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rhoadey 's review for:
The Bourne Identity
by Robert Ludlum
An excellent spy mystery
I’ve never read a spy thriller before, so it seemed right to start with one of the most celebrated ones in the genre. It was a gripping read. All in all, this read like a mystery, a thriller, and a crime novel all in one. The sequences were sharp and compelling, even the ones having to do with international finance (quite a feat).
There were bits that didn’t age well. Marie begins as an excellent character, but fades in the second half. The sexual violence she suffers felt gratuitous in the beginning, and the trauma she suffers is never addressed. And the love story rang a little melodramatic, but it wasn’t all bad.
I can’t mention the book without mentioning the movies, which were no less influential on post-9/11 spy thrillers. This one was written in the 1970s, when the political landscape was far different. If you keep that in mind, you won’t be disappointed if the book doesn’t quite resemble the Matt Damon films.
I’ve never read a spy thriller before, so it seemed right to start with one of the most celebrated ones in the genre. It was a gripping read. All in all, this read like a mystery, a thriller, and a crime novel all in one. The sequences were sharp and compelling, even the ones having to do with international finance (quite a feat).
There were bits that didn’t age well. Marie begins as an excellent character, but fades in the second half. The sexual violence she suffers felt gratuitous in the beginning, and the trauma she suffers is never addressed. And the love story rang a little melodramatic, but it wasn’t all bad.
I can’t mention the book without mentioning the movies, which were no less influential on post-9/11 spy thrillers. This one was written in the 1970s, when the political landscape was far different. If you keep that in mind, you won’t be disappointed if the book doesn’t quite resemble the Matt Damon films.