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Thursday, Jul. 11, 2002 |
10:58 p.m. |
The Bourne SupremacyRobert Ludlum Fiction This book is a very well conceived sequel to The Bourne Identity. On the level of government conspiracy and intricacies, this novel was by far the better one. I never knew that the government could get so dirty, well in a book, I mean. Again, Ludlum is a genius at coming up with a plot that makes you guess at every turn. Alright, the first book involved a man who knew himself only as Jason Bourne while fighting amnesia. The premise of the book is what would happen if James Bond lost his memory but none of his skill? What chaos would ensue? The first book is based heavily on the famed European assassin, Carlos (who was caught in real life in 1994 by the French authorities) and Jason�s �involvement� with him. THE MOVIE HAD NOTHING TO DO AT ALL WITH THE BOOK. In this book, Jason Bourne, known by his true identity David Webb, is a happily married man, leaving out his life on the government�s dime in Maine. On the other side of the world in Hong Kong, a man busts into a bar and ices a few diplomats. He leaves the calling card of Jason Bourne. The U.S. government catches wind of this �imposter� Jason Bourne and realizes that catastrophic circumstances may result from the man that the imposter is working for. Finding his one and only true love kidnapped as a result of this �imposter�, David Webb must again become his counterpart, the real Jason Bourne. His mission: to save his wife. What he doesn�t realize, however, is much much more is riding on this mission that simply his and his wife�s lives. Unfortunately for me, I know very little history of the 80�s. If I was graced with any knowledge at all of 1980�s history, it was definitely not Eastern Asia. The entire book takes place in Hong Kong or China. The depth of the plot is amazing, but because of my lack of East Asian history background, I do not fully understand the consequences of the interaction between Peking (now Beijing, I think) and (what was) the British colony of Hong Kong, which is ultimately the soul of the plot. However, with my lack of knowledge, I still understood enough, as it is mostly explained. There are a few drawbacks to this book though: 1) This book has nothing to do with Carlos 2) Jason Bourne is not as sexy without the mystery behind who he is. But, in this book, you can see a new side of him�a more caring side, as he is driven to save his wife. All in all, this is an excellent continuation to the series and I look forward to reading the third book.
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