I have just complete reading the Jason Bourne trilogy by the late Robert Ludlum (not the later books of the series by Eric Van Lustbader which just aren't as good). I was turned on to these books by the movies, of the same name thinking that there may be something similar between the two and I might enjoy them. Truth be told, the books were fantastic, and the movies pale in comparison. So, I have decided to reveal the stories of these books, in rapid fire form.
The Bourne Identity
Once upon a time in the ocean there was some guy floating around with gunshot wounds. I boat picked him up and dumped him with a drunk doctor who patched him up. The guy has amnesia, and has a microfilm embedded in his leg with a bank account number in Zurich. Later, after feeling better, guy goes on fishing boat to repay them for saving him. He gets upset, beats alot of them up and has to leave or the town everyone will beat him up so, off to Zurich with him to find out who he is via the account number!
In the bank he has lots of money and he is happy albeit confused, till people come to kill him. But he does learn his name is Jason Bourne. He runs and ends up in a hotel after a while where he takes a woman named Marie as a hostage. Marie is a tall redhead french Canadian brilliant economist.
HELLLOOO NURSE!!!
Anyway, he takes her and uses her for escape. She goes and gets what she thinks are police, but they are out to kill him and try to rape and kill her. He saves her but is shot. She takes him to a hotel to recover and they hotel together. She says he is good, he says no, she says sleep with me, he says OK.
Traveling to Paris for answers they find out he is Cain the evil assassin from the Orient, out after the Jackal the evil assassin from Europe. After lots of killing and people trying to kill him including Alex who is a one footed CIA guy who thinks he has gone to the dark side of the intelligence business, Jason learns that he is from Operation Treadstone, which is a plan to fake a killer called Cain, and send him to kill the Jackal. Everything was going fine until Jason got his amnesia, then it all went to h3ll. So Jason sneaks into the US tries to kill the Jackal in New York, and Marie convinces Alex that Jason is a good guy. Jackal escapes, Jason lives, Alex is guilty and Marie sleeps with Jason some more. Then Jason remembers his real name of David Web.
The Bourne Supremacy
Wow, it's now five years later, David is a teacher under government protection, because he is the only living person to see the Jackal alive. David is happy, Marie is happy, they have a good friend named Mo who is Jason's shrink. Mo is also friends with Alex. Well, Marie gets kidnapped, taken to Hong Kong. Jason reemerges from David, and gets angry then goes to the orient to kill someone who is a fake Jason Bourne who is killing for money. Jason is tricked into believing that Marie is held by bad Hong Kong dudes, but is in fact held by the US Gov't who just want fake Jason captured by good Jason. Jason captures the guy, sees some lunatic in China and eats some noodles. Marie escapes from the bad people and meets up with Alex who went out to help along with Mo. Jason brings fake Jason to US place, thinking Marie is dead, and goes on a killing rampage. Fake Jason is killed by marines. Real Jason sees Marie, says hi there. They have sex. Jason goes and kills crazy Chinese guy. They all go home happily ever after... until
The Bourne Ultimatum
David is now fifty and teaches a lot, and is old and creaky. Marie is a housewife with two kids. Then a threat comes from the Jackal. Jason pops out and sends Marie and kids to Caribbean for safety where Marie's brother runs a hotel owned by David and Marie. Jason goes to Washington and hatches a plan to get a government conspiracy so upset that they will hire the Jackal to kill Jason. Jason complains about being old. The group is called Medusa, lots of people die. Jason goes to Paris, and tracks the Jackal. Then he goes to the Caribbean where the Jackal almost kills his family. Mo gets kidnapped and drugged by Medusa mafia goons then escapes on the promise of a bathroom abortion, but skips out before delivering. Jason goes back to Paris, Marie sneaks out to be with him. Alex is along for the ride as is Mo. Jason's, knee is sore, he feels old. In the end they go to Moscow (not Marie, she is in Maryland with the kids in a CIA safe house) and try to catch the Jackal who is now old and nutty and dying. The Jackal tries to destroy a Russian town he came from (was trained there) and succeeds, but Jason shoots him, then he tries to blow him up. Jackal escapes into tunnel, but is trapped and drowned (funky KGB trap). In the whole process Mo is shot as is Alex, but they both survive (Mo loses use of an arm). With the Jackal dead, David is back and they are in the Caribbean recovering with Mo, and Alex, but Jason is tired and feels old.
The End.
-Uncle Walter
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