The Bourne Trilogy by Robert Ludlum:-

1. The Bourne Identity (1980)


2. The Bourne Supremacy (1986)


3. The Bourne Ultimatum (1990)

I read the first novel of the series – The Bourne Identity way back in 2003 or so, and I must say that it deserves to be voted as the second best spy novel of all-time by Publishers Weekly, though I still have to read the winner – The Spy Who Came in from the Cold by John le Carré.

I have not yet come across any other book – fiction, non-fiction where I was hooked right from the first page. After all these years, I still vividly remember sitting down with the book on a lazy summer afternoon, opening the first page and reading the first few paragraphs and man was I buoyed by it. Another book that comes so close in comparison is Area 7 by Matthew Reilly in the intensity of action and thrill.

The book (Bourne Identity) is a fast-paced read with a lot of action and suspense, to which the movie adaptation does no justice, except for making Matt Damon uber-fast in his action sequences, which actually Ludlum has written fantastically in the book and needs vivid imagination and visualization to really appreciate.

A man is picked up by a trawler barely alive in the Mediterranean Sea with several bullet wounds and a head injury causing amnesia. As he recuperates with the help of a doctor, who has taken him in, he comes to know that he is not just like any other ordinary man. He has been put under the scalpel, has a fantastic knowledge of languages, and knows martial arts. The only clue to his identity is a secret account number in a Swiss bank.

Ludlum then takes us on a whirlwind trip all-over Europe with “the man” – let’s just call him Bourne, out-pacing and out-thinking the CIA, Interpol and Carlos, the Jackal (thus called when found with a copy of Frederick Forsyth's novel The Day of the Jackal amongst his belongings). At the end, the true identity of Bourne is finally revealed and along with the exposure of all rogue elements. This reminds me of the trailer I saw of “Wolverine of the X-Men Series” fighting hard to find his identity and history, have to yet see the movie.

The sequel Bourne Supremacy is also as good if not better than the first one. Again for all those who have seen the film, well just forget that you have seen it. It does no justice to the book and is actually very different and contradictory to the plot.

The story continues from where Bourne Identity left off. Bourne now knows his identity, and well has a life and a wife. And all of it goes for a toss, when another Bourne comes into the picture and starts shooting real people in his name. And then to top it off Bourne’s wife, the real Bourne’s wife whom he loves very much gets abducted – well then what’s a man supposed to do now, Bourne again takes up the mantle of being Bourne and goes after the killer.

Again the book is an absolute thriller. Ludlum very successfully fleshes out the character of Bourne even further and brings the various emotions – his anguish, turmoil and anger towards his handlers and his wife’s kidnappers, towards himself and his past out in the fore. This time the story is set in the Asian theatre when the British are supposed to handover Hong Kong to China.

In the final book of the series “Bourne Ultimatum”, before he ripens off of old age Carlos has now decided to kill his old nemesis Bourne. And thus, Bourne is pulled back into the world of violence and deceit when Carlos sets upon him his network of jackals. The plot of the movie is again way different.

All in all, the trilogy is an absolute page-turner. I couldn’t wait for Bourne Supremacy after finishing Identity and then the Ultimatum. Hence, the suggestion, get the next sequel along with the book you are about to begin reading or else well wait out through the agonizing delay!!

Further continued on by Eric Van Lustbader:-

1. The Bourne Legacy (2004)


2. The Bourne Betrayal (2007)


3. The Bourne Sanction (2008)


4. The Bourne Deception (2009)

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The Foundation series started off with a trilogy of three books – “Foundation” (1951), “Foundation and Empire” (1952), and “Second Foundation” (1953). Due to popular demand, Asimov continued the series with “Foundation’s Edge” (1982), “Foundation and Earth” (1986), and wrote two prequels “Prelude to Foundation” (1988) and “Forward the Foundation” (1992).

