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pjc1268's review
4.0
It was a good read, typical of the Bourne series, no stop from start to finish. Those who have read the whole series like myself wont be disappointed.
etoiline's review
3.0
I like the Bourne movies, but I've never been able to get past the first few chapters of the third book. I think it's probably because those first few books are awfully dated (and the movies stray so far from them that they're hardly similar any more), and I was hoping that even though I hadn't read the books between this one and those first few that I might like it better. I think I did, though there are definitely things I was missing because I didn't know the recent history of the characters. I think I like Lustbader's style better than Ludlum's, though I'd be hard pressed to mention the differences. This is an action book, through and through. You'll find political drama, a lot of whodunit (there's another character with amnesia, after all), some romance, and not a little cheesy dialogue. The settings range all over the world, and there are some gritty, ugly places that Bourne and his fellow spies have to deal with. Quite a few people betray others, and there are deaths and injuries that might take you by surprise. Sometimes the plot moves slowly, but it builds to an intense finish. One of these days I'll go back and try to read some of the other books in the series so I can figure out what the characters were talking about. The characters sometimes spend an inordinate amount of time thinking about what they're going to do and what they've done, but if you can make it through those parts, you'll be rewarded with detailed action.
I received this as a digital ARC via Netgalley and the publisher.
jaxboiler's review
3.0
This was an okay book in the series. The beginning was a little slow and confusing for me but as it got going it got a little better.
sdramsey's review
3.0
Hmmm...what to say about this book? A lot of unpleasant people get killed. Some unpleasant people do not get killed. Some slightly less unpleasant people also get killed. Pretty much everyone is double-crossing at least one other person, and everybody wants the money/power/validation. Some of the characters are pretty much incomprehensible, yet interesting in a watching-an-accident sort of way. It's all very exciting and convoluted and you don't know who can trust whom. (The best answer is, don't trust anyone.)
Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed most of it and kept listening. But trying to write a more in-depth review is just too hard on my brain.
Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed most of it and kept listening. But trying to write a more in-depth review is just too hard on my brain.
phouweling's review
3.0
My first Bourne book, having seen several Bourne movies. I found the book quite entertaining, but I'm not overly enthusiastic.
speesh's review against another edition
4.0
High flying, high finance, high society, high jinx. Low down dirty double-crossing dirty tricks. That’s what you expect from a Bourne thriller - and that’s exactly what Eric Van Lustbader delivers. Time and time again.
I like these 'Bourne’ thrillers so much, that I am able to forgive almost anything that does - or sometimes doesn’t - happen in them. I’m even prepared to (well, almost prepared, I suppose I should say) overlook the constant ‘punching in’ of telephone numbers. One just doesn’t punch a number in. No. Anyway...
‘Imperative' begins (well, a little bit after the beginning really) with fishing a man with memory loss and no identification out of the water. This time though, in contrast to the first ever Bourne book, it's Jason B., doing the fishing. Story moves on and the shocks and thrills mount and it soon turns out that (even) the President of the USA wants Bourne dead. I suppose you know you’re really up against it when the good ol’ POTUS wants you dead, eh? The rest of the story? Well, there’s not much you need to know, except it delivers. We have Russians, the Israelis - in the form of Mossad (as friends and foes) - Mexican drug lords and more. You can pick it up, but don’t expect to be able to put it down again anytime soon. I seem to have read this one a little out of sequence, but it really doesn’t matter. Enough of the whys and wherefore’s are explained to make it all readable without having read the previous, and without getting in the way of the enjoyment of the present.
Otherwise? You can tell the English character - he's the one calling people 'mate' in every other sentence. Mexico City is both a whirlpool and has a beating heart inside the same paragraph. Yeah, I guess I’m willing to overlook those as well.
If you want a book that keeps you on your toes the whole time, where you should always expect the unexpected, then this is more how a good thriller should be than many you’ll read. Confusing yet intriguingly interesting at the start, as the pieces are assembled , then becoming clearer in the middle as the pieces fall into pace for Bourne - and you. As the problem becomes clearer, possible solutions pop up, on the page for 'Bourne and in your head. I like that in a book. And I’m pretty sure this is the kind of thriller the people quoted on the backs of Charles Cummings books think they’ve been reading.
