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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Ludlum Lives!, 5 Jan 2002
By A Customer
Previously, if I had been asked to recommend one Robert Ludlum novel that best highlighted what made him so popular, I would have said "The Bourne Identity" without hesitation. From now on, however, I wil be forced to pause and choose, because with "The Sigma Protocol" Ludlum has found the kind of form lacking of late which will, if there is any kind of justice anywhere, boost his posthumous appeal to levels unmatched when he was alive. I kid you not - it is that good.Half detective novel, half Kafka-esque conspiracy thriller, most of the fun here is to be had watching Ludlum gleefully juggle genres, blending the lines between them in the ways only he can, and coming close to creating a new genre all on his own. Jacket blurb aside, Luldum really does "transcend the genre" with his best work (and even some of his...not best) and this is a prime example - is it a thriller? Is it a romance? Is it a crime novel? An adventure? Who knows? Just sit back and read, but for God's sake pay attention! The action is not a plentiful as some people may like, but in my opinion this only goes to emphasise the extraordainarily detailled plotting which twists and turns it way across the pages. Just as you think you get a handle on what's going to happen, off the book twists - leaving you somewhat bereft at being wrong yet oddly pleased to be wrong-footed, keeping you alert. I personally felt that with his last solo effort - "The Prometheus Deception" - we were a little short-changed, as plotting was glossed over and excuses made and reasons fabricated for certain events, but here there is no such disappointment. This book is a monster - some of the finest entertainment from one of the finest writers of our age, firmly rooted in believable characters ("Trevor" being my personal favourite), and a real sense of urgency and befuddlement (on the character's part) behind the writing. This is a new kind of Ludlum, a new era of writing prowess, which perhaps took "The Prometheus Deception" to fine-tune. And which only goes to make it sadder still that he is no longer with us.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Entertaining enough, but not a classic, 3 Oct 2002
I've just finished reading this, the first book of Robert Ludlum's that I've picked up. The description of the storyline on the back of the book appealed to me when I came across it in the bargain section of a supermarket, and after seeing "The Bourne Identity" at the cinema recently, I had high hopes for anything written by this author. As thrillers go, this was quite formulaic, but entertaining none the less. I had the ending worked out around two thirds of the way through, but there were enough twists and turns to keep me interested to the end. The only real criticism I had (if you can call it that), was that some of the main characters - while likeable throughout - didn't seem to react consistently to events during the story. This had the effect of making them less accessible to me because their responses to a given situation never really matched the way I had predicted. I wouldn't say that "The Sigma Protocol" was a bad book by any means, and would probably speak well it to a friend if they asked my opinion on it, but I don't think I'll be in a massive rush to read much more of Mr Ludlum's work. If you like these kind of action-thrillers, I'd recommend anything written by LEE CHILD (Killing Floor, Die Trying, Tripwire, The Vistor, Echo Burning & Without Fail), as I feel that Child's story-telling is a little more polished and engrossing, and his characters are more reader-friendly and likeable. Thanks for your time.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
One of His Best?, 7 Nov 2002
The death of Robert Ludlum was a great loss to the genre of writing that was synonymous with his name, and other greats in the Genre's Pantheon, like John Le Carre. The masters of these books are in no way limited to the two I mention; different readers will all have their favorites.
The reason for the question mark at the beginning of my comments is for several reasons which I believe are important to his admirers from his earliest books, and to those readers experiencing his work for the first time. The final version of this book was completed some three months after the author's death. There is no question that the book is vintage Ludlum, however for his long time readers, evidence of the pen of another will be apparent. There is sardonic dialogue that does not read as his, and the female character, while very well done, is not a pure Ludlum creation in my opinion either.
Nowhere will you find any evidence that this was published posthumously. Every detail on the jacket is in the present tense when referring to Mr. Ludlum. The reason I find this bothersome is that Mr. Ludlum is alleged to have completed 11 additional outlines for books prior to his death. I do not know what constitutes an outline, however it is not a book, and I hope the publishers will be completely candid regarding who was involved in writing these future books. I don't believe anyone can impersonate his style, so whatever may be forthcoming may be great or poor, what they will not be are true Robert Ludlum Novels.
"The Sigma Protocol", is a work that will bring long time admirers back to many of his earlier works. The first work I ever read was his novel, "The Matarese Circle", and this book is almost as good as my initial experience, and other of his works considered to be among his best. The only factor that detracts from this final work is that it is a bit too slick in style. Mr. Ludlum wrote many stories that were complex and cadenced with brilliant speed, however his characters were never those that constantly tossed off quick witted repartee, and endorsed everything they came in contact with by a brand name. Mr. Ludlum wrote books not advertisements.
In spite of whatever intrusion there may have been, this book will make the very short list of Ludlum's best. The tale races all over the globe, and revisits classic locales like Zurich, Vienna, and many others. The World War II element could have been a terrible cliché in a lesser writer's hands. This book portrays a familiar group; however it also legitimizes the suspension of disbelief with real science from recent years. When the book reaches its closing moments it is hard to maintain complete originality, here it was done as well as any could have penned it.
I enthusiastically recommend this book even though its provenance is not completely known. This is also the reason for the lack of the 5th star. There is no way for me to know this; I just don't feel Mr. Ludlum would have wanted readers to be mislead in any manner about his work, to any degree. The bottom line is this is a great read that demonstrates that to the very end of his career Mr. Ludlum was able to create a work that can stand with the best of what he had given readers for decades.
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