I have just really started getting into reading. I have read the odd few books but i have only just started to really get into it since i read the Da Vinci code and Angels and Demons. I have seen the Bourne films and wanted to start reading the books. I would like to know if they are any good and if they are similar to the films. The Identity, Supremecy and Ultimatum of course, or if the other ones are good. I also quite like Eric Van Lustbader so if you have read any of his other books then i would like to know about them. Thanks.
I have read several Bourne novels; I have not seen any of the movies except in bits during previews. I liked Ludlum's writing (except for the alleged humorous ones, The Road to...etc), and I think Lustbader does a good job of carrying on with the character and all the plot twists.
The movies take wild departures from the books, which is good. The Bourne Ultimatum is the single worst book I ever bothered to finish. I will remove my eyes with a grapefruit spoon before I ever open a Robert Ludlum book ever again. Half the book was him repeating some point about one of the previous books that he'd covered 15 other times in the one he was writing.
I loved Bourne Identity, absolutely loved it, so of course, I hate the movies and really dislike the sequels. So, if you read Identity, and only kind of like it, you may be perfect for the movies and subsequent knockoffs...
The Bourne movies mostly just borrowed the character name and premise. The novels appear to be set in 1970's Cold War politics. The movies took the premise but changed the setting to post-Cold War/post-911 world. I tried reading both Identity and Ultimatum but found both terribly written and didn't push on. Q
I read them back when they were orginally published. I enjoyed the books and movies. However, the books weren't great by any means. Some of the things Jason did where so unbelieveable that it was comical...
The new Bourne novels are awful. they're not written by ludlum. Just a note on the movies .... the director forebade the screenwriter from reading the 'Bourne Identity' book. he just gave him an outline to work from. they are nothing alike. I think there are better spy novels to be had ...
I'm not a big fan of Ludlum. I found Identity to be passable, and didn't mind his Matarese books, but I haven't really been able to get into anything else. As far as paperback thrillers go, I tend to gravitate to writers like le Carre and Forsythe. The best writer of spy fiction is, of course, Len Deighton.
I read the first three Bourne books. I havent bothered with all the new ones that have popped up since the movies started. I am glad the movies deviated from the books. I found Jason Bourne and Marie to be annoying characters. I liked them much better in the movies. I just wish Marie had not been killed off in the movies. So, if you are wanting to read the books because you like the movies, you may be disappointed. They arent bad books but they arent great either. They certainly arent close to the movies though.