The Bourne Ultimatum - Robert Ludlum

***** The showdown of Bourne

Sumptuous finale of the trilogy. Although intricate, the plot is less difficult to follow than the ones of the first and second book. Maybe this aspect may be considered a flaw, according to my personal tastes (I prefer having to struggle a bit to follow the plot of a book), but it’s compensated by the abundance of events and the unpredictability of the story.
I believe that the best among the three books is the second, but they are all top-notch. And most importantly, they are addictive. I regretted having to slow down the reading for lack of time and this prevented me from fully enjoy the novel.
Here Ludlum uses all his inventive, multiplying the places and the action scenes. The final battle with the Jackal and especially the place where it happens are epic.
Too bad that the character of Marie appears only in the central part of the book and that she isn’t involved in the scene representing the climax of the novel, only to reappear in the epilogue.
The latter is a bit melancholic. Although I know that there are more books about Bourne, I also know that they aren’t really written by Ludlum, who had decided to end his story here.
Again I noticed that Ludlum never uses vulgar terms, but in return swear words abound. All the characters invoke God and Jesus in various ways. This would represent a sort of defect, as it reduces the characterization of the characters themselves (as they all have the same way of swearing), but at the same time it’s his trademark, as well as the continuous use of exclamations like “folly!” or “madness!” (I’m not sure whether he used these exact words in English, because I read his books translated into Italian).
I recommend reading this book (and the whole trilogy) when you can dedicate at least one hour a day to it, so that you don’t lose the rhythm.

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