I like these 'Bourne’ thrillers so much, that I am able to forgive almost anything that does - or sometimes doesn’t - happen in them. I’m even prepared to (well, almost prepared, I suppose I should say) overlook the constant ‘punching in’ of telephone numbers. One just doesn’t punch a number in. No. Anyway...
‘Imperative' begins (well, a little bit after the beginning really) with fishing a man with memory loss and no identification out of the water. This time though, in contrast to the first ever Bourne book, it's Jason B., doing the fishing. Story moves on and the shocks and thrills mount and it soon turns out that (even) the President of the USA wants Bourne dead. I suppose you know you’re really up against it when the good ol’ POTUS wants you dead, eh? The rest of the story? Well, there’s not much you need to know, except it delivers. We have Russians, the Israelis - in the form of Mossad (as friends and foes) - Mexican drug lords and more. You can pick it up, but don’t expect to be able to put it down again anytime soon. I seem to have read this one a little out of sequence, but it really doesn’t matter. Enough of the whys and wherefore’s are explained to make it all readable without having read the previous, and without getting in the way of the enjoyment of the present.
Otherwise? You can tell the English character - he's the one calling people 'mate' in every other sentence. Mexico City is both a whirlpool and has a beating heart inside the same paragraph. Yeah, I guess I’m willing to overlook those as well.
If you want a book that keeps you on your toes the whole time, where you should always expect the unexpected, then this is more how a good thriller should be than many you’ll read. Confusing yet intriguingly interesting at the start, as the pieces are assembled , then becoming clearer in the middle as the pieces fall into pace for Bourne - and you. As the problem becomes clearer, possible solutions pop up, on the page for 'Bourne and in your head. I like that in a book. And I’m pretty sure this is the kind of thriller the people quoted on the backs of Charles Cummings books think they’ve been reading.
paulshepherd888's review against another edition
4.0
Good read very complex, but lots going on, wonder if will get to be a movie
canada_matt's review against another edition
2.0
The saga is over! Fifty-four days long and many painful pages, storylines, plots, poorly written sequels, unrealistic character development, and a slew of painful hours of narration have finally come to an end. Eric Lustbader's taking over of the JASON BOURNE series torch was one of the most painful transitions I have seen and the books pushed deeper and deeper into a literary miasma. Thank God that is over. While Lustbader did open this book up to something interesting, Bourne finding an amnesiac that reminds him of his past encounter with a blank mental slate, the story soon latched onto the painful path the author has chosen to take since taking the pen from Robert Ludlum. Alas, I have to cheer as I hear THE END on this novel and this series.
Should you want to see where I have found many of the book and series' issues, please see reviews from Books 5-9. This book continues with the geriatric Bourne who has super Bondian powers best used in Hollywood. Alas, I can only hope that the Ludlum estate sees how these books ruin the reputation of a great author. Then again, perhaps Lustbader has Patterson syndrome, where an author thinks he can sell books because of his name.
Steer clear of this book, this series, and this author. If you want pure espionage, read Ludlum's contribution to the series and then move along. ANYTHING is better than this drivel.
GOOD RIDDANCE Mr. Lustbader. Goodbye Jason Bourne! Good night Bourne series!
Should you want to see where I have found many of the book and series' issues, please see reviews from Books 5-9. This book continues with the geriatric Bourne who has super Bondian powers best used in Hollywood. Alas, I can only hope that the Ludlum estate sees how these books ruin the reputation of a great author. Then again, perhaps Lustbader has Patterson syndrome, where an author thinks he can sell books because of his name.
Steer clear of this book, this series, and this author. If you want pure espionage, read Ludlum's contribution to the series and then move along. ANYTHING is better than this drivel.
GOOD RIDDANCE Mr. Lustbader. Goodbye Jason Bourne! Good night Bourne series!
andydcaf2d's review against another edition
4.0
Good stuff!! Thank you Eric for continuing the saga!!