The second book in the original trilogy of
Jason Bourne deviates a lot from the first one. Once solved the dilemma about
the identity of the protagonist, Ludlum offers new scenarios, threats, and
challenges to our secret super-agent.
For the reader, finding the old characters
mixes up with the need to remain attentive while reading, in order to
understand the tangled plot. Ludlum takes us to China
in the 80s and tells us about the socio-political mechanisms of that period, of
which he shows a deep understanding. Maybe we don’t catch them all, but we gain
an overall picture that fascinates and worries, and that no doubt makes the
happiness of any spy story fan (like me!).
In addition, there’s the timeless charm of Webb/Bourne,
the damaged hero, on the brink of madness (a word that Ludlum uses very
often!), crazy and fragile, not infallible, who can be cold, but also love with
depth. Next to him the character of Marie (my favourite after Bourne), as well
as those of Alex and Mo, are equally central in the story and engaging. And
they are especially essential to call the protagonist back to the reality, so
that he can put aside the Bourne that is in him and go back to being David
Webb.
The only negative aspect is the presence of
some passages that are a little slow and some unnecessary repetition of what
happened in the first book.
A trivia about Ludlum’s writing: there isn’t
any kind of foul language in his books, he prefers to use euphemisms and
metaphors, and yet, strangely, there are a lot of profanities. All the
characters, from first to last, at least once invoke God, or Jesus Christ (or
variants), but don’t say a single f-word!
The Bourne Supremacy on Amazon.
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