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4.11 AVERAGE
4.11 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I wasn't a fan of the first person point of view decision but otherwise it was great!!
So good, I think this is my favorite of an awesome series!
Reading this book, I finally know more about Yassen. His life, his feelings, his story. Before, I didn't really know how he became a cold-blooded killer (as it seems) but now I finally understood why. Reading this book from Yassen's point of view made it easier for me to sympathize with him and understand him much more. He seemed so emotionless and cold, but I now know what really was on his mind when he was recruited by Scorpia at the age of 14. In some ways, he is similar to Alex. They were both dragged into a world that they didn't know about.
Finding out about Yassen's life before Scorpia was really interesting. Is world was turned upside down when he found out about his parents and when he had to leave his hometown, Estrov. What happened in Estrov surprised me, but it was captivating. I couldn't put down the book at all. I had to keep reading! Anthony Horowitz did say that he would write about Yassen one day and I was really excited when he finally did!
Finding out about Yassen's life before Scorpia was really interesting. Is world was turned upside down when he found out about his parents and when he had to leave his hometown, Estrov. What happened in Estrov surprised me, but it was captivating. I couldn't put down the book at all. I had to keep reading! Anthony Horowitz did say that he would write about Yassen one day and I was really excited when he finally did!
Oh my God! oh my God! This was good. Soooo good. @anthonyhorowitz never fails me.
I have to say it, even if this book is a spin-off and doesn’t largely involve Alex, this is the best book in the Alex Rider series by a long shot. I know I still have 3 books to go but I don’t think this will be beaten.
What makes it special is that not only is it an incredibly gripping story of transformation with deep emotion and detail, it’s also linked with several details of the past Alex Rider books and draws parallels between Yassen and Alex. That combination makes it a truly remarkable book.
Does it beat my favourite book of all time? Invictus by Ryan Graudin. Well, I read that a long time ago so it’s difficult to say, and anyway, the genres are different. However, it’s fair to say that this is the best spy book I’ve ever read.
What makes it special is that not only is it an incredibly gripping story of transformation with deep emotion and detail, it’s also linked with several details of the past Alex Rider books and draws parallels between Yassen and Alex. That combination makes it a truly remarkable book.
Does it beat my favourite book of all time? Invictus by Ryan Graudin. Well, I read that a long time ago so it’s difficult to say, and anyway, the genres are different. However, it’s fair to say that this is the best spy book I’ve ever read.
This book was everything and more! I absolutely love the Alex Rider series and although I can't really say it's because it was 'my childhood series' (because I started reading them at 13 years old and finished at 15 last year) they are as close as it gets to that. Therefore I have such a strong attachment to this series and these characters and strangely as this is a companion novel following a very minor character from the Alex Rider series, who definitely is not a hero within that series, I found myself so emotionally invested in this book and in his story.
SPOILERS AHEAD FOR 'EAGLE STRIKE' THE FOURTH ALEX RIDER BOOK AND MILD SPOILERS FOR SCORPIA RISING THE NINETH BOOK IN THE ALEX RIDER SERIES.
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Yassen is around 20 years older than Alex, which means he dies at the age of like 33/34 which is so sad since this series' tag line is 'you're never too young to die' and although nearly everyone does die in this series, this book was told from Yassen's perspective and it's weird having a protagonist whose fate is matched to the tag line (obviously unlike Alex.)
SPOILERS AHEAD FOR 'EAGLE STRIKE' THE FOURTH ALEX RIDER BOOK AND MILD SPOILERS FOR SCORPIA RISING THE NINETH BOOK IN THE ALEX RIDER SERIES.
.
.
.
Yassen is around 20 years older than Alex, which means he dies at the age of like 33/34 which is so sad since this series' tag line is 'you're never too young to die' and although nearly everyone does die in this series, this book was told from Yassen's perspective and it's weird having a protagonist whose fate is matched to the tag line (obviously unlike Alex.)
3.5
I agree with one of the reviews that I saw here: the enjoyment of this instalment depends on how
much information you have on the series. If this is your first time encoutering the world of Alex Rider (valid option, for the most part the book stands on its own), then you are going to enjoy the action, and the plot has its moments.
But if you are already a fan of the serie, be warned, there are really bad plotholes. At the point that here the information that Yassen has on John Rider, (the thing that moves the plot towards Scorpia
in the first place) has been changed. Now it doesn't makes sense the reasoning for Yassen telling Alex the "truth" about his father. If this wasn't bad enought, here Yassen isn't present in the operation in Malta. That plot was important, WTF? Things like that make me believe that the author didn't even make sure that the time line in his stories stay consistent and didn't care. This is the wost kind of fanservice, the one that destroys the canon and fanon.
Anyway, as I said before, the action is amazing. The plot is predictable, but you want to continue reading to see what new situation Yassen will encounter. If it was its own thing I would rank it with the best of the author, I really enjoyed reading it.
I agree with one of the reviews that I saw here: the enjoyment of this instalment depends on how
much information you have on the series. If this is your first time encoutering the world of Alex Rider (valid option, for the most part the book stands on its own), then you are going to enjoy the action, and the plot has its moments.
But if you are already a fan of the serie, be warned, there are really bad plotholes. At the point that here the information that Yassen has on John Rider, (the thing that moves the plot towards Scorpia
in the first place) has been changed. Now it doesn't makes sense the reasoning for Yassen telling Alex the "truth" about his father. If this wasn't bad enought, here Yassen isn't present in the operation in Malta. That plot was important, WTF? Things like that make me believe that the author didn't even make sure that the time line in his stories stay consistent and didn't care. This is the wost kind of fanservice, the one that destroys the canon and fanon.
Anyway, as I said before, the action is amazing. The plot is predictable, but you want to continue reading to see what new situation Yassen will encounter. If it was its own thing I would rank it with the best of the author, I really enjoyed reading it.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes