It is fairly rare that a series continued by a ghost author is as good as the original. Bourne Dominion is a case in point. It's long and a spook story, but that is where the similarities end. Ludlum was a master at developing complex plots and characters, infusing them with tension and still (usually) maintaining coherence. Van Lustbader is capable of neither. The plot is complex but poorly constructed and at times senseless. Characters are sometimes implausible (an uneducated blue collar worker is a member of and has knowledge of the most secret plans of an elitist organization?) and not rendered well. Even Bourne, whom we know well, is reduced to an almost comedic level. The production qualities are also a severe disappointment. A reader who only reads and does little to contribute to characters and worse to pace; and an insipid and annoying sound effect to alert us that fast paced action is occurring as if we weren't really listening at all make this a hard listen. I kept hoping it would get better, it didn't. Do yourself a favor. Don't.

I am pretty sure this would be a fun movie to watch but it was not fun to read.

The story was good. The narrator reads the book well. But that background music is just too much and needs to be removed. I would have given 5 stars without the background stuff.,

I honestly can't believe the author was serious here. This book is an absolute train wreck.

My headline, above, says it all. The writing in the book gives the impression of a precocious seventh grader, with plotting to match.

If you're familiar with the annual Bulwer-Lytton contest (which "challenges entrants to compose the opening sentence to the worst of all possible novels"), imagine a whole book crafted in this style.

Awful.

Note, by the way, that I'm a fan of the series. Enough of a fan that I have stuck with it to this, the ninth entry. For me, the last. Put a pin in it, Ludlum Estate. Bourne is done.

I've been a big fan of the Bourne series and this one just feels like a money grab by the publisher. I actually didn't finish this one which is a surprise for me. I normally push through to the end but I decided this book was letting me down. The action sequences held my attention but the connecting pieces just didn't hold my attention.

The story wasn't just read it was acted. I quite enjoyed that.

This book was a waste of time. I suspect the book will be boring to most readers and listeners.

The characters were poorly developed, the plot disjointed, and Bourne was treated as a super human hero.

The narration was not the issue with this horridly written book.

I was disappointed that the Bourne franchise has sunk to the level that the author no longer feels the need to develop a good story.

Of the more than 200 books I have download from Audible this is the only one I could not finish. It did not have the plot and continuity that all the preceding Ludhum that kept the reader involved. The number of characters that have foreign names and change of story makes the audible book very difficult to follow. Maybe if I had read the book instead of listening I could of flipped back and refreshed the character or plot. I started it twice and after15 % and 20% quit as I was unable to follow the story plot.

Too many characters. I need a notepad to draw connections and names just to keep up. Overly complex. I listen to books while driving so I can afford to take copious notes and draw complex connections whilst I drive. This was a horrrible story to listen to while driving. Perhaps someone in jail cell would enjoy this story as there would be nothing else to do but listen and concentrate!

Will not listen to anymore Lustbader books.

The performance was fine. I actually enjoyed the background music and sounds.

This book is a do-over.

After struggling to get through this book, I was actually hoping that a character would have put a bullet in Bourne and killed him off so Lustbader couldn't write anymore Bourne books!

Well I can say that this is better than the last few Van Lustbader offerings in the Bourne series. At least he has gotten rid of the silly magic/supernatural aspect of the last few novels. Even so the story is over complicated, sometimes hard to follow and other times way too predictable. Certainly not worthy of the spirit of the the first 3 books by Ludlam himself.

The writer got totally confused between the Sunnis and the Shiites. That's a bad one.