After the explosive finale of The Bourne Sacrifice, I was supremely excited for how Brian Freeman would continue the story of Jason Bourne in keeping with the high bar he set in his take on the character. I’m so happy to say that The Bourne Shadow not only matches up to the aforementioned high expectations but sets a new standard in the series for subsequent chapters to follow. If you think you know all there is about Jason Bourne, you really don’t.
Long before Bourne lost his memory, he was a talented but disaffected young man who went by the name of David Webb. When Bourne runs into a woman who recognizes him by his real name, he’s pulled into the far depths of his past, retracing his first ever mission as part of Treadstone. Fighting the pull of his memories along with numerous assassination attempts by a cabal of supremacists keen on silencing Bourne before he can work his way up the food chain and his memories, Bourne certainly has his work cut out for him.
Brian Freeman’s Bourne thrillers are packed with great action, and The Bourne Shadow continues that tradition with superb bone-crunching fisticuffs and thrilling shootouts. This time however we get a sense of Bourne’s vulnerabilities as we see him challenged like never before. It sets a more dangerous tone for the narrative as Bourne is caught in the headlights and barely manages to escape, often with help of new-found allies. While it doesn’t discredit Bourne’s prowess at handling combat, it does acknowledge his humanity and mortality with growing threats that catch both him and the readers off-guard.
I love how The Bourne Shadow feels like a smart cross between old-school pulpy thrillers and modern espionage and political thrillers. From exotic dangers and action to characters throwing us off with hidden agendas and twists that shake the whole narrative, it’s every bit as captivating as one would expect from a high caliber thriller with a fast pace and an interesting insight into Bourne’s past that shines an important light into his behaviors in the present. That’s some impressive character evolution by Brian Freeman.
If you’re keen to get your socks knocked off by a hardcore action thriller with one twist after another and incredible characters you won’t soon get your mind off of, The Bourne Shadow is a terrific choice. Of course, it’ll be infuriating to wait for the sequel after that intense climax that opens a whole Pandora’s Box for future stories featuring Jason Bourne.
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