The Bourne Supremacy
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| The Bourne Supremacy | |
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| Author | Robert Ludlum |
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| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Series | Jason Bourne, Bourne Trilogy |
| Genre(s) | Thriller novel |
| Publisher | Random House |
| Publication date | 1986 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
| Pages | 646 pp |
| ISBN | ISBN 0-553-26322-6 |
| Preceded by | The Bourne Identity |
| Followed by | The Bourne Ultimatum |
The Bourne Supremacy is the second Jason Bourne novel written by Robert Ludlum, first published in 1986. It was the sequel to Ludlum's bestseller The Bourne Identity (1980) and precedes Ludlum's final Bourne novel, The Bourne Ultimatum (1990).
The Bourne Supremacy was adapted into a film of the same name in 2004 starring Matt Damon, although the film has a completely distinct (and contradictory) plot to the novel.
[edit] Plot summary
In the first book, The Bourne Identity, Jason Bourne suffered amnesia. Over the course of the book he regained his memory with the help of a Canadian economist, Marie, and later found that he was previously a special operative for the United States Government in an elite project in Southeast Asia and Vietnam codenamed Medusa. After a tragic accident involving the death of his family, he joined Project Treadstone 71, where he was used as bait for the infamous European assassin, Carlos the Jackal. Bourne took credit for various kills in China and the rest of Asia, acting as a rival to the Jackal, in order to draw him out of hiding and into the hands of the U.S. Government. In a climactic scene at the end of the book, the Jackal escaped and Bourne was almost killed as he was believed to be a traitor by his uninformed employers.
At the beginning of The Bourne Supremacy, Bourne has recovered from most mental and all physical injuries and is teaching Asian studies at a university in Maine under his real name of David Webb. He is also living happily on campus with Marie and is getting regular psychological tests from his doctor, Morris Panov.
It is then that a representative of the U.S. Government arrives and informs Webb of an imitator in Asia, someone who is killing under the name of Jason Bourne, a name feared in Asia because of the accredited kills during his work with Treadstone 71. Webb refuses to assist the government.
Meanwhile, Marie is abducted by unknown men during the discussion. Webb returns to the house, finds clues to her abduction, and immediately phones government officials, threatening to leak information about Treadstone and Medusa in an attempt to get assistance. He returns to Asia in an attempt to find Marie after a hint found in his house. There he is told by a wealthy Tai-Pan that he is to assassinate another Tai-Pan in exchange for his wife. Unbeknownst to Webb, the target is a wealthy businessman who is planning a revolution that poses a serious threat to foreign interests in China, and Webb has been set on the track by the U.S., British, and Chinese government.
The rest of the book consists of two side-by-side stories, one of Webb-turned-Bourne trying to track down and kill the target, and the other of Marie trying to escape and find Bourne in order to tell him the truth. The story unfolds as an ancient cult and ritualistic murders become a part of the revolutionary's plan.
The story is set during the British negotiated handover of Hong Kong to the People's Republic of China on the expiration of its ninety-nine-year lease on the New Territories. Southeast Asia is particularly volatile and fragile, and mistakes cannot be tolerated by any world power.
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