Looking for a list of all Jason Bourne books in order? You’ve come to the right place!
Robert Ludlum’s Jason Bourne is one of the spy thriller genre’s most memorable characters. Ludlum’s original first three novels have so far spawned 17 continuation novels from two other authors. And there are more on the horizon.
Listed by publication year, here are the Jason Bourne books in order…
Order of Jason Bourne Series books
Robert Ludlum’s original three novels
1. The Bourne Identity (1980)
2. The Bourne Supremacy (1986)
3. The Bourne Ultimatum (1990)
Eric Van Lustbader’s continuation novels
4. The Bourne Legacy (2004)
5. The Bourne Betrayal (2007)
6. The Bourne Sanction (2008)
7. The Bourne Deception (2009)
8. The Bourne Objective (2010)
9. The Bourne Dominion (2011)
10. The Bourne Imperative (2012)
11. The Bourne Retribution (2013)
12. The Bourne Ascendancy (2014)
13. The Bourne Enigma (2016)
14. The Bourne Initiative (2017)
Brian Freeman’s continuation novels
15. The Bourne Evolution (2020)
16. The Bourne Treachery (2021)
17. The Bourne Sacrifice (2022)
18. The Bourne Defiance (2023)
19. The Bourne Shadow (2024) [Buy on Amazon]
20. The Bourne Vendetta (2025) [Pre-order on Amazon]
That’s it so far.. all of the Jason Bourne books in order!
Looking to get started on reading this epic spy thriller series? Here are some plot summaries for the first three original Robert Ludlum books…
Plot teasers for the first three books
The Bourne Identity (1980)
A man is pulled from the Mediterranean Sea, his body peppered with bullets.
Beneath the skin of his hip, a frame of microfilm has been surgically implanted. He is delirious, uttering strange words that may be code for something.
He doesn’t know who he is, or how he got here.
A number on the microfilm leads to a bank account in Zurich, where he has access to a deposit box containing large amounts of cash, passports of varying nationalities and a handgun.
The amnesiac has a name.. Jason Bourne.
Bourne is man who knows nothing of his past and who has an uncertain future. He soon realises that he is the target of ruthless, highly skilled assassins.
Fighting for his survival at the centre of a mystifying and dangerous puzzle – can anyone help him?
A woman? Perhaps.
The Bourne Supremacy (1986)
Washington, Hong Kong, Peking – terror and fear is sweeping across the globe.
When the Vice-Premier of the People’s Republic is brutally murdered by a legendary assassin, the name on everyone’s lips is Jason Bourne.
But why would he come back? Who is paying him to kill in cold blood? And who is next on his death list?
Officials in the upper echelons of the US system know the truch: there is no Jason Bourne. There never was.
Someone has resurrected Bourne’s name, and if they are not stopped, there will be devastating consequences.
Jason Bourne must live again and use all of his murderous skills. This time he must reign supreme…
The Bourne Ultimatum (1990)
In Robert Ludlum’s third novel in the series, Jason Bourne must face his nemesis.
At a Baltimore funfair, a cat-and-mouse chase to the death unfolds. And Bourne discovers that The Jackal, his age-old adversary, is back.
Jason Bourne was enjoying an idyllic retirement with his family. Now he is forced back into action to confront his enemy.
And there is a wider struggle for power.
Across Europe and America there are people in positions of respectability, whose lust for power is unstoppable. Seeking to gain control at the highest level, they will avenge and destroy until they reach their goal.
A quick note on the Jason Bourne movies. If you’ve seen any of these, you may have noticed that the storylines don’t always follow the books.
For example, when the Bourne Supremacy movie hit cinemas in 2004, the political situation in China was very different to what it was when the book of the same name was published by Robert Ludlum in 1986. As a result, it would have been difficult to produce the movie with the same storyline, so an entirely different plot was created. The advantage of this – if you’ve seen the movie but not read the book – is that there is a brilliant novel with a completely different storyline waiting to be read!
Have you read any of the Jason Bourne books so far? If you’ve only read Robert Ludlum’s original three, how about trying some of the continuation novels?
Eric Van Lustbader wrote eleven books after Robert Ludlum’s original three novels. Brian Freeman has since authored a further five books in the Jason Bourne series. Perhaps it’s time to give these a go if you haven’t done so already.
Let us know your thoughts in the comments below…