert Ludlum wrote about. If you want that Jason Bourne, skip this book. It's also different from the wonderful ninja stories that Eric Van Lustbader is known for. So don't look for that either.

If you are interested in meeting and following a new Jason Bourne, read on. If you do decide to read The Bourne Sanction, I strongly suggest that you read The Bourne Betrayal first. The characters and the situation won't make much sense to you otherwise. I suspect that you will see this book as a one or two star effort.

As the book opens, there's a deadly secret being passed along to help foil a dangerous terrorist plan. The U.S. intelligence community is in great turmoil, and there are lots of people who want to grab the reins of power. Jason Bourne has resumed his David Webb persona and is teaching again. Events quickly conspire to intertwine those plot threads into a huge conflict that imperils even Jason Bourne.

Like The Bourne Betrayal, this book is too long. But it's only 150 pages too long, rather than 200 pages too long. That's progress.

The book's strength can be found in some of the action scenes and in the plot twists that are deeply embedded into the early Bourne stories. The book's weaknesses are that it moves too slowly, Bourne is barely present as a personality, and there's a little too much assuming that readers have read the last two stories.

I get the sense that Mr. Lustbader is beginning to get his sea legs under him in writing about Jason Bourne. I suspect the series will continue to get better from here. But what do I know? I'm just an optimist who is rooting for this series to work. I would miss the idea of Jason Bourne too much otherwise.

I hope I can save someone from wasting money on this book. To say it's boring is being very kind. The pace of the story is so slow, the characters are so shallow; including Jason Bourne, and the dialogue is so predictable and trite, that you can begin to read a paragraph and just finish it yourself if you insert some trite, predictable lines. I read 60-80 books a year, I always finish a book even if I find it less then desirable. Not so with this book, halfway through and I deleted it from my Kindle, it was that BAD! I'd rather lose the intrinsic value then waste any more time with it. It is truly the worst book I have had the misfortune to (try to) read in the last 5 years.

I was a huge fan of the original Bourne. The character was special - you had the feeling of finely honed skills resulting from the ultimate training. An almost superhuman figure.

The main character of this book may have gone by that name but was a different character in my view. You did not get the feeling he was anything special and heaven knows how he prevailed in all his various battles. I got a similar feeling from the general manner in which the story was written - almost like the author was going through the motions. It was thin, implausible and naive.

I'm afraid this book just didn't do it for me.

I've read all the Jason Bourne books, but just didn't enjoy this one. It might have helped if I had read The Bourne Betrayal just prior to reading this book, but I found the book confusing. It refereed to things and characters from previous books with not enough reference or reminders to put these things in context.

The storyline was also weak. They did all come together at the end of the book, but it felt contrived and forced. Maybe the author took two ideas for a book and squished them into one? I just didn't enjoy the book.

Eric Van Lustbader keeps the reader on the edge of his seat just like Robert Ludlum did. Great read for anyone that is a fan of the series.

You'll read many reviews of disappointed readers, largely Ludlum fans. However, this is an ok read. On the one hand its not vintage Ludlum - so the plot structure and detail is less substantive. Also, it lacks Ludlum's vocabulary and grammatical complexity.

However, Eric Van Lustbader is a gifted writer in that he's able to vividly conjure worlds for the reader that before reading may have no previous notion of. The places, the characters, the weather and timing of various things, serves to bring the reader on a voyage with the characters.

Of course, the reader must be forgiving, especially if he or she has experience in politics and how agencies work with one another. But if you can accept the stereotypes and simply put yourself into the picture as a casual observer the story can become compelling for you. I can imagine how challenging a read it would be for someone who demands reality in their super spy novels - but then they really wouldn't be fun to read.

I think you'll enjoy this novel if 1) you have a sense of humor, and can laugh off an impossible scenario or two 2) allow yourself to be taken on the journey.

Lastly, this is not a novel to be critical of. The Bourne Series is grown into mass popularity, and as such will be given a 7th grade readability quotient; future plots (including this one) will be aimed at middle American sensibilities. The result is fast food versus the classic Ludlum spy novel.

I had fun with the book. I hope you do too.

lustbader owes me $[...], which is what i paid for this time waster. i should have know better; no real writer would do a cover of another writer except for money and lustbader has never had an ear for dialog.

i simply could not read past page 33.

the problem with lustbader's books (as well as ludlum and most other bestsellers) is unnatural and self-conscious dialog. one begins to read each sentence for the really bad dialog. at that point it's over; you can't go more than a page before throwing the book into the trash.

open the bourne sanction anywhere and read a sentence of dialog. here's a random exchange: "where did you learn to answer questions without revealing a thing?" the answer: "if i'm bad, i learned it at my mother's breast." the whole book is like this. (i consider that first sentence, "where did you learn..." worse than the second sentence of dialog.)

here's what got me on page 32: "my anodyne is going back to work full-bore. yours is obviously here, in a new life."

"anodyne?" "going" rather than "getting?" "full-bore?" "obviously?"

don't waste your money on this hack, you will do better wasting your time on tv, which is free.