The Bourne Ultimatum
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| Author | Robert Ludlum |
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| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Series | Jason Bourne |
| Genre(s) | Fiction |
| Publisher | Random House |
| Released | 1990 |
| Pages | 672 Pages |
| ISBN | ISBN 0-553-28773-7 |
| Preceded by | The Bourne Supremacy |
| Followed by | The Bourne Legacy |
The Bourne Ultimatum is the third Jason Bourne novel written by Robert Ludlum and a sequel to The Bourne Supremacy (1986). First published in 1990, it was the last Bourne novel to be written by Ludlum himself. Eric Van Lustbader wrote a sequel titled The Bourne Legacy fourteen years later.
The Bourne Ultimatum is currently being adapted into a film of the same name starring Matt Damon and is scheduled to be released in 2007. Similar to the 2004 film, The Bourne Supremacy, it is expected that The Bourne Ultimatum will have a completely different plot from the novel.
[edit] Novel summary
The basic plot follows David Webb, a.k.a. Jason Bourne, as he works to find his old enemy, Carlos the Jackal, who is trying to kill him. As the Jackal enters old age and his infamy fades, he decides that he will do two things before he dies: kill Webb/Bourne, and destroy the KGB facility of Novgorod, where the Jackal was trained and later turned away. Carlos the Jackal uses a diverse collective of aged men devoted to his handiwork and known as "The Old Men of Paris". Webb sends his wife and children to live with his wife's brother, John St. Jacques, in the Caribbean for protection while Webb himself works with old friend and CIA agent Alex Conklin, and to a limited degree, the C.I.A., to hunt down and kill the Jackal first. Webb poses as an important member of Medusa (a newer version than the original he was associated with during the Vietnam era)(see Jason Bourne), now a nearly omnipotent economic force that controls the head of NATO, leading figures in the Defense Department, portions of the American and Sicilian mafia, and large NYSE firms. The plan is to use Medusa's resources to contact the Jackal. Webb just misses the Jackal several times, including when the Jackal locates Webb's family in the Caribbean, before Webb stages his own death and convinces the Jackal that he has succeeded. Following this, the Jackal turns to his second goal, to destroy the Novgorod, a large Russian installation used as training ground for KGB candidates. It contains different areas, each simulating a different Western environment. Webb tracks the Jackal down with the help of Conklin and a KGB agent named Dimitri Krupin as the Jackal begins destroying the KGB compound. In a final confrontation, Webb finally kills the Jackal and returns to his family. Not precisely the expectations of Bourne in previous movie depiction(s) as he struggles with limitations imposed by his age, mental conflicts from his duality of both personalities, and frequently fails to employ earlier capabilities from his field training as a result.
| Jason Bourne | |
|---|---|
| Robert Ludlum novels: | The Bourne Identity (1980) | The Bourne Supremacy (1986) | The Bourne Ultimatum (1990) |
| Eric Van Lustbader novels: | The Bourne Legacy (2004) | The Bourne Betrayal (2007) |
| 20th century films: | The Bourne Identity (1988) |
| 21st century films: | The Bourne Identity (2002) | The Bourne Supremacy (2004) | The Bourne Ultimatum (2007) |
