Bourne Ultimatum by Robert Ludlum

In short: Things happen, people swear, and a geriatric spy bumbles through one improbable scenario after another. Not a favorite.

Can a fifty-something guy play the spy game? Can Jason Bourne still find his edge to stay alive when he hasfd a domestic life complete with wife, kids, and friends? Jason Bourne (aka David Webb), was living in real time with us and eventually entered his 50's. He settled down. He raised a family. He built a life. This raised those two questions which were explored throughout the story. Since Jason Bourne is the hero of the novel, the answer to both questions turns out to be "yes". Everything that made Jason be a happy David was threatened, however, when his original nemesis, The Jackal, decided to assassinate him. "Bourne Ultimatum" therefore was the conflict between an aging ex-black ops agent versus the very man who was the reason for Jason Bourne's existence in the first place.

On one hand we have Jason Bourne with his support group of loyal and loving friends and family and on the other we have the Jackal with his legion of henchmen all held in check by fear. The differences between these two men shaped the events of the story. Unfortunately, I just didn't find those events believable. The clash of two old enemies in a battle of wits to the death was intellectually intriguing, but not emotionally compelling. The story was missing the urgency that was present in the first two novels. Jason Bourne was too soft and serendipity came to his aide all too often. Additionally, I found the language in the book coarse and vulgar at times. Consequently, I found myself being pulled out of the book into the real world as I disagreed with what I was reading.

As anybody who has seen the movies and read the books can tell you, they bear little in common beyond characters and place names. For example, Alex was turned from friend to foe then killed off in the first movie. This angered many book fans, but it made for a compelling movie. I felt the second movie, "Bourne Supremacy", was better at establishing motive and drive than the book. The death of his wife was a powerful event and instantly swept up the audience in Jason's cause. Having Marie rushing in from the wings to succor and nourish her warrior as she does in the books questioned plausibility at times. One wonders if Robert Ludlum, who wrote the movie scripts, was aware of this when he made the change. With no Alex to provide government contacts and no Marie to make a family with, the upcoming adaptation of "Bourne Ultimatum" may share only the title in common.