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4.11 AVERAGE
4.11 AVERAGE
3.0/5.0
A different style to the usual books but still an interesting plot, providing context for the start of the series.
A different style to the usual books but still an interesting plot, providing context for the start of the series.
02/11/2014
3 ⭐
3 ⭐
it was really interesting to hear things from Yassen's pov but the book went a bit slow for me and I kinda wanted to hear more about John Rider
Let's see if I can get my thoughts out. I've actually started the boo three times since getting it the day it came out. But it's terribly borning? Like maybe the door trick is good? and the ebay thing is okay, but there is nothing gripping.
Then everything is told like it had happened in the past. The easiest chapter to read was the last one because it felt like this were actually happening right then. Then there's the impracticality of Yassen keeping a digital diary. If that had to be the case I would have preferred it be like okay reading the diary now and then keeping the present tense feel. If anything this taught me how important it is not to lean in 'was'.
Dima and Hunter in Paris were the only bits of the book I really liked. The fact that both the businessman and Scorpia drvide wellll maybe Yassen could be useful and didn't kill just ugh it felt flimsy. As did his sudden unmasking of Hunter.
I think I'm just wanting more person-to-person emotions from these books and I'm never gonna get it. I would have so much love to have Yassen confront John, to make his own choice. I think the problem was trying to squish Yassen into becoming an assassin after showing how good he really is. There could have been interesting motives but it turned into spiting John Rider? Okay.
The dacha was boring for Yassen and get this, it was boring for me too. The complete rehash with Hunter and how he got his scar, there could have been less time spent on it because we already knew it.
Also I just need a moment to say a women walking in Central Park in winter alone who is the mother of two and has gotten death threats is crazy and would never happen, the most unbelievable part of the whole book.
I really would have liked the book to have ended after Eagle Strike where it reveals he's alive. I used to pester my sister with theories on how he survived, maybe he was done with Scorpia? I think it would have given a point to the book rather than feeling like a fluffed up bonus story.
Also Power Plus? They worked together more after Peru. I wanted Yassen's reaction to John's faked death, to his real death. I wanted so much more.
I spent hours and hours rereading the small little Yassen parts in the other books. I absolutely love him and this was such a let down. It wasn't bad, it was just boring.
Then everything is told like it had happened in the past. The easiest chapter to read was the last one because it felt like this were actually happening right then. Then there's the impracticality of Yassen keeping a digital diary. If that had to be the case I would have preferred it be like okay reading the diary now and then keeping the present tense feel. If anything this taught me how important it is not to lean in 'was'.
Dima and Hunter in Paris were the only bits of the book I really liked. The fact that both the businessman and Scorpia drvide wellll maybe Yassen could be useful and didn't kill just ugh it felt flimsy. As did his sudden unmasking of Hunter.
I think I'm just wanting more person-to-person emotions from these books and I'm never gonna get it. I would have so much love to have Yassen confront John, to make his own choice. I think the problem was trying to squish Yassen into becoming an assassin after showing how good he really is. There could have been interesting motives but it turned into spiting John Rider? Okay.
The dacha was boring for Yassen and get this, it was boring for me too. The complete rehash with Hunter and how he got his scar, there could have been less time spent on it because we already knew it.
Also I just need a moment to say a women walking in Central Park in winter alone who is the mother of two and has gotten death threats is crazy and would never happen, the most unbelievable part of the whole book.
I really would have liked the book to have ended after Eagle Strike where it reveals he's alive. I used to pester my sister with theories on how he survived, maybe he was done with Scorpia? I think it would have given a point to the book rather than feeling like a fluffed up bonus story.
Also Power Plus? They worked together more after Peru. I wanted Yassen's reaction to John's faked death, to his real death. I wanted so much more.
I spent hours and hours rereading the small little Yassen parts in the other books. I absolutely love him and this was such a let down. It wasn't bad, it was just boring.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Violence, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder
Amaaaazing book! I recommend it to anyone who wants thrilling suspense and adventure
Not the best book in the series, but a very good look at the bigger picture surrounding the Alex Rider story. I truly enjoyed the parallels between Alex and Yassen in this book
When I found out we were going to get a prequel book about Yassen's back story I was really excited because I love the little bits of information we had been given in previous books about Yassen's relationship with Alex's father.
This book had some similarities to the Alex Rider books (main character is a teenager for much of the book, frequently finds himself in almost impossible situations and has to think creatively to stay alive). However, it did feel quite different. The overall tone is much darker and, especially at the beginning of the story, Yassen (unlike Alex) is not prepared for the dangerous world he is thrown into.
I felt so much sympathy for Yassen. There were so many points where if things had gone differently, he wouldn't have ended up being the person that we see in the Alex Rider books. The fact that Yassen comes so close to walking away from becoming an assassin and it is a slip up by John Rider himself that stops Yassen from doing this is heartbreaking.
I love pretty much everything about this book. The only thing I'm not a fan of - and it's to do with the cover rather than the content of the book - is the fact that my copy has a number 10 on the spine as it is the tenth novel released in the Alex Rider series. I understand that some people might want to store their books in the order that they were released. However, I prefer to order my chronologically according to the story. This book is set during the events at the end of book one (making it chronologically book two in the series) and it focuses on events that happen before the Alex Rider novels (making it chronologically book one). Placing it in either of these positions on my shelf looks weird due to the number 10 staring out at me. A small issue, but I'm picky like that!
