Robert Ludlum

Robert Ludlum (May 25, 1927 - March 12, 2001) was the author of 21 spy fiction novels. There are more than 210 million of his books in print, and they have been translated into 32 languages. Ludlum was once a theatrical actor and producer, and in an interview, he spoke of knowing what the public wanted from his cinema expierences, so he wrote that into his novels. His books mainly feature the hero up against tremendous odds, and have a lot of violence and action. Most of his books are set in the time of the cold war, and feature real characters with fiction built around them, eg. Rene Bergeron and Carlos the Jackal in the Bourne Identity. He is most famous for his Bourne Trilogy, and although most of his books have been commercially sucessful, he has been critically bashed for imitating the writing styles of fellow thriller writes like Tom Clancy and John Le Carre. But he has had many of his books critically praised, and has gathered himself a large fanbase. He also started the Covert One series, detailing terrorism being dealt with by trained covert agents. He co-wrote them with Philip Shelby and Gayle Lynds. All of his novels are researched, with technical details, physical and biological details, including research on Amnesia for the Bourne Identity. Some of his novels have been made into films, including the Osterman Weekend, the Holcroft Covenant, the Bourne Identity, and the upcoming Bourne Supremacy. He produced the films. Of all that have been translated onto screen, the Bourne Identity was the most sucessful commercially and critically. He died in 2001, with several unpublished manuscripts of his books, including the Janson Directive, and the Covert One series.

Selected bibliography

\n* The Prometheus Deception (2000)\n* The Apocalypse Watch (1995)\n* The Bourne Ultimatum (1990)\n* The Icarus Agenda (1988)\n* The Bourne Supremacy (1986)\n* The Parsifal Mosaic (1982)\n* The Bourne Identity (1980)\n* The Chancellor Manuscript (1977)\n* The Road to Gandolfo (1975)\n* The Cry of the Halidon (1974)\n* The Osterman Weekend (1972)\n* The Janson Directive (2002)

External link

\n* Official website of Robert Ludlum