The Bourne Legacy

Kliatt, March, 2005 by Mary Purucker

THE BOURNE LEGACY. Eric Van Lustbader. 2004. Read by Scott Brick. 14 cds. 18 hrs. Audio Renaissance. 1-59397-514-7. $49.95. Cardboard; plot, author notes. SA

David Webb is leading a fairly peaceful life as a professor of linguistics at Georgetown University, but occasionally his alternate identity, Jason Bourne, skilled and formidable spy for the US, breaks out. Suddenly he has become the focus for a devious plot, framed for the murder of his mentor and handler, Alex Conklin. There are converging assassins, betrayals, flights and fights around the world, hairbreadth escapes, the threat of biological warfare at an international summit. Bourne/Webb is seriously wounded so many times by the end that it only seems to be fiction that is holding him together.

Brick brings his reliable storytelling skills to this complex tale, rambling easily among a variety of accents, male and female. As always, his pace and timing keep the listeners absorbed and the tale untangled. Ludlum fans will not be disappointed. Mary Purucker, Beverly Hills P.L., Beverly Hills, CA

S--Recommended for senior high school students.

A--Recommended for advanced students and adults. This code help librarian and teachers working in high schools where there are honors and advanced placement students. This also will help extend KLIATT's usefulness in public libraries.