With Robert Ludlum's The Bourne Defiance, Brian Freeman establishes a new bar for Jason Bourne and his competition in the thrillerverse as he writes a story so compelling, twisty, action-packed, and ingenious, that I couldn’t help but finish it in one sitting. I don’t usually finish books in one sitting but when Freeman writes, he doesn’t waste words.
Jason Bourne is recovering more and more of his memory after a deadly brush with his nemesis, Lennon, a formidable assassin from his past. Just when he thinks he has gotten a break from the violence and darkness of his previous life, he’s pulled back into its cold murderous grips when assassins start unspooling every corner to take him out. With Treadstone operatives under attack and all clues pointing to a mission in Bourne’s past, Bourne must take the offensive and lead the fight to the enemy’s doorstep, whereas fate has it, he’s going to get a final shot at his nemesis. May the best killer win.
There’s a freshness to the Bourne books by Brian Freeman that genuinely distinguishes these stories from others in the thrillerverse. Freeman makes use of the international reach of Treadstone to write stories that offer different sorts of antagonists and novel perspectives that trickle down to a new energy when it comes to character interactions and action sequences. There’s a mesh of conspiracies and secrets playing underneath the simple premise of Treadstone operatives being hunted, and it’s this entangled web that makes the narrative so intriguing that you are jolted page by page to read and figure out more.
The more I read Freeman’s interpretation of Jason Bourne, the more confident I feel in stacking Bourne with the elite heroes of thrillerverse. His propensity for violence is second to none as he takes down his enemies with style, precision, and panache that doesn’t take away from the grounded nature of the stakes. At the same time, there’s a humanity to Bourne that paints him as a complex and relatable character who’s easy to root for and feel for even as he goes through circumstances we can’t ordinarily imagine. Bourne’s predicament to protect the woman he loves while dodging knives and ducking bullets is one that will cost him and Freeman doesn’t shy away from that heartbreak.
A major reason I finished this book in one-sitting is Bourne’s rampage. Freeman has written his most action-packed story yet, with shootouts on almost every chapter written so captivatingly that you’re going to want to read each one from the first indication of danger to the last bullet from Bourne’s Sig at least a few times. It scratched that huge action itch for me quite nicely. The climax is one to get your heart rate shooting through the roof as Bourne and Lennon face off against each other, with nothing to help them but their instincts, training, and unfiltered hatred for each other.
Robert Ludlum's The Bourne Defiance has claimed its rightful spot in 2023’s most exciting and memorable reads. From a killer insight into how David Webb became Jason Bourne to the final confrontation between him and the original Jason Bourne, it’s a beautifully tragic tale that’s going to make you sit and take it all in after you finish it with quiet contemplation.
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