Rating: 
Summary: Fine Ludlum Farewell
Review: Good book on-par with some of Ludlum's earlier efforts. An entertaining read, a bit slow in some areas but overall a good farewell from Ludlum (R.I.P.).
Rating: 
Summary: Poorest of the Ludlums
Review: Having long ago given up on trying to get through encyclopedic novels, I decided to make an exception for one of my favorite thriller authors, Robert Ludlum, and read his 600+ page pot-boiler, The Sigma Protocal. It was the first Ludlum I'd read in years. Wish, now, I hadn't bothered. Although it starts out in typical slam-bang Ludlum fashion, with a shoot-out on a busy street in Zurich, Switzerland--and carries this fast action pace throughout the book--it is unnecessarily over-written. Examples: Three pages of laborious description are used to give us an autobiography of a just-introduced elderly woman whose apartment is invaded by a hit man. Directly following these three pages, she is killed and wiped from the story. Another instance is the waste of an entire chapter telling us every detail of how our hero, Ben Hartman, scales a mountain and tunnels through a cave to get into a top-security compound atop a mountain. Once inside, he is immediately captured. (Why not instead devote but five paragraphs to how he tried to breach the security fence, before his capture?) For my money, too many authors fall victim to this temptation: to exhibit their knowledge of intracacies, detail, and technicalities--at the expense of moving the story. In all, it was the over-writing that turned me off on this, which was perhaps, Ludlum's final work. This would have been a much better book--maybe even 5-star--had it been cut to half its length, the premise was that intriguing.
Rating:
Summary: Makes Michael Crichton look like Shakespeare
Review: I enjoy Michael Crichton's novels, but I know just what I'll get; a great, original plot with 2 dimensional characters designed to push the story along. Fine, it will still be an original story and that is enough.Ludlum, in the Sigma Protocol, has characters of single dimension push along a one-dimensional plot. Worse, you've read it before in every single Ludlum novel you've ever read. I was about 150 pages into this book when I remembered why I stopped reading Ludlum years ago; every book is the same, every book has the same flaws. This is the best-selling worst writer out there. I am always surprised by the depths of the bad writing. It is definitely not to a professional level, and if he were just starting out now, no one would publish him. I would like to see how much the final draft was fixed up in the editing process. Here are a few examples that come to mind: If the characters overhear a newscast or see a newspaper, it will be pertinent to the plot, and in the next few pages. Nothing happens simply to give you a feel for the characters or to flesh out the atmosphere. This is irritating in a thriller novel because if it's there you know it will be used. There are no false clues or even slight attempts to throw you off the trail.
The dialog is interchangeable; there is no difference in style, tone or however it is that real writers do it so you know that a particular comment is from the female good-guy, or the male bad-guy. Any of them can say anyone's lines and that story won't change. I think Ludlum would change who was speaking simply because a certain numbers of lines had passed, to make it appear as a conversation were taking place. Instead, he writes what could be monologues and attributes them to random characters.
Ben and Anna, (the good guys) never take a false step, never get into a corner, never are without a highly skilled expert to call, never call and find that expert not able to pick up the phone. They are on the run and never have a problem paying for hotels, international airline tickets, food, and clothes. This plot only would work if Ben were super rich, expertly trained and a superb physical specimen. What??!?! He is?? Then let's write this ...!!! I was a quarter of the way invested into the book when I realized that Ludlum was still as bad as he ever was, but I figured I'd see it through to the end. It is bad to the point it becomes funny. If you read it, count how many people Ben and Anna meet to get crucial plot advancing info, only to have them die violent assassinations mere moments after they leave. You'd think that after 2, 3 or at least 5 times they'd say, hey, someone may be following us, let's at least check to be sure the next guy we visit has his life insurance paid up before we lead the assassins to them. I finished the story wondering why Ludlum wrote this. Did he need the money that badly? A contractual obligation? Maybe this was a test to see how gullible the reading public can be. I sure was.
