Alex Rider Book Series ~ Anthony Horowitz
The Alex Rider series by Anthony Horowitz is probably the reason I am such a big reader. I think it also might be the first series I became enamoured with. I don’t know when I started reading them, sometime before I was seven (based on the publication of the first *new* book bought). I can confidently say that I have been reading it for at least two-thirds of my life.
Earlier this year, Nightshade, the thirteenth book in the series) was published and I was lucky enough to be able to read the proof copy and with my lockdown need for comfort reads, it reignited my love for the books. So, I decided I would reread the entire series and instead of writing individual reviews, I would do a series review.
Stormbreaker
The opening lines of Stormbreaker are so effective and start you off with a feeling of dread pooling in your stomach that just gets worse as the chapter goes on and you get to know the characters and exactly how much weight that first sentence holds. Anthony Horowitz has a way of describing action scenes that leave you on the edge of your seat.
Alex is a delight of a character to read. He’s ridiculously competent but still just a kid. The moments of maturity and childishness are well balanced. I also love that Alex is a reluctant hero that just can’t help but get involved.
The Stormbreaker mission is a brilliant first mission as it feels high stakes (which don’t get me wrong it is) but is just beginning to test what Alex is capable of.
Point Blanc
This is probably my favourite mission that Alex has been on. It’s also the first Alex Rider book I owned and so, I’ve read it more than any of the others.
This story starts with Alex putting his spy training to good use by going after the drug dealer selling at his school. In typical Alex fashion, it’s much more dramatic than just reporting it to the police and MI6 then use it as an excuse to send Alex on another mission, this time to a sketchy boarding school for the top one per cent of the one per cent in the snowy French Alps.
I think part of the reason why I like this one so much is that it demonstrates Alex’s intelligence a bit better than the other books; he’s up the mountains isolated from everyone apart from his fellow students (of which there are only about ten) and with far less information than he really needs.
Skeleton Key
This novel starts with Alex as a ball boy at Wimbledon where he, once again, gets involved in something he probably shouldn’t have. Whilst on holiday in Cornwall, the criminals he interrupted at Wimbledon make an attempt on Alex’s life. For his safety, MI6 send Alex on a mission with the CIA to infiltrate an island off the coast of Cuba. I really liked the villain in this one as he seems like he’s going to fit all the stereotypes of a Russian military man and then Horowitz adds so much depth that it then changes how the story pans out and develops Alex’s character.
Eagle Strike
Following the theme of the last couple of books, Alex gets himself into this mission after he spots Yassen Gregorovitch, an assassin he met during the Stormbreaker mission, whilst on holiday in the south of France. When the friends’ house he’s staying in is blown-up, Alex links Yassen to pop-star Damian Cray. MI6 don’t want to believe Alex and he’s left on his own to try and figure out why a pop-star would hire an assassin.
The video game-inspired bits in this book are so detailed and fun to read. I loved the imagery and could easily see myself playing and enjoying the game (although I would be absolutely terrible at it). It’s also the first time we see Alex take on something of this size without any backup or gadgets. It also explores the relationship between Alex and Jack more than the other books with how much she will do to help him and how much he cares for her.
Scorpia
In the bizarre world of Alex Rider, I think this might be the one he acts most like his age. Following the advice of a dying assassin and a wish to know more about his dad, Alex finds his way to Venice, trying to find Scorpia. Scopia is the most notorious evil organisation in the world. Their name stands for Sabotage, CORruPtion, Intelligence and Assassination. Feeling a little petty and curious about his dad’s history with Scorpia, Alex agrees to join their school and learn how to be an assassin. Up until this book, Alex hasn’t really had to question his morality but learning how to kill is a different matter. Alex also struggles with how he excels in his classes despite being the youngest there.
The reason I think Alex acts the most like his age is that his bitterness towards MI6 is pushed and manipulated to an extreme that is probably only possible with children. Despite all of Alex’s maturity, he still isn’t adult enough to recognise how much he is being manipulated.
Ark Angel
This book starts with Alex in the hospital, after being almost-fatally injured at the end of the previous book. Whilst in hospital he meets Paul Drevin, the son of a billionaire. Alex discovers a kidnap plot against Paul and interferes so it is him who’s taken instead. As thanks for saving his son, Nikolei Drevin invites Alex to spend two weeks with him and Paul. Immediately, Alex clocks that something isn’t quite right when it comes to Nikolei; he’s incredibly competitive and gets really nasty when he loses. Alex then finds out that Nikolei is planning to launch a space hotel.
