The Bourne Identity

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
A book that I loved, an absolute must read, and now a favorite of mine. It's a book that will live on my shelves forever and I would re-read in the future. I would pick up anything else by this author without question. This book is now one of my all-time favorites,


I watched the movie before reading the book because I didn't know it was one. I liked the movie but I LOVED this book. It had me hooked from page one. My only regret is that I didn't read it sooner. It's nothing like the movie. The character isn't even described as looking like Matt Damn but if you've seen the move that is who you will end up picturing the whole book.

TL;DR

Amazing action thriller, if you want fast paced action with an incredibly trained assassin outsmarting everyone you have to read the Bourne series.

My Scoring System

I have five things I look for in a book, if the book checks all five it's a 5/5 stars book, if it checks none it's a 1/5 stars and everything else is a combination:

✓ - Main Story: It's a great story, I don't have complaints about it. Kept me engaged and it felt like an action movie.

✓ - Side Stories (if it applies): I liked the side story about Jason Bourne's past and the government thinking he's gone rogue without knowing he just has amnesia.

✓ - Characters: I can't think of a bad character that I didn't like, all are great, from the main characters to the villains.

✓ - Setting/Ambiance: A good variety, we go from the Mediterranean sea to Zurich and Paris. I liked the scenery described.

✓ - Ending: This book has a good ending, some things are not resolved yet that will be in the other two books but it doesn't leave you on an unsatisfied cliffhanger.

Extensive Review

I didn't read action thriller books until now. My only experience with them was https://hardcover.app/books/recursion and https://hardcover.app/books/dark-matter people recommends those books as science fiction thrillers and after reading those two I was ready to put down the thriller genre and say it's not for me because those are some of the most boring books I've read. Then I found out the Bourne trilogy. I've seen the movies and thought they were good action movies and read some reviews online saying the books are way better and have nothing to do with the movies.

This is what an action thriller book looks like. I was seriously shocked while reading it, in my mind I was thinking "Ok so this is what people mean when they say this book feels like an action movie, it's fast paced..." (all of those things were said about those books I mentioned and again, incredibly boring reads) so I was not ready for how amazing this book is. I'm coming from seeing the movies first and they don't hold a candle to the books. It's so weird because the story of the first book is like a perfect recipe for an action movie. I have no idea why they removed the main villain and made it out to be Jason vs the government. Carlos the Jackal is a great villain and it's one of the reasons this book is such a great read.

The creativity of Jason Bourne and how he handles different scenarios, how he gets ready and has a plan for everything is incredible. I kept thinking how much of a badass he is constantly.

If you want to read a great action thriller book I don't see how you can go wrong with this one. Highly recommend this book.

This book averages nearly four stars, at over 300,000 ratings, because the final (roughly) seventh of the book was quite good. Portions one through six however, were less than special.

Marie falls in love with a man she only knows as a killer who saved her from a hideous experience. She constantly tells herself to leave Jason behind but never does. The relationship between the two characters is frankly contrived. It merely serves to give the author, and Bourne, answers neither have to work terribly hard to develop. As she becomes fundamental to the narrative, the entire story is fraught with ‘fantastic' garbage.

The use of flashbacks are also pivotal. In my opinion, the author plugged them into the narration oddly, almost forcefully. While the abrupt flashbacks aren't universally jarring, though that was likely the desired effect, the result was regular confusion rather than visceral immersion.

The film is far superior storytelling. Though, I am grateful Ludlum gave the world such an interesting premise.

One book to beat them all. If ever there is a book fueled my reading habits its this one. One of the fastest books I have ever read (Matarese Circle & Scarecrow being the others), it takes you through breakneck speeds while you put all the pieces together along with Bourne. So well written that you can actually feel yourself in the protagonists boots. But the standout part of this book has to be the first 20 pages which are arguably some of the best ever. Highly recommended for people who love depth in their books. Not light reading this. Ludlum at his very best!