Rating: 
Summary: Classic Ludlum: The Sigma Protocol
Review: It is fitting that the late Robert Ludlum in quite possibly his last novel (depending on which rumor you believe) penned a work that reads so well and reminds one of his early work, such as the Bourne series. There was and has been simply no one better when he was on at crafting a complex conspiracy and the fate of the world hanging in the balance. When it was assumed that there would be an ending to the spy thrillers after the cold war ended, Ludlum just changed them slightly and weaved stories of demonic corporations ruled by greedy power moguls manipulating world governments. With his novels firmly rooted in reality, one always wonders just how much is real and how much is fiction. Simply put, he has done it again in fine form. As the novel opens, Ben Hartman is walking the streets of Zurich, Switzerland. After the death of his brother, Peter, Ben was forced into the family business and to take up the legacy of his father's company, Hartman Capital Management. Ben hates investment banking and is bored out of his mind. His boredom is shattered when he sees his old friend Jimmy Cavanaugh whom, he has known since his sophomore year at Princeton. Ben hasn't seen him in years, but there is no mistake and Jimmy also recognizes him, offering a big smile of his own. At the same time, Jimmy pulls out a weapon and opens fire on Ben, narrowly missing him. The chase is on through the cold streets as Ben tries to flee an old friend, who while trying to kill him is indiscriminately shooting innocent people on the streets. At the same time, half a world away, Agent Anna Navarro of the Justice Department is having her own problems. She works in the office of Special Investigations under the incompetent supervision of Arliss Dupree. Like petty bureaucrats everywhere, he wields the little authority he has in an attempt to get even with some of the staff. He surrounds himself with toadies and since Anna isn't part of the "in" crowd, he singles her out for cheap shots. The fact that she is extremely good at what she does, in addition to refusing to sleep with him or go out drinking with the boys, just bugs him all the more. It also brings her to the attention of Alan Bartlett of the Internal Compliance Unite. This is a super secret group that handles internal governmental investigations that individual departments can't, for whatever reason. Bartlett wants her and this annoys Dupree even further. Anna reports to Bartlett and gets an extremely murky assignment. Bartlett wants her to investigate eleven suspicious deaths. The eleven are all elderly and died of what appears to be natural causes. The only link that has been discovered is that each man had the word "Sigma" reference in his files but there is no record of what Sigma was supposed to be. The files date back to the 40's under the OSS, the precursor to the CIA. The men were investigated and cleared for some operation, but what? The eleven men have all died in an incredibly short period of time and Bartlett wants to know why as well as what Sigma was. Anna is aware that she is not getting the full story and Bartlett knows more than he is letting on, but she has been assigned to him and this case and she has no choice in the matter. Ludlum weaves these two separate storylines together in a complex and fascinating thriller. The characters are deep and intriguing and the premise becomes increasingly more complicated with tentacles that stretch from the 40's until present day. Once again, Ludlum blurs the line between fiction and fact and it makes for a very enjoyable read. At 535 pages, it will not be a very fast read, but it is well worth the time and effort to read this one. This reads like vintage Ludlum, before the Covert One series and his more recent shallow books. Enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: A Final Bow...
Review: Ludlum hooked me with "The Gemini Contenders" and "The Bourne Identity." Then, for quite a while, it seemed he ran out of ideas. Based on the reviews here, I decided to give this one a shot. (A few months ago, I tried "The Matarese Countdown" and gave up.) Yes, this is everything you expect from Ludlum, good and bad: the bold, beyond belief plot; the nonstop action; the twists and turns and surprises...the predictable super-conspiracy story; the events that stretch belief; the heroes that can fly helicopters when in trouble because of some obscure training years and years ago. "The Sigma Protocol" is vintage Ludlum. We follow the story of wealthy Ben Hartman as he attempts to unravel the mysteries of his brother's death, his father's identity, and the attacks on his own life. We also watch Anna Navarro, a government agent, as she studies the string of deaths of old men related to the Sigma Corporation and tries to connect them. That's only the surface of all that appears here and, as usual, Ludlum plays a few cards to his chest, but for the most part, pulls out all the stops and goes for the money. If you aim to be educated or enlightened by your fiction, this isn't the book for you. If you're ready for a satisfying escape that also pokes at the globalization issues we now face, then jump right in. Ludlum ends his incredible and lively tale with a benediction from Ben Hartman's lips to his father. I couldn't help but wonder if these were words Ludlum hoped to hear as he approached his own mortality. "I judge him mortal. I judge him imperfect...And I judge him a hero...And because he was hard to love, I loved him all the harder..." Yes, it's melodramatic, over-the-top...just as our dear Robert Ludlum. I'll miss his books. And I'll always "judge him a hero."
Rating: 
Summary: Lacks the gripping, compelling writing found in his others
Review: Ludlum, author of such best-sellers as `The Bourne Identity', died on March 12, 2001. His output, however, has not slowed noticeably since his passing: this novel, like his others, is fast -paced, occasionally gripping and packed with a predictable ending. However, the boilerplate dialogue and movie logic, along with a macabre and hard-to-believe ending show `Ludlum' (premier writer of international intrigue) as a brand name may have run its course.
`The Sigma Protocol, is an interesting read and worth recommending, but it lacks the "gripping, compelling" writing style his other books did.
Rating:
Summary: Lots of action...Lack of good editing
Review: My first Ludlum novel. I went to buy The Bourne Identity which was Out Of Stock at my bookstore so I decided to purchase The Sigma Protocol to get a taste of Ludlum's writing. The Sigma Protocol started out fast and furious and was quite intriguing but about halfway through the book you get the sense that he's attempting to rush the story and the reader has problems keeping a mental timeline of what is occuring within the story. At one point (and probably the worst example) a government Justice Department investigator is in the U.S. discussing details of a case and within a few pages is suddenly in Austria staking out the proposed suspect when prior to this it took Ludlum an entire 2 chapters just to get the suspect (Ben Hartman) to a particular home within Austria where he was already residing. It's events like this that begin to overcome the storyline and frustrate the reader. Finally, the editor did a very poor job of editing facts which support areas of the story. In one particular section Ben Hartman applies a headlock to an individual which "cuts the blood supply to the man's femoral artery" and renders the individual unconscious. Well, the only thing that is going to happen if you cut the blood supply off by blocking the femoral artery is that your leg will go to sleep since the artery is not located in the neck (as Ludlum leads you to belive). This happens every once in a while throughout the story. Overall, if it's action and a fast-paced story you are interested in then this book will probably satisfy your appetite. Happy reading!
