Reviews

i love the whole alex rider series but i'm not entirely sure how much of that love is based on nostalgia and how much is based on the actual quality of the series. nevertheless, it was really fun to reread this book after over three years (!) and get back into the alex rider world. the whole series is just so easy to read and get into the story. i also think it's really funny that all of the technology descriptions are so specific. god forbid the readers should not know that the gun pointing at alex's head is a winchester rifle 2014 model 12mm barrel with 0.758 second recoil and long range firing capacity or whatever. nightshade is a great book - i think because it's longer than the rest of them, there's more time for the story and characters to develop at a decent pace and it's definitely different from the other books in the series. this was a reread so i can read the latest one but because it's been so long i didn't remember the whole story and so it was nice to follow along with the plot twists etc. it isn't my favourite alex rider book (from what i remember, my favourite was russian roulette, which is ironic considering it's the only one that isn't actually about alex) and the whole series isn't quite five star level for me anymore, but still super fun to read this and i'm looking forward to the next one.

overkastkid123's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous lighthearted mysterious 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? Yes

3.5

_isabellefrances's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark lighthearted tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

aydanroger's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark tense fast-paced

4.25

pewterwolf's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

First half a little slow for my tastes, but the second half hits the ground running. Can't wait to see where this NIGHTSHADE arc is going to do next.

Review taken from The Pewter Wolf, which will be going live in mid/late April 2020

***Please note that while I read my preordered copy, I was gifted an eProof by UK publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review/reaction. However, due to technical difficulties, I couldn't read the eProof. But, I will still give my honest reaction***

One of the the weird things about self-isolation over the Easter Weekend is that the amount of free time I have to read. Am trying to keep a daily routine (for the sake on my mental health) but, on a normal working-day, I can only grab snatches of reading here and there while relying hugely on audiobooks and podcasts. But what I mean is that reading a book of this size would normally take me several weeks and yet, the past few weeks, I have been reading books of this size at a pace and I’m not sure how my reading is going to cope when I go back to work…

But we’re not here to talk about work, we are here to talk about Nightshade, the twelfth Alex Rider novel. I have read Alex on and off since my college days (starting with Eagle Strike) and, earlier this year, I audiobooked/reread [b:Ark Angel|851341|Ark Angel (Alex Rider, #6)|Anthony Horowitz|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1321640845l/851341._SY75_.jpg|90923], a bit of a “jump the shark” in the series and, after that, I went “I’m going to read Nightshade. I mean, what is the mysterious Nightshade that was referenced at the end of [b:Never Say Die|34528239|Never Say Die (Alex Rider, #11)|Anthony Horowitz|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1489183969l/34528239._SY75_.jpg|55005128]?”. So, I preordered it and, unlike the other preorders I made while in self-isolation which I start then DNF/put on hold for one excuse or another, I powered through this at a quick speed.

After the events of Never Say Die, the criminal organisation [b:Scorpia|1780575|Scorpia (Alex Rider, #5)|Anthony Horowitz|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1329085991l/1780575._SY75_.jpg|1779383] is truly dead and all 15 year old Alex Rider wants to do is go back to school, study for his GCSEs and not be a spy anymore for MI6. But MI6 have other ideas. According to intel they have recently discovered, a new and far more dangerous criminal organisation has come on their radar: Nightshade.

And they seem to be using children. MI6 want Alex to go to a high security prison in Gibraltar to befriend a boy who, without hesitation, killed an MI6 agent, several policemen and will happily kill without question. As Alex tries to get involved with this boy’s involvement with Nightshade, he finds out an attack will hit London and must, somehow, stop it. But this time, he’s on his own…

I’m glad I’m making myself go back into the world of Alex Rider because it’s a mix of fun, comforting and pure escapism. I admit that this series isn’t going to be everyone’s cup of tea (what if James Bond was a regular teenage who was dragged into this world?) but there’s something about this series that is fun.

It’s interesting that the Alex Rider books where Alex is fourteen (starting with[b:Stormbreaker|25313025|Stormbreaker (Alex Rider, #1)|Anthony Horowitz|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1434744214l/25313025._SY75_.jpg|833565] and ending with [b:Scorpia Rising|10227759|Scorpia Rising (Alex Rider, #9)|Anthony Horowitz|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1352652542l/10227759._SY75_.jpg|13298975] - though we do have [b:Russian Roulette|17934771|Russian Roulette|Anthony Horowitz|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1370226693l/17934771._SY75_.jpg|24362196] that focus on fan fave, Yassen Gregorovich), the missions have a slight sci-fi twist to them (at the time. Look now to technology such as space travel and cloning, we are very close), whereas the newer Alex Rider novels, starting with Never Say Die (Alex Rider 2.0, if you will), the books are far more grounded, more darker in tone and seems to go a little further.

For me, this book has two parts. The first half is slower in pace - this isn’t a bad thing, but I like stories where I hit the ground running. But I completely get why I struggled with this half - we are setting up a new criminal organisation, one that seems to be far more ruthless and coldblooded compared to Scorpia and unlike Scorpia, Alex discovers this differently. Alex first hears about it at the end of [b:Eagle Strike|1366915|Eagle Strike (Alex Rider, #4)|Anthony Horowitz|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1413133192l/1366915._SY75_.jpg|1356744] with hints that his father was involved so Alex had a personal reason to find out more. Here, Alex has no real ties to it, (but other main characters do) so it’s a slower burn and, because of that and Alex slowly trying to get in, it takes time. But, once we got halfway through the book, the book suddenly picks up pace and we are running. I do hope that, because of this, the next book in the series continue with this speed.

I am going to keep going with this new Nightshade arc as I am so intrigued over where Anthony is going to go. Though I am a little worried over Alex, as much as I enjoy this series and I think fans all over the world, I don’t want this series to outstay its welcome. There are several series that did and fans were glad/relieved when these series ended and I don’t want that to happen to Alex.

But I’m planning to stay with Alex for a little while longer. I’m thinking of rereading some old Alex Rider missions and maybe one or two I haven’t. You’re not getting rid of me that easily…

More...