Robert Ludlum's (TM) The Bourne Imperative

By: Eric Van Lustbader

Narrated by: Holter Graham

Length: 13 hrs and 52 mins

Publisher's summary

The internationally known Jason Bourne can't help by feel connected to this case as he finds a man also with amnesia and the truth behind his identity could just save Bourne's life. The man Jason Bourne fishes out of the freezing sea is near death, half-drowned, and bleeding profusely from a gunshot wound. He awakens with no memory of who he is or why he was shot-and Bourne is eerily reminded of his own amnesia. Then Bourne discovers that the Mossad agent named Rebeka is so determined to find this injured man that she has gone off the grid, cut her ties to her agency, and is now being stalked by Mossad's most feared killer. Do the answers to these mysteries lie back in southeast Lebanon, in a secret encampment to which Bourne and Rebeka escaped following a firefight weeks ago?

The complex trail links to the mission given to Treadstone directors Peter Marks and Soraya Moore: Find the semi-mythic terrorist assassin known as Nicodemo. In the course of Bourne's desperate, deadly search for a secret that will alter the future of the entire world, he will experience both triumph and loss, and his life will never be the same. Now everything turns on the amnesiac. Bourne must learn his identity and purpose before both he and Rebeka are killed. From Stockholm to Washington, DC, from Mexico City to Beijing, the web of lies and betrayals extends into a worldwide conspiracy of monumental proportions.

©2012 Eric Van Lustbader (P)2012 Hachette

good choice

o found this to be on parr with the series, intriguing and plenty of action. narrator always great.

Great listen!

Would you consider the audio edition of Robert Ludlum's (TM) The Bourne Imperative to be better than the print version?

Yes, I would also consider this version better then the abridged version, because the abridged version doesn't really follow the plot of the unabridged version.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Robert Ludlum's (TM) The Bourne Imperative?

When Jason finally kills the man who puts out a contract on him. I know it is wrong to think this way, but the way he kills his enemy made me clap my hands.

What about Holter Graham’s performance did you like?

The performance was very good. What really stood out to me was the way he read all the action sequences in the book. All of them just kept me listening.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Tredstone.

Any additional comments?

I would recommend listening to all of the books in this series.

Narrator high then low volume

Overall it was great, but a couple of the character voices were very soft. Cranking them up for my old ears would then result in the volume being way too loud, and it seemed often the quiet voice was talking to the loud guy.

Dreadful - save your credits.

What was most disappointing about Eric Van Lustbader’s story?

This book is so terrible, Robert Ludlum should be turning over in his grave. The story doesn't hang together at all and reads like a story that was hastily put together. It's not even close to the early Bourne books.

The narration is on par with the quality of the writing. Narrators Dick Hill or Scott Sowers would have been a better choice.

I couldn't force myself to finish it. I gave up after the first half of the book and switched over to a Lucas Davenport novel. If you can't resist the temptation, at least get it from library so you don't waste your money on it.

Lustblader should just stick to Lust.

Would you try another book from Eric Van Lustbader and/or Holter Graham?

I'm no prude, but this book was one orgy after another, and the plot was weak. We could not follow the characters or the sub-characters by word or sound. We could not stand to finish this trash. Two hours was all the torture we could take.

What do you think your next listen will be?

One of the classics of literature so I can erase this trash from my mind.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Holter Graham?

A third grader with a speech impediment.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from Robert Ludlum's (TM) The Bourne Imperative?

Everything after the title page.

Any additional comments?

This is the second time I've made the mistake of starting one of these fake-Ludlum books, I will never make that mistake again.

oof

narrator turned treadstone characters into whiney whips
where's the toughness gone. Re: story how did Bourne forget about his kids and Marie. Miss the Bourne of Ludlums writing

The narrator whispered through much of the story

The narrator whispered through much of the story but not all. is this force me to have to continually or at least too often, I just the volume. just as loud so I can hear while driving, it's just a softer so I didn't blow up the speakers. this is not a good driving book.

Leave this "fish" in the water...

What disappointed you about Robert Ludlum's (TM) The Bourne Imperative?

It's ridiculously and uncharacteristically (for inclusion in the Bourne series) melodramatic (absolutely intolerable at some points), implausible, and silly.

What do you think your next listen will be?

Until there is some compelling reason to believe that Van Lustbader has improved, not any of his books.

How could the performance have been better?

The narrator carries the voice of the women in the story in a single tone of voice: They sound like victims, even if they are ostensibly strong characters.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Frustration. I enjoy Ludlum, and have even enjoyed some of Lustbader. My sense is that publishers thought they could make a quick buck off the Ludlum franchise, intelligence and plausibility be damned. They succeeded.

Bourne is typically not about affairs of the heart nor the body, though they do occur in the novels. It is about the mystery and the thrill: hence the term thriller. This bok has almost none of that and most certainly, the Soraya and Peter relationships are like watching Desperate Housewives.

Bourne, I think not

This was the most disjointed storyline in the series. There were way too many characters and everyone ended up dying. Who were all those people?? Bourne was a tertiary character at best. I bought this to hear more stories about a great character, not the author’s attempt to make minor characters into a whole world of characters. Give it up.

Worst Bourne ever

What disappointed you about Robert Ludlum's (TM) The Bourne Imperative?

I'm not sure where to begin - the reader, the story line, the writing - they have slowly been getting worse but this book is an absolute disaster. Bourne is a minor character at best - and his skills are not longer a factor - he's just a vanilla character

What was most disappointing about Eric Van Lustbader’s story?

The story isn't remotely believable - the bad guy is a comple joke

What didn’t you like about Holter Graham’s performance?

He's not an engaging reader - I've listened to him before and he was OK - I think part of my opinion of Holter is tied to the terrible story he was forced to read

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

Not really - I love Bourne and even like Lustbader - but this book is just terrible

Any additional comments?

Dont waste your time - but if you're like me, you'll read it anyway because you love Bourne