Memories, Mind-games and Murder

The past is coming back and time is running out. A quiet whistle, then a thunk in the wood. A shot reverberating. His life is back on the line.  In the action packed novel Bourne Legacy, by Robert Ludlum, main character David Webb’s past life is coming back to haunt him. A former world-class assassin, then known as Jason Bourne, had given up his life of secrecy, in search of peace and tranquility, but his past would not release its grip on him.

The reader meets Bourne as David Webb, a college professor teaching linguistics at Georgetown University. He is an average teacher, a married middle-aged, unassuming man, but the memory of his past life is shaky,  giving only snippets of his clandestine days. David’s life is turned upside down as he is framed for the murder of his two best friends, both high level officials in the CIA. Concurrently, he is being pursued by an assassin claiming to be his lost son, Joshua. Under great stress, David turns back into the persona of Jason Bourne and takes on the mind and manner of the world’s number one killer. Jason has only one clue as to who is at the bottom of this strategic set-up, a single piece of paper with the words NX 20. Bourne uses both friends and enemies in his pursuit  to clear his name.

           This book is an thrilling read for anyone. Even though it is the third in a series, one can  pick up the novel and know exactly what is happening. The book jumps back and forth  from Bourne, Joshua  and Spalko, a multibillionaire CEO of a charity company who hired Joshua to kill Bourne. This  keeps the reader engaged throughout the entire book. Also, the author did an incredible job of weaving the plot between many levels, there are three different peoples’ agendas all trying to be met in one book. Though occasionally confusing, this artistry of chapters makes for never a dry moment. The author is a very vivid, intense writer combining articulate descriptions with high intensity action scenes. Though potentially offensive for some, it intrigues many to read of the rougher side of life. “‘Unless you want your father’s brains spattered all over five centuries of history, put down the gun”(Ludlum 224) Throughout the book, Jason is plagued with the emptiness of memories that were once there. He finds out by searching the CIA database for the first time, that contrary to what his old employers had told him, his son’s body actually was never found, that he could still be living. “NBF. The Army acronym screamed out to him. No Body Found… He’d buried three coffins… and all the while they knew, the bastards knew!(Ludlum 317). This puts an incredible strain on Bourne as he tries to piece together the complexities happening around him, and who is trying to frame him.

One difficulty with this novel is the amount of subplots running underneath the plot. The many underlying people and events can make reading the book more challenging if one is not paying close attention. However, for a more advanced reader it could make reading a delightful challenge. This book is an on-your-toes adventure as the reader follows Jason throughout America and Europe trying to uncover the details of his past and unscramble his future.

Ludlum, Robert. The Bourne Legacy. New York: St. Martin's Press, 2004. Print.