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Robert Ludlum's "The Bourne Identity" etc...

S

SilthDraeth

Platinum Member
And I believe they are awesome. I also watched some of the interviews with Ludlum, before he passed away, regarding the movie. He didn't want the movie to really try and parallel his books.

I love the movies too, but they definitely follow completely different plots.

So for those who read the books and saw the movies, what do you think?
 
The books have a really different flavor than the movies, due to Ludlum's constant description of Jason Bourne's mental state. I think the books were a little farflung in terms of plot, but very enjoyable to read. On the other hand, the movies seem to emphasize more on a 'realistic' take, in terms of how Bourne acts, blends in with the crowd, analyzes the situation, etc.
 
The books had a tendency to drag on. By the third book I just wasn't interested any more. It took a lot of will power to finish that one. If I had it to do over I would just read the first one and stop.
 
Originally posted by: Kyteland
The books had a tendency to drag on. By the third book I just wasn't interested any more. It took a lot of will power to finish that one. If I had it to do over I would just read the first one and stop.
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The 3rd book was ghost written.

I liked the first 2 books, but the third one was kind of boring.
 
I read most of the first one. I agree with Kyteland that it had a tendency to drag on. It seemed like I was stuck in the last 50 pages of the book for about 200 pages.
 
I loved The Tristan Betrayal and The Sigma Protocol. I listened to both on audiobook while driving. Try that if you think the books are too drawn out.
 
Originally posted by: Brainonska511


The 3rd book was ghost written.

I liked the first 2 books, but the third one was kind of boring.
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Really? I thought Ludlum wrote the third on his own, and the 4th etc where written by his estate?

Like I read all the Dune novels recently, up to Chapterhouse, because after that it was Frank Herbert's son and KJ Anderson.

Anyways, yes they where drawn out a bit, but I think it was important to really describe the Bourne vs Web identity. In the movies, there was no real reason given for his amnesia. But in the book, he was shot in the head. I haven't seen Ultimatum, but I doubt it explains about his original transformation.

Don't get me wrong, the movies are awesome in my opinion, but they have nothing really to do with the books except for the names of characters.
 
Meh... read a bunch o' Ludlum and the like as a kid but the movies don't really appeal to me now. Kinda sick of seeing that actor actually.
 
Read the books a long time ago and highly enjoyed them along with "The matarese circle" also by Ludlum. I saw the movies and also enjoyed them for different reasons. It seems the only movies that I enjoy as much as the book are ones that willingly depart from the book. Two other examples are "Forrest Gump" and "Jurassic Park".
 
In this case, I think the movies are way better than the books. Nothing against the stories, I just don't like Ludlum's style of prose.
 
Originally posted by: Vic
In this case, I think the movies are way better than the books. Nothing against the stories, I just don't like Ludlum's style of prose.
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Agreed; I read the first Bourne book and wondered what the hype was all about afterwards. Very mediocre writing.

I was looking forward to Shooter, which was a book of Stephen Hunter's called Point Of Impact. Apparently it's not so good. 🙁
 
Originally posted by: Throckmorton
I loved The Tristan Betrayal and The Sigma Protocol. I listened to both on audiobook while driving. Try that if you think the books are too drawn out.
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Neither of which were actually written by Ludlum.

Credited To Ludlum, published posthumously

Most, if not all, of these are written by a so far unknown ghostwriter who has been faithful to Robert Ludlum's style of writing. [2][3][4]

* The Sigma Protocol (October, 2001)
* The Janson Directive (2002)
* The Tristan Betrayal (2003)
* The Ambler Warning (2005)
* The Bancroft Strategy (2006)
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I like Ludlum. I especially like the Bourne series although its been about 15 years since I last read them. I've always liked his style of writing and thought he was quite good. Unfortunately, they are very formulaic. Its always about a single person going up against a mysterious shadow group. As such, I've read all of his books but I can only tell you what a few were about off the top of my head since they all blend together.

If you want a change in pace, read The Road to Gandolfo. Its easily one of the funniest things I've ever read. I'd love to see that book made as a movie. The sequel, The Road to Omaha, is funny but nowhere near Gandolfo.
 
Originally posted by: Vic
In this case, I think the movies are way better than the books. Nothing against the stories, I just don't like Ludlum's style of prose.
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read "Bourne Supremacy". i'm picky when it comes to authors' writing styles--and Ludlum just doesn't do it for me either.
 
I read the books and I was a fan, I saw all the movies and I really enjoyed them. To call the films "Bourne" anything seems pointless to me. The differences between the two outweigh the similarities IMO.
 
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