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The Bourne Identity
Rating: 
Author: Robert Ludlum
Series: Jason Bourne # 1
Published: 1980
Review by: CL7 Kali D'or
The Bourne Identity is classic Robert Ludlum. I have read each and every book Mr. Ludlum wrote prior to his death in 2000. This series is one of my favorites. Make a note here - if you saw the movie, and you read the book, you won't find much in common. The Book is exceptional - the movie mediocre in comparison.
A man is shot in the head and falls overboard a boat somewhere in the sea near the French coast. He is rescued by fishermen and taken to their village where a Doctor, quite the drunk but the only game in town, tends to him to the best of his abilities and slowly brings him back from death's door. Unfortunately, when he wakes up, the man has no idea who he is.
As he slowly recovers, he and the Dr. realize he has talents that are both profoundly unnerving and at the same time, potentially clues to his identity. He can speak many foreign languages, he has martial arts skills, and he is very familiar with weapons of all types. As he recovers physically, he is still plagued by debilitating headaches and continuing amnesia with flashes of memory.
Eventually, he leaves the French fishing village and travels to Zurich where he finds he has a numbered bank account with a heck of alot of money in it, as well as a safety deposit box with papers identifying him as Jason Bourne. Unfortunately, accessing these documents and the account tip off people who want him dead. Using skills and abilities he doesn't know he possesses, he manages to escape with a Canadian Economist, Marie St. Jacques, kidknapping her at gunpoint and forcing her to drive him from one part of Europe to another.
What becomes apparant to both of them is that he has skills that mark him as an assassin. Now, the question is "Who is he hunting and who is hunting him?"
Back in the States, his controllers at Medusa, who call him Cain, are as confused as Bourne is, but for all the wrong reasons, and they decide to terminate him. Hunted in all countries by agents he has known, or who he has worked with, he and Marie make their way back to the US and the answers to all the questions.
This book is pure Robert Ludlum. His talent for crafting a story and building a character have not yet been equaled. A few have come close, but the volume of Ludlum's work speaks for itself. The fact that of all his characters, Jason Bourne prompted Ludlum to write 3 books about this man is proof that Bourne is one of the most popular "heroes" of this genre'.
So, if you want to know who Jason Bourne REALLY is, read the book, don't bother with the movie!
Title: The Bourne Identity
Author: Robert Ludlum
Review by: CL7 Kali D'or
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