OT: The Bourne Retribution
I dunno if many people on these boards read them, but I've regularly read the Lustbader Bourne novels for the last several years (mainly because right now, they're about the only thing keeping the character alive). But I had been a bit hesitant picking up the latest book, 'The Bourne Retribution'...the last installment before this, 'The Bourne Imperative' was kinda disappointing. However, I did eventually decide to read 'Retribution' after all...and I was far from disappointed!
'Retribution' is a taut thriller worthy of Robert Ludlum himself. Its peopled with great, well-developed characters; non-stop action; and twists and turns literally up till the last page! A major complaint I used to have about Lustbader's Bourne books were that they often had far too many different story-arcs within them, and Jason Bourne was often relegated to the periphery. But here, Bourne's mission is pretty much front and center...and all the intervening sub-plots converge at the climax of his story. For once, there are no terrorist plots or grand plans for world domination to thwart...Bourne has gone back to his roots as a skilled assassin in pursuit of a single target, and the result is truly a delight to read!
The one fly in the ointment is that this book relies on the mediocre 'Imperative' to serve as backstory for its events, but fortunately, the relevant events from that book are recapped so there's no real need to bore oneself re-reading it to understand the plot.
Another gripe I have is how Lustbader plays fast and loose, not only with the continuity of the Ludlum books (which he's progressively ignored with every consecutive installment), but now, even with his own. He describes a past romantic relationship between Bourne and a Mossad agent, Rebeka, that clearly didn't seem to exist in the previous novels she appeared in. And he constantly harps on the idea on that Bourne, because of his amnesia, doesn't know ANYTHING about who he was...not even about his parents! This is absurd, considering that even Lustbader's previous novels acknowledged that he once lived a civilian life as David Webb, and that he made efforts to research his forgotten past. I appreciate the way Lustbader poetically describes Bourne as a root-less amnesiac man completely disconnected, for the most part, from any true human attachment...but claiming he knows NOTHING about his past AT ALL is ridiculous!
On the whole though, I think it would be a great idea, while we're all waiting for the next Bourne film (which won't even be a 'Bourne' film, strictly speaking) to read this book, if you haven't already.