So I finished The Bourne Supremacy
Jan. 31st, 2008 12:36 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jeffxandraNot the movie, saw that one a while ago, the book.
The book's not bad, but it's not great. I actually tried reading it a while back, after finishing The Bourne Identity the first time, but I found it hard to get into. My wife, who was a little more determined than I, said to "get out of the country" before giving up. I didn't quite need to get that far in the book, just to Washington, DC, but it still took about 100 pages or so.
This time it's set in British controlled Hong Kong, which (again) didn't work by the time they got around to making the recent movie. Of course, the original book ended with the revelation of Bourne's Identity and his reconciliation with the US Government so he was no longer on the run. And the book again delves into Bourne's Vietnam era past that doesn't quite work for the set-up developed for the film. Also, instead of axing Marie right at the beginning, she actually survives the book. Though her fate is again the central motivator behind Bourne's actions.
There are some unclear, either unexplained, poorly explained, or poorly thought out (the latter is my suspicion), motivations and actions in this book by Bourne's adversaries. Plus the character development is, to be charitable, uneven at best. Characters who are developed thoroughly are quickly axed, meanwhile characters who are central to some key plot points are barely developed at all, indeed barely hinted at until long after their initial plot point is covered.
It seems more like an attempt to cash in on the first book's success than to actually write a competent sequel. Still.. you could do worse if you're looking for something to read. My wife picked up The Bourne Ultimatum and it's not off to an auspicious start. Still it gives me something to do until Jim Butcher's Small Favor comes out. Speaking of that. If you go to the link above you can read the first chapter!
I wonder if Xandrapolis has a library.
The book's not bad, but it's not great. I actually tried reading it a while back, after finishing The Bourne Identity the first time, but I found it hard to get into. My wife, who was a little more determined than I, said to "get out of the country" before giving up. I didn't quite need to get that far in the book, just to Washington, DC, but it still took about 100 pages or so.
This time it's set in British controlled Hong Kong, which (again) didn't work by the time they got around to making the recent movie. Of course, the original book ended with the revelation of Bourne's Identity and his reconciliation with the US Government so he was no longer on the run. And the book again delves into Bourne's Vietnam era past that doesn't quite work for the set-up developed for the film. Also, instead of axing Marie right at the beginning, she actually survives the book. Though her fate is again the central motivator behind Bourne's actions.
There are some unclear, either unexplained, poorly explained, or poorly thought out (the latter is my suspicion), motivations and actions in this book by Bourne's adversaries. Plus the character development is, to be charitable, uneven at best. Characters who are developed thoroughly are quickly axed, meanwhile characters who are central to some key plot points are barely developed at all, indeed barely hinted at until long after their initial plot point is covered.
It seems more like an attempt to cash in on the first book's success than to actually write a competent sequel. Still.. you could do worse if you're looking for something to read. My wife picked up The Bourne Ultimatum and it's not off to an auspicious start. Still it gives me something to do until Jim Butcher's Small Favor comes out. Speaking of that. If you go to the link above you can read the first chapter!
I wonder if Xandrapolis has a library.
