The Bourne Supremacy

A Novel

By: Robert Ludlum

Narrated by: Darren McGavin

Length: 2 hrs and 55 mins

Publisher's summary

The Vice Premier of the People's Republic of China is brutally slain in a Kowloon cabaret, and all the clues point to the legendary assassin, Jason Bourne. But Bourne never existed! The name was created as a cover for ace agent David Webb on his search for the notorious killer Carlos. Now someone else has resurrected the Bourne identity, and Webb is forced to use his murderous skills to stop him. Because once again, like a nightmare relieved, the woman he loves is suddenly torn from his life. To find her, to trap his own impostor, Webb must launch a desperate odyssey into the killing fields of international espionage. If he does not succeed, the Far East and the world will pay a devastating price. This time, to survive will not be enough. This time, Bourne must reign supreme. Plus, hear a preview of Ludlum's riveting thriller The Bourne Ultimatum.

©1989 Robert Ludlum and Bantam Audio Publishing (P)1989 Bantam Audio Publishing, Bantam Doubleday Dell Audio Publishing, A Division of Random House Inc.

Critic reviews

"A killer of a thriller." (USA Today)
"Ludlum has never come up with a more head-spinning, spine-jolting, intricately mystifying, Armageddonish, in short Ludlumesque, thriller than this." (Publishers Weekly)

Kept this walker's mind occupied

I'm training for the Komen 3 day walk so that means hours and hours of walking every week. I downloaded the Bourne Supremacy and Bourne Ultimatum and listened to them both in one weekend. I loved the reader's gritty voice and, although a little cheesy, I liked the background music. The stories themselves are compelling, but I didn't like the abridged nature of the stories, I could tell there was a lot being left out. I loved the involvement of Marie (his wife) and her strength and cunning as well. I would listen to these again, but for the Bourne Legacy I'm going to get the unabridged version.

A keeper

I was unable to put this one down. Found myself late for appointments as I sat in my car listening to to this spell binding narration

Loved It

Definitely worth the download. For that matter, get all three of the "Bourne" books.

A great book

A really fantastic book that is exciting and action packed. I found that this book is relatable and highly maturative for a young man coming of age like myself. I highly recommend this book.

Worst narration I've heard

The performance is read as one continuous run-on sentence with little indication of emphasis. I felt like the narrator was in a hurry to finish as fast as possible.

Heavy Metal

How anyone could like this version is beyond me. My biggest mistake was not reading the customer reviews before purchasing. This listen was brutal! DO NOT PURCHASE this book. I agree with other reviews, Ludlum simply cannot be abridged. Audible.com, if you have any influence at all please find/purchase/offer The Bourne series UNABRIDGED. We're starving for it!

bad narrator

The narration on this book is horrible. The story is ok.

Disappointing to Ludlum fans

The abbridged version leaves many details out that makes Ludlum writing interesting. The reader's voice and inflections are extremely difficult to understand. I won't get another book by this reader.

Read the book yourself

I am a big fan of the Bourne Series, but the reading by Darren McGavin is really hard to take. He has this mellow-dramatic style the may have been great on radio 70 years ago, but today it makes every event in this book seem cliche.

I've listened to the Bourne Identity and the Borune Ultimatum, also read by McGavin and each time all I could think was why am I tourturing myself. I should just READ the book myself so that I can enjoy it.

Narrator should slow down

I am so surprised that this book was narrated in such a hurried, hard to follow manner. I am confident the book is interesting but I passed on listening because the narrator was sloppy and his inflections didn't do justice to the text.