The Aquitaine Progression
Robert Ludlum, 1981
★ 3.97 from 20.3k ratings on Goodreads
In a world where corporate power intersects with global intrigue, a clever strategist finds that his most critical asset is the memory of a haunted past. A tense, deliberate conspiracy novel with a plain, businesslike voice and a steady hum of unease.
Feels like unease, curiosity and nostalgia. About power, identity and memory.
Who it’s for
You may like it if you enjoy conspiracy thrillers where corporate power and old memories drive the plot. Be warned that many readers find it long and tangled, with repetition and implausible details that slow the middle.
Why read it
It gives you a tense, old-fashioned political thriller about corporate power and global intrigue, anchored by a haunted past.
A page from the book
When the lights go out, what is the first thing you see in the dark?
Cracks of thunder follow; the skies grow dark and the rains come. A deluge, pounding the angry waters taken by surprise, distorting vision, crashing down on the giant spray, Geneva’s trademark on the lake, the jet d’eau, that geyser designed by man to dazzle man. When sudden revelations come, the gigantic fountain dies. All the fountains die and without the sunlight the flowers wither. The bright reflections are gone and the mind is frozen. What readers say
Readers are split: many found the conspiracy-driven thriller suspenseful, action-packed, and hard to put down, while others were bored by its length, tangled details, repetition, and implausibility. Some reread it with nostalgia and still enjoyed the twists.
Robert Ludlum.Robert Ludlum often blurred the lines between high-stakes espionage and high-stakes corporate warfare, making his novels benchmarks in the political thriller genre.
Books that feel like this
More by Robert Ludlum
The Bourne Identity
Robert Ludlum, 1980
Shot off a trawler into a Mediterranean storm, a man surfaces with no memory — and a set of skills and enemies he cannot explain.
The Matarese Circle
Robert Ludlum, 1979
Two rival spies are forced into an uneasy alliance when a shadowy conspiracy turns both their agencies against them.
The Parsifal Mosaic
Robert Ludlum, 1982
A CIA officer in Prague watches a woman he loves walk into a secret-police trap—and cannot decide whether she is a killer or a pawn.
Where to get it
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Questions readers ask
- Is The Aquitaine Progression for me?
- You may like it if you enjoy conspiracy thrillers where corporate power and old memories drive the plot. Be warned that many readers find it long and tangled, with repetition and implausible details that slow the middle.
- What is The Aquitaine Progression like?
- A tense, deliberate conspiracy novel with a plain, businesslike voice and a steady hum of unease. Feels like unease, curiosity and nostalgia. About power, identity and memory.
- What should I read after The Aquitaine Progression?
- If you liked The Aquitaine Progression, try Disclosure (Michael Crichton), The Circle (Dave Eggers) and The Street Lawyer (John Grisham).
A taste of the feed
The founder who can’t imagine a life after the company.
“Nobody knows,” Sanders said. “Bob built the company from nothing, fifteen years ago. When he started, he was selling knockoff modems from Korea. Back when nobody knew what a modem was. Now the company’s got three buildings downtown, and big facilities in California, Texas, Ireland, and Malaysia. He builds fax modems the size of a dime, he markets fax and E-mail software, he’s gone into CD-ROMs, and he’s developed proprietary algorithms that should make him a leading provider in education markets for the next century. Bob’s come a long way from some guy hustling three hundred baud modems. I don’t know if he can give it up.”
Disclosure · Michael Crichton
When authority is challenged by brutality, the line between life and death evaporates.
“Put that gun down,” Rafter ordered from the doorway, and a split second later another shot rang through the reception area, a shot that went into the ceiling somewhere well above Rafter’s head and reduced him to a mere mortal. Turning the gun back to me, he nodded, and I complied, entering the conference room behind Rafter. The last thing I saw on the outside was Madam Devier shaking at her desk, terror-stricken, headset around her neck, high heels parked neatly next to her wastebasket.
The Street Lawyer · John Grisham
A handful of men can stop the government from falling off a monument.
All you’ve got to know is this: right now the government of the United States is sitting on top of the Washington Monument, right on the very point, tilting right and left and ready to fall off and break up on the pavement. There are just a handful of men that can prevent it. And you’re one of them.
Seven Days in May · Fletcher Knebel
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