The Bourne Legacy

By: Eric Van Lustbader

Narrated by: Scott Brick

Length: 18 hrs

Publisher's summary

In Robert Ludlum's ground-breaking career, no other character so captured the world's imagination as Jason Bourne. He appeared in three of Robert Ludlum's own #1 bestselling novels, his bestselling works to this day. Now, with the major motion picture adaptation of Ludlum's The Bourne Supremacy, the Ludlum estate has finally acceded to the demands of readers and listeners around the world, turning to bestselling writer Eric Van Lustbader to create a brand-new Jason Bourne novel, The Bourne Legacy.

Jason Bourne, international assassin of deadly repute, was an identity assumed by covert agent David Webb. Retired from the CIA and now a professor at Georgetown University, Webb's life is finally his own—until he becomes the target of an assassin and is framed for the murder of his two closest associates. Fighting for his life against unseen assailants, the Bourne identity asserts itself, leaving Jason Bourne in control. Barely a half-step ahead of his nemesis and the CIA, who believes he has gone rogue, Bourne finds himself a pawn in a larger, far deadlier game.

©2004 The Estate of Robert Ludlum (P)2004 Audio Renaissance, a division of Holtzbrinck Publishers, LLC and Books on Tape, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Scott Brick is one of the fastest-rising stars in the audiobook galaxy. His understated approach to each book serves him well, and whether he is handling a roomful of Russian generals or a series of dizzying scene changes, the listener stays with him for every word." (AudioFile)

On The Whole, A Disappointment

Scott Brick turns in a strong performance with his narration, working well with the limited material he is provided. The story itself leaves a lot to be desired - many events strain the limits of credulity, even for Jason Bourne. Not to give the ending away, but the situation the DCI finds himself in at the ending of the book seem to have come from his own fevered dreams. Perhaps the conclusion is meant as some sort of ham-fisted commentary on politics and the ability to effectively CYA. Unsatisfying.

just couldn't get into it and struggled to finish.

The movies were great but this book was a letdown. Just couldn't get into it

Simply Awful...

This book is so terrible that halfway through the book I started rooting for someone to kill Jason Bource and put ME out of my misery.
If you must read it, read the abridged version; you won't want to be stuck with this pig any longer than absolutely necessary.

Dissapointed

I have been a Ludlem and Jason Bourne fan over many years and loved the previous three Bourne thrillers. However I was dissapointed with this listen. The character insight was unusually weak, not giving the usual intimate insight into the thoughts, feelings and struggles of Jason/David that the previous books did and didn't do him justice in my opinion. The plot was good, but not brilliant but brought the threads from the initial book together.
Overall it was ok , but a little dissapointing. I was not captivated by it and found it a little long winded.
Biggest selling point was the excellent narration.

Not a Roller-coaster

As opposed to the roller-coaster ride that was the first three books this book had a lot to live up to, and fell a little short. A great book but do not expect the same non stop action that was in the original series.

These books just get worse the farther in you go!

I don't even know what to say, I thought the Ludlum version was boring, now this!

An Embarrassing Legacy

The Bourne Ultimatum was outstanding, so I thought I’d listen to the next book in the series even though I knew it wasn’t written by Ludlum. My mistake. This might be one of the worst books I’ve listened to in years. Suspending disbelief for an action hero’s antics is fine, but Lustbader takes it too far, ad nauseam. He’s also clearly an amateur writer, so it’s unclear why the Ludlum estate allowed him to contribute to the Bourne series. This book is not only verbose and simply ridiculous, but it also has nothing in common with the original trilogy. Scott Brick’s narration wasn’t bad.
Don’t waste your time here, please, trust me.

Really bad

Too bad that the stars don't go negative.
The plot was dumb, the situations absurd. It has been said that the difference between reality and fiction is that fiction has to make sense. In this case it isn't fiction but cartoon. In cartoons, the characters can do anything, like fall from a jet cargo plane just before take-off(the speed would be over 120mph)onto the tarmac, then the next thing you know, the character appears, completely unhurt in another scene.

His adversary is watching him every step of the way, yet he has time to fashion a net of vines and trap the hapless antagonist - who, of course, gets away quickly and easily.

The story contains one silly episode after another. I only got to disc 6 and got that far only because it was the only book I brought on the trip. I can't bring myself to waste time finishing it.

Betrayal of the Bourne Legacy

The Bourne trilogy is an amazing arc, one I've read and re-read several times. The stories are mystery, suspense and non-stop action centered around David Webb/Jason Bourne, a man nearly broken by his past who manages to find his way forward with and for his beloved Marie. Unfortunately, the Webb/Bourne in this book is in no way related to the all-too-human man we met in the original trilogy. Marie is largely forgotten. There is zero tension between the two minds of Webb/Bourne. The storyline is also sadly lacking. About the best I can say is that there is quite a bit of action. The action just doesn't go anywhere, which is all the more disappointing for having let down admirers of the "Bourne legacy" with such a dud. Bourne fans: beware!

Massively Overwritten and Misogynistic

Would you try another book from Eric Van Lustbader and/or Scott Brick?

No

Has The Bourne Legacy turned you off from other books in this genre?

yes

What didn’t you like about Scott Brick’s performance?

Mr. Brick has a good vocal quality but his habit of ending sentences with an uptick makes him sound bored. Also this book has characters from all over the globe. Mr. Brick's major indication of an accent, no matter which one, is to pronounce articles a and the as "ay" and "thee". It became an increasing annoyance as the overlong book continued.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from The Bourne Legacy?

Too much to list here. Mr. Van Lustbader can not write a sentence where ten will do. Worse, misogyny is rampant. The only two women are cartoon characters, sexual and treacherous, using sex to ensnare and kill. Every other woman in the book is a non entity. He assigns names to all of the minor male characters but simply labels the women as female terrorists. It's a prehistoric point of view that wears thin quickly.

Any additional comments?

Obviously, not my favorite book but if you need a Bourne fix I suppose it will suffice.