Spoilers if you haven't seen the movie.



For those of you thinking I've seen the movie. Why bother with the book? Well, the book and the movie do not really look alike. There are aspects that are the same. Bourne has amnesia. He meets a girl. He is on the run. The US govt is involved. He is a BA. That's pretty much the only similarities though. The entire plot differs. The villains differ. The girl differs. Probably 85-90% of the book is different. So why bother? Because this is the real story and it's far more complex than a 1.5 hour movie can give you.

The writing is very well done. The research put into this book must have been a long process. Be it research just for this book or an accumulation of life experience, it spans continents and multiple languages. There's the banking system and the slick ways Bourne survives. Perhaps it isnt exactly how things were done, but it could be. Its realistic regardless of whether it is real or not. The book spans over 7 months of Bourne's new life. It takes him from being like a newborn babe to being a grown man able to destroy the world.

Marie is also far more complex in this book. Far smarter and more ingratiated into the plot than the movie allows.

Bourne himself is far more complicated in this book. You hear his thoughts. You learn who he is at the core. You feel his confusion and fear. You learn who he is as he does. You begin to wonder how well you would cope waking up without knowing yourself. What would you do if you were wiped from existence, even as your shell was still here? As he gathers pieces of his previous self, he doesn't like what he hears. Still he tries to be noble even as he learns of his nefarious past. Perhaps even without the memories that shape us, our core self remains. Perhaps it is something we are born with.

The action is fairly fast paced throughout. There are some lulls that are filled with plotting and revelations. The action soon picks up again and we are back to the controlled chaos that is his reality.

This is a very well done series that I would recommend to anyone able to comprehend the subject.