Rating:
Summary: Ludlum's Swan Song
Review: Robert Ludlum, one of the most popular authors of best selling thrillers passed away early this year. With 23 novels, over 200 million copies in print, Ludlum's contribution to the genre of action thrillers is indeed worth reckoning. I pay my humble tributes to this talented writer who has kept book lovers like me hooked to his writings for over 20 years. As a reviewer and a critic, I have found Ludlum taxing the gullibility of his readers with his bizarre, outrageous plots, implausible storylines, and his constant fixation on "conspiracy by a super-secret, ultra powerful, underground organisation" which has been repeated so many times that it has become a bore. Nevertheless, as a reader, Ludlum has never ceased to fascinate me with complex plots, twists and turns, fast paced action, violence, heroics, nerve wrecking drama,intrigue,nail biting suspense, and his ability to keep the adrenaline pumping, readers on tenterhooks, making his books "unputdownable"! This book, the last of the author is another such thriller about a secret organisation SIGMA. Ben Hartman, a young business tycoon from America on a holiday in Europe, gets caught in a web of intrigue and suspense when suddenly he is being persued by a gang of ruthless killers. He finds that his twin brother, who had died years ago in Europe in an 'accident', was privy to some secrets. His investigations make Ben aware of SIGMA. Ben decides to keep digging till he unravels the truth. Anna Navarro, a beautiful young woman, is an agent of US Government investigation agency, on a mission to investigate a string of deaths in Europe of once powerful, influential, old men, discovers that a group of people are being systematically eliminated by an unknown assassin/s.She also finds that all the victims are members of an organisation SIGMA. Ben and Anna, after a series of confrontations, decide to join forces and gang up to find out the truth. SIGMA in the meanwhile has managed to make both of them pariahs and wanted criminals being chased by law-enforcement agencies all over the world. Both of them are on the run now, SIGMA as well as security agencies are on the look out for the couple.What then happens doesn't need any great imagination....better you read it for yourselves. The novel keeps you glued and makes an interesting reading. DON'T TRY TO THINK OR ANALYSE! Enjoy it, just as one enjoys mindless action thriller fillums of Dharmendra et all. This book too has its own share of incongruities, unexplained incidents and unanswered questions....don't bother , just enjoy! After having read so many of Ludlum (nearly all of them),one thing that bothers me is that, even though Ludlum names many well known persons, Corporations, agencies and incidents, how come nobody has even tried to sue him?...What if, some of his wild theories are true?...One shudders to think of the possibilities!
Rating:
Summary: Exciting classic Ludlum
Review: The late Robert Ludlum was the true master of the international thriller. Upon opening one of his weighty volumes, a reader was assured of being transported all over the world accompanied by one of his idealistic superheroes in the midst of a life and death struggle to save the human race. This posthumous work is no exception and in many ways represents the best of Ludlum.
Ben Hartman is on vacation in Zurich, Switzerland. As he leaves his hotel, an old school friend approaches him. Instead of a handshake, his friend pulls out a gun intending to kill him. This highly illogical beginning plunges Ben into a world of intrigue involving his own family's secret history. His search for answers takes him all over Europe and North America as assassins chase him.
Parallel to Ben's escapades, Department of Justice field agent, Anna Navarro is given the assignment of looking into the deaths of elderly men all over the world. There appears to be a connection between them through an organization known as Sigma. As the old men continue to die, Anna's investigations take her on a collision course with Ben. They soon realize they have a common foe and join together to attempt to fight this covert organization, which could place the civilized world at stake.
Robert Ludlum has done it again. The plot is highly complex yet vastly exciting. All the classic Ludlum elements are here. The world is at risk by an enemy who adequately represents a timely threat reflecting our current events. The hero and heroine are gorgeous globetrotters full of physical stamina and military skills. Much explanation is required to get through the very long plot, which is interspersed with action sequences that justly made Robert Ludlum famous. The solution might be a bit of a stretch, however, Robert Ludlum considered himself primarily an entertainer and with that goal he succeeds again.
Rating:
Summary: Fast!
Review: This book of Robert Ludlum is international suspense par excellence. How can you not like a mystery novel whose hero is attacked, shot at, and chased by someone who he thought was his friend right at page 6? Ludlum deals with a secretive organization Sigma a la Bilderberg, that consists of former Nazis as well as their industrialist collaboraters who shaped and directed the post WWII world events. Ben Hartman, son of a rich Jewish immigrant, is lead by a series of attacks to his life and to people's who he wants to reach from what appears to be a myterious antagonist that wants him dead. He is to reveal the organization behind all these to save himself and to learn about his family's troubling past. In this endeavor he, his haphazard girlfriend from the Internal Compliance Unit, and the reader are subject to twist after twist after twist!
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