There's more than meets the eye in the fiction of the master of the
espionage thriller Robert Ludlum. In a study that examines
seventeen of Ludlum's novels in depth, including the latest, The
Apocalypse Watch (1995), Macdonald uncovers the serious themes
running through the novels: the role of the individual in
preserving democracy, the value of competing voices, the failure of
educational institutions to preserve ideals, the temptations of
power, the importance of personal loyalties in the face of
impersonal organizations, and the nature of evil. She shows how
Ludlum's novels are valuable in helping us to understand modern
paranoia--our fear of conspiracies, terrorism, barbarism, and
intolerance. A personal interview granted by Ludlum for this book
illuminates the influences on his craft, especially his long
experience in the theater, which affects his sense of pacing,
characterization, humor, and suspense. After an initial
biographical chapter, Macdonald examines Ludlum's literary roots in
suspense novels and discusses the genre. Each succeeding chapter
examines a group of his novels tied together thematically or, in
the case of the Bourne series, by recurring characters. The
discussion of each novel is organized into sections on plot and
structure, character, and theme, and features an alternate critical
interpretation, such as Freudian, Marxist, or reader response
criticism, which offers the reader another fresh perspective from
which to examine the concerns of the novel. Novels covered in depth
are: Trevayne, The Cry of the Halidon, The Scarlatti Inheritance,
The Rhinemann Exchange, The Gemini Contenders, The Holcroft
Covenant, The Road to Gandolfo, The Road to Omaha, The
BourneIdentity, The Bourne Supremacy, The Bourne Ultimatum, The
Matarese Circle, The Parsifal Mosaic, The Aquitaine Progression,
The Icarus Agenda, The Scorpio Illusion, and The Apocalypse Watch.
This critical companion includes an up-to-date bibliography of all
of Ludlum's published works, as well as selected reviews of all
works examined in this study.
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