Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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23 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Pretty Lackluster, I agree..., September 13, 2008
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.
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
The Best of the Lustbader Books to Date About Jason Bourne, August 21, 2008
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.
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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Don't bother buying this one (or others of Lustbader's "Bourne" series), January 31, 2009
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.
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