This is a book of Cold War intrigue but not a book to keep you up late to read the next chapter. To steal plans from a lab in eastern Europe, you would expect an elite team to be sent in or at least a James Bond. In this story, they are sending in a circus. The first thing I noticed was that the author was getting rid of characters fairly soon, narrowing the field for heroes. The main character is an aerialist and mentalist whose feats are far-fetched and greatly exaggerated. I find the character unlikable. The main female character is an inept CIA agent, chosen for her looks rather than her intelligence. It's an easy read and might even be considered a YA yarn.
"The Bourne Ascendancy" is #12 in the Bourne series. One thing you can always say about a Bourne novel, there is never a dull moment or a lack of bodies. A surprise in this novel is that a couple of the bad guys actually go to jail. Bourne seems that he is always getting beaten to a pulp, but like Hulk Hogan, down on the mat, he raises his hand in the air and comes back from certain defeat.