This book had some similarities to the Alex Rider books (main character is a teenager for much of the book, frequently finds himself in almost impossible situations and has to think creatively to stay alive). However, it did feel quite different. The overall tone is much darker and, especially at the beginning of the story, Yassen (unlike Alex) is not prepared for the dangerous world he is thrown into.
I felt so much sympathy for Yassen. There were so many points where if things had gone differently, he wouldn't have ended up being the person that we see in the Alex Rider books.
I love pretty much everything about this book. The only thing I'm not a fan of - and it's to do with the cover rather than the content of the book - is the fact that my copy has a number 10 on the spine as it is the tenth novel released in the Alex Rider series. I understand that some people might want to store their books in the order that they were released. However, I prefer to order my chronologically according to the story. This book is set during the events at the end of book one (making it chronologically book two in the series) and it focuses on events that happen before the Alex Rider novels (making it chronologically book one). Placing it in either of these positions on my shelf looks weird due to the number 10 staring out at me. A small issue, but I'm picky like that!
adventurous
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This is really backstory. It does explain how Yassen Gregorovich became a paid assassin, working for Scorpia. We can have a little empathy. The novel is well written and the character development is good. But I wanted ot know what happened to Alex after he went to live with the Pleasures.
Oh whoa.
If you know me, you know I don't read crime, I don't read thrillers, and I never read Anthony Horowitz. But I picked Russian Roulette up at the recommendation of a very good friend and, well, I'm glad I did.
Yassen is just...such a great character. He's so ALIVE. And the story of his early days in Russia absolutely captivated me. I was expecting the russian stuff in the story to be culturally inaccurate, maybe even insensitive, as I've often found it represented in a disappointingly large amount of western literature- but no. Russian Roulette FEELS russian. There were many little details of life in Soviet Russia that could only have come to Horowitz's knowledge through speaking with natives. He did his research, and though I tend to be bored and creeped out by his writing, well... this book is the exception.
I didn't enjoy the second half of the novel nearly as much as I did the first, but that's only a matter of taste. Guns, fancy cars, expensive hotels, assassinations, martial arts- not my cup of tea. It was suspenseful, I'll give it that. If you're a fan of the genre you'll certainly enjoy it.
To sum this up, Russian Roulette will break your heart, and then amp you up with this...morally twisted anxiety for the story to go WELL. Yassen is a killer. Killing is bad. And yet the story is written in such a way that you still...sort of... WANT his missions to go well...? *shakes head in admiring disgust*
Can Yassen Gregorovitch be called the hero of his own story?
If you know me, you know I don't read crime, I don't read thrillers, and I never read Anthony Horowitz. But I picked Russian Roulette up at the recommendation of a very good friend and, well, I'm glad I did.
Yassen is just...such a great character. He's so ALIVE. And the story of his early days in Russia absolutely captivated me. I was expecting the russian stuff in the story to be culturally inaccurate, maybe even insensitive, as I've often found it represented in a disappointingly large amount of western literature- but no. Russian Roulette FEELS russian. There were many little details of life in Soviet Russia that could only have come to Horowitz's knowledge through speaking with natives. He did his research, and though I tend to be bored and creeped out by his writing, well... this book is the exception.
I didn't enjoy the second half of the novel nearly as much as I did the first, but that's only a matter of taste. Guns, fancy cars, expensive hotels, assassinations, martial arts- not my cup of tea. It was suspenseful, I'll give it that. If you're a fan of the genre you'll certainly enjoy it.
To sum this up, Russian Roulette will break your heart, and then amp you up with this...morally twisted anxiety for the story to go WELL. Yassen is a killer. Killing is bad. And yet the story is written in such a way that you still...sort of... WANT his missions to go well...? *shakes head in admiring disgust*
Can Yassen Gregorovitch be called the hero of his own story?
First, I should say that I haven't read any of the other Alex Rider books. I've seen the movie, so I know the basic concept of the series, but that's about it.
This book is pretty interesting, though a bit depressing (as books about villains often are). It reminds me a little of Ender's Game--in that it's marketed as a children's book but really isn't. I would not be eager to hand this book over to a child in the suggested age range. There's a lot of death, killing, beatings, drinking and smoking (including by children), a kid vividly dying of anthrax, overt mention of a man having a mistress and wondering what his wife thinks about it, and that's just in the first half of the book. So yeah, I would consider this an adult book, just based on content. The fact that the main character is a teen doesn't automatically make something a middle-grade book. So I would definitely say that's something to consider if you're thinking of giving it to a kid to read.
But reading it as an adult, I found it to be pretty enjoyable. I mean, not fun really, it's bleak and rather sad, but it's interesting.
This book is pretty interesting, though a bit depressing (as books about villains often are). It reminds me a little of Ender's Game--in that it's marketed as a children's book but really isn't. I would not be eager to hand this book over to a child in the suggested age range. There's a lot of death, killing, beatings, drinking and smoking (including by children), a kid vividly dying of anthrax, overt mention of a man having a mistress and wondering what his wife thinks about it, and that's just in the first half of the book. So yeah, I would consider this an adult book, just based on content. The fact that the main character is a teen doesn't automatically make something a middle-grade book. So I would definitely say that's something to consider if you're thinking of giving it to a kid to read.
But reading it as an adult, I found it to be pretty enjoyable. I mean, not fun really, it's bleak and rather sad, but it's interesting.