The Bourne Supremacy by Robert Ludlum, USA, 1986
This is the second of the three books in the Bourne series, and like the first book, The Bourne Identity, it is gripping for all of its almost 700 pages.
David Webb alias Jason Bourne alias Delta alias Cain is unwillingly pulled into a complicated and deadly fight against a Chinese megalomaniac whose eyes are firmly focused on controlling not only China and its supposed territories but even the entire world. Whereas the setting for The Bourne Identity was Europe and America, the setting for this second book is, after a brief opening in America, Hong Kong and China. As with the first book, where French phrases are cleverly scattered throughout, language plays an important role in creating atmosphere. In this case it is Mandarin, and although I do not speak a word of Mandarin the snippets of that language did not cause any confusion; on the contrary, it cements the story in the Far East.
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The story is fast paced and suspenseful with a mixture of characters from the first book together with a number of new characters. At all times, the book is intelligent and extremely well researched and well planned. Numerous twists and turns can challenge the reader’s mental powers in the same way a big dipper might challenge a person’s physical and emotional stability, but when one has fastened one’s seat belt there is really no way of jumping off the ride.
Ludlum’s understanding and interpretation of the political situation in China (1980s) sheds light on the situation today, thirty years on. This is a book not to be missed, but to avoid confusion it should definitely be read after The Bourne Identity.