So, it only took six books before Alex ends up on a mission off-planet. I’m a bit of a lover of space and so I adored reading about him floating around in anti-gravity and struggling to get the unusual physics to work to his advantage. The imagery of the eco-terrorist leader having a globe tattooed on his head was so vivid.
Snakehead
Snakehead holds a special place in my heart because it is the first Alex Rider book I owned from just after publication (it’s also how I’ve figured out roughly when I had to have started reading the books). After crashing back down to earth, Alex finds himself in Australian waters and whilst he waits for a visa, the Australian secret service decides to use him. Scorpio is planning to assassinate eight celebrities whilst they are at a conference. During this mission, Alex meets his godfather and he leaps at the chance to know more about his parents.
I absolutely love the fact that Alex uses his age against his enemies in this one. There are moments where his creativity is so simple and childlike that it ends up being brilliant because he’s trying to outsmart adults who don’t think as children do. Also, the imagery of a foureen-year-old hiding under a bed for hours is quite amusing.
Crocodile Tears
The opening of this novel is, for me, probably the most memorable. It also freaks me out a little because it seems the most likely to happen to a regular person. On New Year’s Eve in Scotland, Alex and two friends end up veering off the road and into a freezing cold loch in the pitch black. Alex thinks there is foul play at work and so, begins to investigate, without MI6’s assistance.
The locations in this novel feel much larger and grander than the previous missions and they’re very easy to picture: the biome full of poisonous plants and insects makes your skin crawl.
At the very end, it’s revealed that Alec has just turned fifteen and it honestly baffles me that all these books took place in less than a year.
Scorpia Rising
Originally, this was the last book in the series and thus, the book feels very final. Lots of things are wrapped up nicely with a little bow. Scorpia comes back determined to kill Alex for desrupting their plans multiple times. They send a sniper to Alex’s school and to keep him safe, MI6 send him on a mission to Cairo to infiltrate a school for kids of the rich and powerful.
Like every other Alex Rider book, things go wrong and Alex finds himself in over his head.
Horowitz definitely left the most emotionally taxing mission to “last”. Jack is the one at risk in this book and we see Alex do everything he can to try and keep her safe.
Russian Roulette
If I’m being honest, this is my least favourite in this series. Don’t get me wrong, I love reading Yassen’s story, it just feels a little wrong to be reading diary entries written in first person, in a series that has always been narrated by an omniscient third-person narrator.
Never Say Die
Alex Rider is back! Never Say Die being published was a little bit of a shock for me as I was not expecting another Alex Rider novel. It continues on from Scorpia Rising and explores the impact of the ending. I’m not going to lie this is a really hard book to review without spoiling the ending of Scorpia Rising. However, in this book Alex acts entirely on his own and against the advice of every adult around him, until once again it is proved that he knows what he is talking about and shouldn’t be underestimated.
There are a couple of continuity errors in this book, most notably introducing a Ben Daniels with a different military call sign than previously used, but that is understandable as there was quite a few years between his appearances.
Secret Weapon
Secret Weapon is a collection of short stories set in the Alex Rider universe, most of them interludes between novels. We learn lots of little details about Alex in this stories, such as, he is afraid of the dentist and that he is observant enough to notice a spelling mistake (lack of an apostrophe to be precise) on a free promotional chocolate bar. We also learn more about Ian Rider, Alex’s uncle and the reason he became a spy in the first place.
There is a short story told in first person in this book and just like Russian Roulette it just felt wrong to go from third-person to the stand-out first person.
Nightshade
I reviewed this one properly back in March which you can read here.
I don’t know if you can tell, but I adore the Alex Rider series and am looking forward to wherever it goes in future. Whilst it will never be quite as good as the first time I read the books, they are still quite easily my favourite comfort reads. To make things even better, Amazon Prime have turned these books into a series, starting with Point Blanc and it is incredibly faithful to the books and a lot of fun to watch. If you haven’t seen it already, I recommend it and I cannot wait for the next season.
C🌙
