Robert Ludlum's The Bourne Ascendancy by Eric Van Lustbade

"Robert Ludlum's The Bourne Ascendancy" by  Eric Van Lustbader. The book is published by Orion. in 2014 and has 400 pages. This is 12th novel in Jason Bourne series.

Jason Bourne has become a blacksmith (a person who impersonates a dignitary in hazardous situations). Soraya Moore, her daughter and husband are kidnapped and so is Jason Bourne. The mastermind wants Bourne to carry out a dangerous and outrageous task in return of Soraya's life. He has no choice.

Will Bourne carry out the task? Will he be able to save Soraya? All the world seems to have turned against him. Who can he trust? Is the plot as simple as it looks?

This is a complex plot that takes us from Qatar to America to Syria to Pakistan to Singapore. It involves American, Qatari and Israeli spy agencies, double agents, triple agents, disguise, deception, double cross, betrayal, a lot of luck and much more. The book shows that there is tension between Qatar and other Arab countries. It shows Waziristan in Pakistan as refuge for the pariahs.

It appears that in order to make the plot convoluted and complex author has left few things to luck in the story e.g. Bourn's travel from Pakistan to Singapore or precise assignment of Camilla etc.. However though you do not get very excited while reading the book, you don't get bored either.

Read only if you have read all previous books of Jason Bourne series, otherwise give this one a miss.

Robert Ludlum's "The Janus reprisal" by Jamie Freveletti

Robert Ludlum's "The Janus reprisal", by Jamie Freveletti. It's ninth novel in the 'Covert One' series.This book is published by Grand Central publishing and has 480 pages.

Covert one series is marketed under Robert Ludlum's name but it's written by various authors (six authors so far) and is presumed to be based on his ideas. Covert one is a top secret U.S. agency that fights bad guys and deals mainly with bioweapons threat.  It's operatives are single persons, with no family or friends. Lieutenant Colonel Jon Smith, a scientist and under cover operative is the protagonist.

Jon Smith is attending a conference on virology, in a hotel in The Hague, when he is attacked. The killer can not kill him and dies mysteriously. He was carrying photographs of three persons. An MI6 oprative, Jon Smith and a woman. Mutant variant of a bacteria is stolen from hotel safe. A Pakistani terrorist (Dattar) escapes from custody in The Hague.

Randi Russel (CIA) tries to help Jon but is taken ill by an unknown virus. A CIA agent is shot. Randi thinks that there is a mole in CIA and nobody can be trusted. Jon finds the woman in the photo but she is taken by Dattar's men. Jon is left to his own devices to save himself from a terrorist, rescue the woman in photo and thwart the plot by Dattar to destroy American interest in US by using a WMD. Randy is suspected to be the CIA mole.

Who is the lady in the photo? Is she a civilian or a spy? Are all these events related? Is Dattar behind it all? Is the CIA compromised? Will ultra secret agency 'Covert one' deliver? What is Janus?

There is a change in writing style of this series due to various authors and those who read the series can not relate to it. Jon Smith is shot-at multiple times on US soil, is exposed to mustered gas and bacteria. Does the author want to hint that he is getting old and his reflexes are faltering? Normally Covert One operatives are loners. Here they work as a team. Although the title is Janus Reprisal, Janus is mentioned only twice in the book and has no real role. The name of book could have been anything else.

Readers can recognize the CIA mole but the characters can't. The narration is bland. Even the action sequences do not excite the readers. It is not in the same league as earlier Covert One novels.

An insipid novel. Avoid.

Bourne Retribution by Eric Van Lustbader.

"Bourne Retribution" by Eric Van Lustbader. Bourne series was started as a trilogy by Robert Ludlum and continued by Lustbader after his death. This book is 11th in the series and 8th by Lustbader.

Jason Bourne, a spy who lost his memory, has captivated audience for decades and many have lifted this idea in their novels in one form or other.

In this book Bourne is urged by head of Mossad, Ely Yadin, to go to China and try to severe the link between Chinese minister who supplies raw material and Mexican drug lords who refine and market it. Bourne has eliminated the chief of most powerful Mexican drug cartel and drug cartels have killed Rebecca (a Mossad agent, who loved Bourne) in previous book. Hence the angle of retribution.

Where does he go? Who does he meet? Does he get his retribution? What does he lose in the process? Is he betrayed again?

Like all Bourne books, this one is also fast paced and full of action. I had started losing interest in Bourne series in 7th, 8th and 9th book, but this book had revived the interest.

In order to fully understand the story, you should have read previous books before reading this one. The characters, incidents and references are lost on those who will start with this book.

Lustbader has concentrated on plot than the character of Bourne. There is a lot of action in the book and pace is fast. The end though, is not as elaborate and the villain is killed relatively easily. There is also a pleasant surprise at the end.

A good book. Read it if you  are a fan of Bourne series.