In 1971 Robert Ludlum wrote a good, original, fast paced thriller—his first.
Since then, as with each successive Bond production, there has been something oxymoronic about calling each successive novel "new." The form of a "Ludlum" has not changed in the quarter century since the first novel. Rapid pace, high tension, frequent change of locale, minimum characterization, are all designed to give the reader a maximum bang for his buck. The writer tacitly acknowledges this by quoting in "Ludlum on Ludlum" from John Leonard's review in The New York Times: "Mr. Ludlum stuffs more surprises into his novel than any other six-pack of thriller writers combined."
Over the years Ludlum's books have changed, nevertheless, in one obvious respect: They got steadily longer. The recent ones are almost twice the size of those from the.....
This is a free excerpt of 135 words. This section contains 1,032 words. This
Short Guide contains 5,478 words (approx. 18 pages at 300
words per page).
Read the rest of this Short Guide with our The Cry of the Halidon Access Pass.
