Sam Bourne

Sam Bourne is the pseudonym of the British journalist, Jonathan Freedland intended to distinguish his work in fiction from his journalism. Freedland is credited on the copyright page as the author of the thrillers The Righteous Men (2006), The Last Testament (2007), The Final Reckoning (2008), The Chosen One (2010) and Pantheon (2012).

Books

His book, The Righteous Men, was described as "The best thriller I've read in years" by Piers Morgan and "The biggest challenger to Dan Brown's crown" by the British newspaper Daily Mirror.^[1] It is about a half-British news reporter Will Monroe (Jr) whose normal life is disrupted when his wife is kidnapped while he is reporting a story of a militia man found dead in his isolated log cabin. Further investigation into the death brings Will to the conclusion that the dead militia man shared an attribute with a New York pimp, who was also recently murdered. They were both described as being "righteous". As more murders of 'righteous men' happen across the globe, time seems to be running out for Will and the old and current friends he has enlisted. With a series of clues from a mysterious source, twists and religious factors Will soon finds himself in the middle of a plot to bring about nothing less than Judgement Day. Righteous Men includes the Hassidim, and Wikipedia is also referenced.

His second novel, The Last Testament (2007) is set in the Middle East, and draws heavily on the author's experiences in that region, both as a reporter for over twenty years, and also a Guardian newspaper sponsored dialogue which was influential in the 2003 Geneva Accords. The central character, Maggie Costello, finds herself involved in a mix of the modern political situation and ancient revelations.

Bibliography

• The Righteous Men (2006) ISBN 000-720330-6
• The Last Testament (2007) ISBN 978-000-720333-8
• The Final Reckoning (2008) ISBN 978-000-726649-4
• The Chosen One (2010) ISBN 978-000-734260-0
• Pantheon (2012) ISBN 978-0007413645

Recurrent themes

Bourne frequently makes references to the Internet in his novels. Both The Righteous Men and The Final Reckoning mention Wikipedia. In The Last Testament, the online game Second Life is central to the story, and in The Final Reckoning the main characters also use Facebook.

References