Outside of Ian Fleming’s James Bond, there may not be a more famous or world-renowned fictional spy than Robert Ludlum’s Jason Bourne.

There have been a number of films and a slew of books featuring Bourne. Most people may not realize that Ludlum only penned three novels in the series prior to his passing in 2001. Since then, various authors have picked up the mantle and continued these adventures, much to the delight and admiration of those who love this iconic character. In my opinion, the writer who has done the finest job keeping Bourne’s legacy alive is Brian Freeman. THE BOURNE DEFIANCE is the fourth Bourne novel he has written and very well could be the best one yet.

"I feel like I am reading the literary equivalent of a great professional wrestling match between the good guy and bad guy with the fans cheering at the top of their lungs 'Fight forever!' This is a thriller of the highest caliber and is not to be missed."

The book’s initial action is set in the past. Agent Cain is after Agent Abel, who turned traitor on the U.S. government agency known as Treadstone and became a Russian asset. Fans of the series will instantly recognize Bourne as “Cain” and the enemy spy now calling himself Lennon as “Abel.” The amnesiac Bourne is really David Webb, but that persona is buried somewhere deep inside the highly tampered mind of the man who has gone by the name “Jason Bourne” for years.

Despite his special training, Bourne is a very complicated and nearly broken man. His first soul mate perished, and his last one, Nova, turned on him and has gone rogue. He is now with Abby Laurent, a young woman who truly loves him. However, Bourne knows how to keep his distance and has conditioned Abby to be prepared to bolt at a moment’s notice since he is aware that trouble will always find him.

This is the case early on when Bourne realizes that he is being followed and watched by someone in Paris and gives Abby “the call” to take off and wait to hear from him. We then learn of a man named Sam in Juneau, Alaska, who also feels like his cover has been blown. He instantly must pull up stakes and leave the life he has made there under an assumed name. But Sam is eventually captured by his pursuers, who end his life.

With the help of an unlikely ally, Bourne will soon learn that former Treadstone employees are being hunted down and killed around the world. The reason for this boils down to just one word: Defiance. Bourne does not know yet what Defiance represents, but he does recall that it has something to do with a deadly mission he undertook as Cain with his old partner, Abel. Tied to Defiance is the fate of the highest office in the United States as future presidential opponents Randall and Pine are somehow caught up in the larger mystery.

I would love to say more, but you really need to experience the novel for yourself and bask in the glow of some extremely clever plotting from Brian Freeman. There are a myriad of characters attached to the reality that is Defiance, and watching them scramble to stay alive long enough to either reveal the secret or keep it contained is a spectacle to behold. If you think you know what Defiance is, you are about to have your entire world rocked.

For those who avoid spy fiction because the plots tend to be too confusing, rest assured that is not the case with THE BOURNE DEFIANCE. Not only are all of Freeman’s Bourne novels fully accessible to any reader, this particular entry makes it all about the now-immortal battle between Bourne and Lennon. I feel like I am reading the literary equivalent of a great professional wrestling match between the good guy and bad guy with the fans cheering at the top of their lungs “Fight forever!” This is a thriller of the highest caliber and is not to be missed.