I've read The Bourne Identity many times. It's a great thriller - full of excitement, well-paced and well-constructed. It's a little old-fashioned now..Show More »adays, I guess, but I was really excited when I saw it was available from Audible and bought it straightaway.

What a disappointment!!! The reader, Scott Brick, who is billed as an outstanding performer, gave an over-the-top histrionic performance which completely ruined this talking book for me!

"And he LOOKED over the BOAT'S RAILING and he SAW ...". Enough of that - you get the picture. Every noun and every verb was declaimed in a tone of almost complete hysteria.

I was driving the car down a country lane while I listened to the start of the book and I had to pull off the road after about 20 minutes and stop the performance. I just couldn't stand any more!

I'll never listen to The Bourne Identity now, sadly -- what a total waste of an excellent book. And why on earth did the reader feel the need to do this?? I'll be watching out for books read by Scott Brick in future -- to make sure I avoid them ...

« Show Less

You are hard pressed to find many books that are so descriptive that it requires less imagination than one would think to be right there with Bourne. ..Show More »Scott Brick is one of my favarite narrators and does a wonderful job on this long awaited recording of the Unabridged novel.

Beware lover's of the Bourne movies: There is little in these books that you can relate to the Hollywood productions. There is so much more.

« Show Less

Fantastic listen: Entertaining, Exciting and Captivating. Better than 'Bourne Identity' (didn't think that was possible}. Can't say enough. Don't expe..Show More »ct to hear what you saw on the screen (two different stories - both unbelievable). If I sound like a Bourne enthusiast, you're right. Wish that Ludlum were still alive and writing.

« Show Less

I agree with some of what has been written but I still felt that this was a good purchase for me. There were so many story lines it sometimes got a l..Show More »ittle confusing I'm still not sure of what happened with one of them. (Will not spoil here) After the book I decided to rent the movie. Do not get the two confused, they have nothing in common except the man named Bourne. And the movie was REALLY bad! Talk about a waste of money.
I digress, as for the Narrator, Scott Brick is my favorite and I feel he did a fine job considering how many story lines he was trying to cover. As for his slow speech I feel like that is his style and I had no problem with it.
This is a long book, it was not a one afternoon listen but if you have a long drive, or can spread it out over several days I feel it was a good listen for a while then take a break.
You may need to take notes while you listen to keep up with all of the branches on the story but overall I felt like this was a decent book. Much better then some I have listened to.

« Show Less

On top of the disjointed storyline and too many boring, stereotypical characters, the writing is just atrocious! The metaphors rival those of an aspi..Show More »ring junior high writer. I've enjoyed the Bourne stories because they are based on a sensational premise but are/were so well written and well thought out that they were believable. This book requires way too much suspension of disbelief...there's actually a part where the writer can't really explain how the handy cross bows got to the right place at the right time. And the twists and turns are just absurd!! Don't waste your time or money.

« Show Less

Jason Bourne may be back, but it's a simple fact that Robert Ludlum is, sadly, no longer with us. Ludlum wrote in a particular style with a predictab..Show More »le, yet enjoyable formula. Ludlum must have taken both his style and formula to the grave as both are clearly missing in this latest attempt to trade on one of Ludlum's best characters.. We may have a great movie script but we definitely have nothing approaching a Robert Ludlum novel. "The Bourne Deception" is much more appropriately named than Van Lustbader could have ever intended.

« Show Less

Silly sound effects and inappropriate background music and a narrative so convoluted you need GPS to find out where you are in the story. Pure torture..Show More ». Just might be the worst audio book I've ever listened to . . .

« Show Less

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 st..Show More »ory, 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.

« Show Less