Robert Ludlum

Suspense and thriller novelist Robert Ludlum, whose bestsellers drew readers into battles against world takeovers by evil forces, died Monday at age 73. The cause of death was believed to have been a heart attack, according to Matthew Shear, a spokesman for Ludlum's publisher, St. Martin's Press. Details were being withheld until today at the request of the family in Naples, Fla., where Ludlum died. "It's a horrible loss for all of his fans and for his publisher," Shear said.

The deal MGM acquires the rights to Robert Ludlum's "The Matarese Circle," a novel about two high-level spies who are sworn enemies but join forces to defeat a worldwide criminal conspiracy. The players MGM and Ryan Kavanaugh's Relativity Media co-financing the film; Denzel Washington attached to star; Nick Wechsler, Lorenzo di Bonaventura and Jeffrey Weiner -- chief executive of Ludlum Entertainment -- producing; Michael Brandt and Derek Haas ("3:10 to Yuma") writing the script.

It's a purely unscientific conclusion, but one drawn repeatedly during years of riding commuter trains and lolling on summer beaches: More people are reading Robert Ludlum at any given time than any other writer. Indeed, more than 200 million copies of his suspense novels are in print around the world, making him a regular on national bestseller lists.

We are in serious danger of running out of Bournes. According to the ad campaign, "The Bourne Supremacy" may be "the start of a powerful adult franchise" (David Poland, Movie City News). But Robert Ludlum wrote only "The Bourne Identity," "The Bourne Supremacy" and "The Bourne Ultimatum." True, after Ludlum's death, the saga has continued, with author Eric Van Lustbader's "The Bourne Legacy" (St. Martin's Press, 2004).

You start out believing that "The Bourne Identity" will be wonderful fun, and some of it is: a two-part ABC rendering (9 p.m. Sunday and Monday on Channels 7, 3, 10 and 42) of one more Robert Ludlum novel about, yes, "murder, greed and passion." The meat of our lives, agreed? Ludlum is a fine technician who tells a great story.

Regarding Dick Lochte's review of "The Bourne Supremacy" by Robert Ludlum (The Book Review, March 23), warm and enthusiastic thanks for blowing the whistle on the spy and mystery writers whose overblown novels seem to ride the best-seller lists despite their inferiorities. Hype by greedy publishers, I presume. One would think that at these ridiculous prices, the second-rate "thrillers" would be ignored by readers. The fact that they continue to sell in the millions surely is a commentary on the TV intellects of the buyers.

*--* Southern California Rating FICTION *--* *--* 1 EMPIRE FALLS by Richard Russo (Vintage: $14.95) A warmhearted novel about working-class lives in Maine 2 THE AMAZING ADVENTURES OF KAVALIER AND CLAY by Michael Chabon (Picador: $15) Cousins in the comics biz 3 BEL CANTO by Ann Patchett (HarperPaperbacks: $13.

The feature film version of the '70s TV animation series "Scooby-Doo" didn't bowl over critics, but it did pluck the strings of nostalgia for a generation and its children, soaring to a sensational $56.4-million estimate in 3,447 theaters in its first three days. That's the biggest June debut ever and the best opening weekend of the year save for "Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones" and "Spider-Man."

REMEMBERING HER DAYS AS A young girl--"No one would have accused me of being a happy child"--Leslie Abramson has an enduring memory of her favorite means of escape. After school, at the corner luncheonette, she'd buy button candies and chocolate marshmallow twists (two for a nickel) and spend hours at the comic-book racks, reading. Mad magazine was good for a giggle. But it was the spooky stuff, the horror comics like "Tales From the Crypt," that she really loved. And hated, too.

The deal MGM acquires the rights to Robert Ludlum's "The Matarese Circle," a novel about two high-level spies who are sworn enemies but join forces to defeat a worldwide criminal conspiracy. The players MGM and Ryan Kavanaugh's Relativity Media co-financing the film; Denzel Washington attached to star; Nick Wechsler, Lorenzo di Bonaventura and Jeffrey Weiner -- chief executive of Ludlum Entertainment -- producing; Michael Brandt and Derek Haas ("3:10 to Yuma") writing the script.

*--* Southern California Rating FICTION *--* *--* 1 EMPIRE FALLS by Richard Russo (Vintage: $14.95) A warmhearted novel about working-class lives in Maine 2 THE AMAZING ADVENTURES OF KAVALIER AND CLAY by Michael Chabon (Picador: $15) Cousins in the comics biz 3 BEL CANTO by Ann Patchett (HarperPaperbacks: $13.

The feature film version of the '70s TV animation series "Scooby-Doo" didn't bowl over critics, but it did pluck the strings of nostalgia for a generation and its children, soaring to a sensational $56.4-million estimate in 3,447 theaters in its first three days. That's the biggest June debut ever and the best opening weekend of the year save for "Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones" and "Spider-Man."

Suspense and thriller novelist Robert Ludlum, whose bestsellers drew readers into battles against world takeovers by evil forces, died Monday at age 73. The cause of death was believed to have been a heart attack, according to Matthew Shear, a spokesman for Ludlum's publisher, St. Martin's Press. Details were being withheld until today at the request of the family in Naples, Fla., where Ludlum died. "It's a horrible loss for all of his fans and for his publisher," Shear said.

It's a purely unscientific conclusion, but one drawn repeatedly during years of riding commuter trains and lolling on summer beaches: More people are reading Robert Ludlum at any given time than any other writer. Indeed, more than 200 million copies of his suspense novels are in print around the world, making him a regular on national bestseller lists.

You start out believing that "The Bourne Identity" will be wonderful fun, and some of it is: a two-part ABC rendering (9 p.m. Sunday and Monday on Channels 7, 3, 10 and 42) of one more Robert Ludlum novel about, yes, "murder, greed and passion." The meat of our lives, agreed? Ludlum is a fine technician who tells a great story.

Regarding Dick Lochte's review of "The Bourne Supremacy" by Robert Ludlum (The Book Review, March 23), warm and enthusiastic thanks for blowing the whistle on the spy and mystery writers whose overblown novels seem to ride the best-seller lists despite their inferiorities. Hype by greedy publishers, I presume. One would think that at these ridiculous prices, the second-rate "thrillers" would be ignored by readers. The fact that they continue to sell in the millions surely is a commentary on the TV intellects of the buyers.

Within the spy fiction category is a sub-genre called Paranoids--tales of manipulations, conspiracies and plots for world domination or destruction concocted by dark and grandly evil organizations (within and without the United States). For Paranoids to do their job properly on readers, they must be believable.

We are in serious danger of running out of Bournes. According to the ad campaign, "The Bourne Supremacy" may be "the start of a powerful adult franchise" (David Poland, Movie City News). But Robert Ludlum wrote only "The Bourne Identity," "The Bourne Supremacy" and "The Bourne Ultimatum." True, after Ludlum's death, the saga has continued, with author Eric Van Lustbader's "The Bourne Legacy" (St. Martin's Press, 2004).

Within the spy fiction category is a sub-genre called Paranoids--tales of manipulations, conspiracies and plots for world domination or destruction concocted by dark and grandly evil organizations (within and without the United States). For Paranoids to do their job properly on readers, they must be believable.