The series were continued by another trilogy popularly known as the “Second Foundation Trilogy” – Foundation's Fear by Gregory Benford, Foundation's Chaos by Greg Bear and Foundation's Triumph by David Brin.

Suggested order of reading is the same as above.

The basic theme of the Foundation Series is a vast interstellar galactic empire, which many believe is still in its heydays. But few, especially an old mathematician Hari Seldon through his knowledge of psychohistory, know that the empire is slowly and steadily declining and a thousand galactic years later will be followed by a dark period of suffering for the mankind, which will span over 30,000 galactic years.



The first of the three books – Foundation captures the story of its namesake, which Hari has helped set up as an anchor for humanity in those dark times. This is the story of Salvor Hardin and Hober Mallow, and how they successfully navigate through various Seldon Crises and ward off aggressive attempts of their belligerent neighbors to subjugate the Foundation and its capital Terminus.



The second book of the series – Foundation and Empire, continues on with the story with a focus on the Galactic Empire, which having had forgotten about Foundation is now beginning to see it as a threat. Though the Galactic Empire is in its death throes and has lost almost all control over its peripheries where Terminus is located, it is still a major force to reckon with. And along with this threat, there is the Mule, who is threatening the ultimate collapse of the Foundation along with Hari Seldon’s plans.

An interesting aspect of this series is that unlike books such as “A Song of Ice and Fire” by George R.R. Martin or “Wheel of Time” by Robert Jordan there is not a single battle scene described and yet it leaves the readers on the edge of their seat craving for more and that not in a bad way. The suspense leading to the climax and its aftermath, with a major emphasis on character building and dialogs between the lead protagonists is a hallmark of Asimov’s writing in the “Foundation” series.



The third book of the series - Second Foundation reveals the presence of another Foundation secretly set up by Hari Seldon to help guide the “First” Foundation. This is the story of Mule’s and eventually the First Foundation’s search for the Second Foundation and the conflict that ensues between them.



The Second Foundation has been destroyed and the First Foundation has emerged victorious. Was it predicted by Hari Seldon or has his plans been irrevocably damaged? Or is the Second Foundation still lurking out there, or is there some other mysterious third force subtly guiding events in the galaxy? Foundation’s Edge is the story of Golan Trevize who may have the fate of the whole galaxy resting on his shoulders.



In Foundation and Earth, Trevize along with Pelorat and Bliss attempt to seek answers by seeking the location of Earth, the knowledge of which has been systematically removed from everywhere, so much so that its name is considered an obscenity in many worlds outside the Foundation’s sphere of influence.



The first prequel, Prelude to Foundation, is a story about Seldon and his initial days on Trantor; about the resourceful Hummin and his accomplice Dors; the relationship between Seldon and Dors; and also about the enigmatic Demerzel and his secrets. Seldon arrives as a young mathematician on Trantor, head full of ideas on psychohistory but with no practical approach on making it a reality, and gets jostled between various political forces who wants to use him.



After writing the last book for the series – Forward the Foundation, Asimov himself died within weeks of writing Seldon’s death. The story is about Seldon, whom Asimov regarded as an alter ego, his life’s devotion, the all-consuming fire to develop psychohistory, and his joys and despairs shared with Dors Venabili, and ultimately his poignant death after the establishment of the Foundations.

Foundation’s Fear is set in the period covered in the early chapters of Forward the Foundation, while Foundation's Chaos covers the early chapters of Foundation. Foundation's Triumph covers various loose ends and describes the setting up of holographic messages to the Foundation.

All in all, foundation series is one of the epic science fiction series spanning over 500 standard galactic years, winning the one-time Hugo award for “Best All-Time Series” in 1966 beating even “Lord of the Rings” by J.R.R. Tolkien.

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Resources:
1. Asimov Home Page
2. Wikipedia - Isaac Asimov
3. Wikipedia - Foundation Series
4. Isaac Asimov's Book Reviews
5. Hugo Awards
6. Nebula Awards