Robert Ludlum’s The Bourne Deception

by Laura Tatton | 1:54 pm 11/07/2010

By Eric Van Lustbader Publisher: Orion Books (2.5/5)

“Ludlum stuffs more surprises into his novels than any other six-pack of thriller writers combined,” exclaims the New York Times, in reference to the Bourne series. However, Eric Van Lustbader, (no matter how hard he tries, and believe me, he does try!) is no Robert Ludlum. Van Lustbader’s pick up of the late Ludlum’s series is a painful failure. He seems to have taken Ludlum’s formula and sprinted with it, stuffing too much into the novel, and losing Ludlum’s masterful style.

Although this novel is titled Robert Ludlum’s The Bourne Deception, don’t be deceived. Master assassin Jason Bourne spends far too much time offstage, and is by no means a main feature. Following on from The Bourne Sanction, Jason Bourne and his latest nemesis, the Russian Leonid Arkadin, are caught up in a deadly game of cat-and-mouse. However, the roles of hunter and the hunted are now reversed. How clichéd. When Bourne is ambushed and badly wounded, he fakes his own death and goes into hiding. In safety, the wussy Bourne takes on a new identity and begins a mission to find out who tried to assassinate him. Meanwhile, the crux of the story occurs elsewhere. An American passenger airliner is shot down over Egypt by what appears to be an Iranian missile. A massive global investigative team, lead by Soraya Moore, is assembled to unravel the truth before the situation escalates into an international disaster. When Bourne's search for his would-be assassin intersects with Soraya's search for the group behind the airplane bombing, Bourne is thrust into a race against time to uncover the truth and prevent a new world war, all the while being stalked by his “unknown” assassin. 

If you can persevere past (or keep up with) the bad connections, plot holes, and drippy emotional filler, this is not a wholly bad read. Van Lustbader’s idea is brilliant, but his execution is poor. Robert Ludlum did an amazing job with his books, and alas, Van Lustbader has slowly destroyed this fine series, committing an injustice against Jason Bourne. I would recommend reading this book … if you were really (really, really) desperate for some Bourne action.

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