Rating: 
Summary: Typical for the genre.
Review: Straightforward conspiracy/spy potboiler. I'm supposed to say something about the plot, but really, that's all this book has going for it. I wouldn't want to spoil it for you guys who enjoy dumbing down during a flight. Ludlum has had at least two of his works produced as action/thriller movies. I'm sure that is what he had in mind. Just cut out most of the cheezy dialogue and tiresome weapons cataloguing - presto you have a script. I enjoy a good Schwartzenager or Segal movie from time to time. No matter how silly. But, why would you want to READ such a thing?Ps. A writer like Ludlum sure could a capable editor here. Some of the errors are very glaring.
Rating: 
Summary: A good read - yet doesn't seem to stand out.
Review: A well written book that keeps you attention throughout. This
is the first book by Ludlum that I've read, and I will likely
read more. However, the book does not distinguish itself from
many other 'spy thrillers'. That can be either good or bad,
depending on what you are looking for.
Rating: 
Summary: Keeping the Cold War Hot
Review: Robert Ludlum gives us America's answer to James Bond in his "Nick Bryson." There is no shortage of action, unlikely alliances and double-crosses, as Ludlum weaves fictionalized current events and personalities with references from the annals of espionage. From the midst of Arab terrorists, the Al-Nahda, on Africa's north coast, Bryson travels to the clandestine corridors of the Directorate headquarters in Washington, D.C., and the ivy-covered, insulated walls of academia in Pennsylvania. Ferreted out of deep cover retirement by the CIA, Bryson is off to the high seas near the coast of Spain, other Western Europe stops and Russia in search of the truth about to whom his allegiance has been pledged in recent years. Along the way he rediscovers romance and uncovers a nefarious plot by big money and corrupt politicians to rob U.S. citizens of their privacy. A global whirlwind filled with action and intrigue.
- by Robert John Estko, author of the novel,"Evil, Be Gone"
Rating: 
Summary: Deception Galore
Review: Robert Ludlum is, without a doubt, the master of the modern spy-action adventure. In this novel the reader finds Ludlum in standard form, but not necessarily at his best. The novel is populated with the standard characters one finds in this sort of novel. The exotic foreign beauty, the mysterious spy master, etc... This isn't bad, just not exactly new territory. Having said that, I don't want to lead you to believe this is necessarily a bad thing. If it's not broken then don't fix it, right? I do have a problem with Nick Bryson, the main character. As one reviewer noted, his physical and mental prowess is such that you know he's never in any danger. This takes away the sense of danger from the story. The plot contains the usual twists and turns, deceptions and reversals. I admit that, although Ludlum telegraphs each and every move, I was still turning the pages to find out what happened next. No, there are no surprises here, but the novel is still good fun. On the good side, the story is action packed and moves along like a rocket. Once Ludlum gets going, and it doesn't take long, he doesn't quite let up. If you are looking for an exciting novel, then this is a good choice. Just don't expect it to be a ground breaking, earth shattering affair.
Rating:
Summary: Action Packed and Relevant after 9/11
Review: I bought this book to read on a transatlantic flight because I had read several Ludlum books earlier in my life and had thoroughly enjoyed them all but had then decided that I was "too old" for Ludlum books. I realized my mistake almost as soon as I started reading. Ludlum knows how to grab and keep a reader's intention throughout dozens of action scenes, one right after the next. He is also a clear writer and I was able to follow the story even as characters popped into and out of the book at dizzying speed and the plot went through twists and turns. With any other author, I would have needed a flowchart. The plot, in a nutshell: a super American agent, Nick Bryson, for an ultra-secret spy agency is sent into retirement unwillingly after failing to carry out a mission. Several years later, the CIA show up at Bryson's door and tell him that he had unwittingly been working against America for all his years as an agent. It turns out that the super secret spy agency was a secret to the entire U.S. government, and was, in fact, working for the Soviet Union. The CIA sends him out to find out what his old bosses are up to now. The plot twists and turns from there through global terrorism and corporate conspiracies, with Bryson surrounded by enemies almost all the time and putting his trust in friends that may soon become enemies. The plot takes on new meaning after 9/11 because it involves the government (and in fact the whole world) taking away civil liberties because of terrorism. The cause of the terrorism in the book is certainly different from that in real life and the reaction of the governments has certain been more even-handed then the reaction in the books. But it does get us all to think about where the line should be between liberty and security. So, if you pick up a Ludlum book (like I did) believing that there would be no deeper issues to think about, you should probably choose a different Ludlum book. For me, this twist made the book a lot more interesting.
Rating: 
Summary: Horrible.
Review: I recently saw The Bourne Identity in theatres and figured i'd read the book. The library didn't have it so I got this one instead. While I read the whole thing I'd say I enjoyed about every other line except the ending which doesn't make any sense and is really just a cop out. The first thing that annoyed me was that everyone he talks to gets killed just before they are about to provide some information which might move the story along. I don't mind if some of them get killed, but all of them?? That's just silly. The second thing that annoyed me was that at one point Bryson is able to determine in a glance -- in the moonlight -- that a CIA badge is legit, but later on he can't decide if several british policeman are legit or not even though he examines their clothes, their guns, and their badges. Which is it?
Rating:
Summary: The worst Ludlum ever
Review: Since I'm a great Ludlum fan it was a no-brainer to get this latest novel. Even the prologue and the first chapter were exciting. But that's where the exitement ended. A confusing plot and too many coincidences made this book a gruesome read. Things suddenly happen without logical explainations. I also wonder if this book was edited at all. In conversations between two characters, the dialogue suddenly switches names. Then there are inconsistencies in time lines (first they have 4 hours until 9 o'clock and in the next chapter it is 4 o'clock).
But the worst part of the book is the last paragraph that sets the book up for a sequel. Oh no! Not for me
Rating:
Summary: Unbelievable!
Review: This was my first Ludlum book and I am hooked. I recently lent it to my mother. The plot twists were so interesting and I could definitely see a movie being made out of this book. It's captivating.
Rating:
Summary: Fails to suspend my disbelief
Review: I picked this book up because a quick scan of its book jacket suggested it had been the inspiration for the Alias TV series. I'd never read a Ludlum before, although I'm fond of the genre, having enjoyed Clancy imensely. However, I'm abandoning "Promethus" 1/2 read. The writing is just plain awful. With their informal, choppy, sometimes even gutter-level language it's difficult for me to accept most of these characters as human, let alone highly skilled spies, DD's of the CIA, or members of the Presidential Cabinet. There's nothing too awfully wrong with the plot - one can see why Alias's creators borrowed from it - but the rest of it is just too hard to swallow. This is one of the few books I've read recently that would seriously benefit from abridgement: if 80% of the useless and silly psychoanalytical prose was eliminated, it may actually be readable - or at least I'd waste less of my time finishing it!
Rating:
Summary: What is going on here?
Review: "The Prometheus Deception" is part Jason Bourne,.... Just like in the Bourne series, the protagonist never knows who is on his side or who he can trust, which, of course means everyone betrays him. This by itself wouldn't make it a bad book, but the plot twists don't make any sense. The ending is horrible, and if you think back to the beginning of the book, you would realize that the only way that things would happen as they did, is if the bad guys are intentionally trying to screw themselves. I would not recommend this book...
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