Histrionic performance ruined this book for me!

I've read The Bourne Identity many times. It's a great thriller - full of excitement, well-paced and well-constructed. It's a little old-fashioned nowadays, I guess, but I was really excited when I saw it was available from Audible and bought it straightaway.

What a disappointment!!! The reader, Scott Brick, who is billed as an outstanding performer, gave an over-the-top histrionic performance which completely ruined this talking book for me!

"And he LOOKED over the BOAT'S RAILING and he SAW ...". Enough of that - you get the picture. Every noun and every verb was declaimed in a tone of almost complete hysteria.

I was driving the car down a country lane while I listened to the start of the book and I had to pull off the road after about 20 minutes and stop the performance. I just couldn't stand any more!

I'll never listen to The Bourne Identity now, sadly -- what a total waste of an excellent book. And why on earth did the reader feel the need to do this?? I'll be watching out for books read by Scott Brick in future -- to make sure I avoid them ...

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Such a pity - but mostly excellent

Huh? What did he say?
Unfortunately Mr Scott Bri has the tendency to use a soft voice with some parts so if you are listening in a noisy environment, like in a moving vehicle, you tend to lose the las par of some wo. (And possibly some sentences too?)

The book is exceptional. The story much better than the story in the movie but I see it as a bonus (similar stories in the same vein).
I thoroughly enjoyed the story and look forward to the next in the series (Supremacy) BUT I am going to opt for the abridged version narrated by Jeff Harding, even though it is 20 hours shorter. From the sample it sounds acceptable.

The performance of the narrator is mostly top notch but I hate it when people do not finish their words or sentences. If a word is worth saying then say it, dont sa i.

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Scott Brick improvised by far too much!

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

Yes. The book is great; a page turner. But this audio book is a bit annoying. Why? See below.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

Yep.

What three words best describe Scott Brick’s performance?

Improvisation, Dissident, Character.

Any additional comments?

Scott's performance isn't bad, but it's more an interpretation than reading the book. Certain passages got completely altered by Scott, which makes it hard to follow when listening to the audio book and reading the book at the same time. His characterization is believable, though. The story comes to live. But as I said it's not what Robert Ludlum wrote.

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a really good story

this was a really good story and I did not see how it would all fit together till the end really. definitely worth a listen. make sure you listen in order.

Disappointingly boring, movie far superior

I really love all of the Bourne movies so I thought I'd treat myself to the original, assuming that the book, as is usually the case, 'would be better'. It took me a while to realize it was in fact worse, far worse, than the movie - mostly because I automatically pictured Matt Damon, the movie score and its fast pacing while listening to this book, which for a while hid its actual lack of all of those things.
But then I found myself taking longer and longer breaks in between listens, with a growing resistance to the idea of picking it up again. In the end, I couldn't even bring myself to finish it even though there were "only" about 4-5 hours left. So I skipped to the end and listened to the epilogue just to finally know what actually happened, and then was done with it.

This was a very tedious listen and an extremely boring story. Only the introductory chapter has merit and promises everything the movie delivered. The rest of the book is way too long: it has people talking-talking-talking in very uninteresting meetings, there aren't a lot of action scenes, many (many!) phrases are repeated over and over and over (C is for Charlie...) and the love story isn't romantic at all but more of an absurdly ridiculous case of Stockholm syndrome. The main plot line revolves around a fashion house being the front of a terrorist organisation, so Bourne has to do some shopping and find out who are the actual terrorist liaisons by scaring some fashion store employees. I'm already yawning again just writing this review.

I really don't get all of the high praise this story has gotten and I am very impressed with the movies' script writers, that they were able to write those stories based on such a bland original.

All in all, these are many hours I regret to never get back.

If you're looking for a thrilling action-packed Bourne story, skip this one.
Do not recommend.

I should have read it before the movies

I was looking for something "real" as I was coming off a fantasy binge and thought "why not Jason Bourne?"

It seems to be a problem that I rate Matt Damon so highly as I could not forget the movie and it spoilt the book for me.

So, if you have NOT seen the movies then definitely buy the book. Its high paced, believable action. Great story, fun twists and full of intrigue.

If you HAVE seen the movies, move on little crickets, move on....

Superb book by R. Ludlum, superbly read!

Having much enjoyed the trilogy in theater, this opens the true history of the man known as Jason Bourne. Well read, as only Scott Brick can. A masterpiece of 3 by Robert Ludlum.

Not the movie

Very enjoyable book. The movie is not based on the book in any meaningful way.

This book has not aged well

Any additional comments?

I have read this book many times, although not in recent years, and it has always been one of my favorites. It just didn't work for me in audio format - Jason Bourne's frantic and repetitive thoughts and mantras came off very strange, which is of course a failing of the author.. But the narrator did not do Marie well at all - she sounded very stilted.

In short, I was disappointed.

A gripping story read by an excellent narrator.

If you could sum up The Bourne Identity: Jason Bourne Series, Book 1 in three words, what would they be?

Intriguing, Extreme and a Masterpiece.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Jason Bourne. The story presents him as broken and yet extremely capable. One can't help wanting him to succeed in his journey to discover who he is.

Which character – as performed by Scott Brick – was your favorite?

Jason Bourne.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

The Bourne Identity: The assassin who was not!

Any additional comments?

Carlos should have been given a more active role in the story. Bourne's episodes of "blinding" recollections that appeared ti incapacitate in quite frequently seemed rather extreme at times.