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3.72 AVERAGE
3.72 AVERAGE
I've seen the film and heard a lot of things about this book. So, I finally decided to give it a go. This is a young adult novel, through and through. If you're looking at it from a grown adult's perspective, you're reading it wrong.
It's fun and compelling with a lot of exaggerated action. It's not believable, and isn't meant to be either. 14 year old Alex in real life would not have survived a day in these circumstances.
However fun it is I'm not sure why there are so few active female characters. It really boggles the mind. The only one that is significant, if you could call it that, to the story is Nadia Vole, and even she doesn't figure that prominently in the story.
Also not sure about the Lebanese being the bad guy. He's painted as a freaking maniac. And considering he's pretty much the only POC character in the entire book it kinda sucks that he's evil. I'm sure it seemed a good idea at the time though.
The writing is clever but not fantastic. It's not expository but there's often details thrown in that a person in those hairy situations wouldn't know or care about. Things like a engine capacity, etc, is not something a child would suddenly conjure in his mind the moment a car comes careening towards him.
In hindsight it's easy to nitpick most things, but if I do go back to the series hopefully it will improve.
It's fun and compelling with a lot of exaggerated action. It's not believable, and isn't meant to be either. 14 year old Alex in real life would not have survived a day in these circumstances.
However fun it is I'm not sure why there are so few active female characters. It really boggles the mind. The only one that is significant, if you could call it that, to the story is Nadia Vole, and even she doesn't figure that prominently in the story.
Also not sure about the Lebanese being the bad guy. He's painted as a freaking maniac. And considering he's pretty much the only POC character in the entire book it kinda sucks that he's evil. I'm sure it seemed a good idea at the time though.
The writing is clever but not fantastic. It's not expository but there's often details thrown in that a person in those hairy situations wouldn't know or care about. Things like a engine capacity, etc, is not something a child would suddenly conjure in his mind the moment a car comes careening towards him.
In hindsight it's easy to nitpick most things, but if I do go back to the series hopefully it will improve.
Alex was raised by an uncle he barely knew and now his uncle is dead. Alex suspects foulplay but little does he know how foul and what his uncle really did for a living. Now it’s Alex’s turn to step into his uncle’s shoes and the result is a “James Bond” style novel that will take your breath away.
Though Alex’s escapes are a step off of reality as long as the reader enjoys the improbability of a James Bond thriller this book is a keeper and hard to put down. Several suspenseful scenes had me gasping for breath, holding my breath and grabbing my heart to try to slow it down. The descriptions of the villians were vivid and easy to visualize.
Though Alex’s escapes are a step off of reality as long as the reader enjoys the improbability of a James Bond thriller this book is a keeper and hard to put down. Several suspenseful scenes had me gasping for breath, holding my breath and grabbing my heart to try to slow it down. The descriptions of the villians were vivid and easy to visualize.
I have read this book before, as well as most of the series, but picked it up again to just get myself back into the habit of reading. I had forgotten so many of the details and vital moments of this story that it was just like reading it for the first time - I especially forgot about the surprise ending in the last several pages. Each chapter is like a cliff hanger and you just can't bring yourself to put it down. I'm extremely happy I decided to start this series again.
3.5/5
I'm not the audience for this book, but I needed something to listen to while I was doing some work one day, and I found this on the library app, and it was one to mark off the Big Read list, so I listened to it.
I'm not the audience for it, but it was a bit more sophisticated than I was expecting. There's all the cool stuff about a kid getting to be a spy, but there's also a deeper tension around Alex' involvement with MI6 that interested me. Horowitz also clearly had some knowledge of his subject, so I felt the story was in capable hands. It didn't drag or meander either, and it was a good adventure, even if the notion of the boy spy was quite a bit outside the realm of possibility.
I felt it got a bit too bogged down in materialism early on, describing everything that Alex had, but I suppose that's wish fulfilment for young boys.
I'd probably listen to more, and I'd probably recommend it to my nephews when they're old enough too.
I'm not the audience for this book, but I needed something to listen to while I was doing some work one day, and I found this on the library app, and it was one to mark off the Big Read list, so I listened to it.
I'm not the audience for it, but it was a bit more sophisticated than I was expecting. There's all the cool stuff about a kid getting to be a spy, but there's also a deeper tension around Alex' involvement with MI6 that interested me. Horowitz also clearly had some knowledge of his subject, so I felt the story was in capable hands. It didn't drag or meander either, and it was a good adventure, even if the notion of the boy spy was quite a bit outside the realm of possibility.
I felt it got a bit too bogged down in materialism early on, describing everything that Alex had, but I suppose that's wish fulfilment for young boys.
I'd probably listen to more, and I'd probably recommend it to my nephews when they're old enough too.
Pure adrenalin from beginning to end! Fourteen-year-old Alex Rider parachutes the reader into a world of secret agents, plotting enemies, evil contract killers and his own mysterious past. Alex accomplishes things only a certain James Bond or Marvel superhero could accomplish. But he doesn't need superpowers: his wits and intelligence are his only weapons against the bad guys and they always get him out of a tight spot. Ideal for 10 to 14-year-old spies who aren't afraid of a rough treatment. I also highly recommend the 2020, 2021 Alex Rider TV series on Netflix!
Taking up the mantle
Meddling spy kid
Long awaited revenge
I enjoy the recent TV adaptation of Alex Rider but had never read the books. It's a fun spy series, and interesting to see how they changed the story for adaptation. The book is way more exploitative of Alex as a potential agent. I'm glad that they added a bit more characterization of Alex and his social and school life in the show, but perhaps it's explored more in the many books in this series. If you like meddling kids and spy action shows, you'll like this series.
Meddling spy kid
Long awaited revenge
I enjoy the recent TV adaptation of Alex Rider but had never read the books. It's a fun spy series, and interesting to see how they changed the story for adaptation. The book is way more exploitative of Alex as a potential agent. I'm glad that they added a bit more characterization of Alex and his social and school life in the show, but perhaps it's explored more in the many books in this series. If you like meddling kids and spy action shows, you'll like this series.
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No