Reviews

Nightshade by Anthony Horowitz

Only show reviews with written explanations

wc4's review against another edition

adventurous fast-paced

3.0

Watched and enjoyed the Alex Rider series on Prime. So I thought why not pick up one of the books? My local library has this book, which is #12, so the author does expect the reader to be reasonably familiar with the characters. The book started with Alex thinking he's finally out of the spy game. In fact, Mrs. Jones, the head of MI6 special division, was scolded by her new boss at the Foreign office, for using such a young person as an agent. She was told to sever any relationship with Alex Rider or else. But, when word of a pending London terrorist attack by a shadowy group called Nightshade came out, Alex is the only one who will be able to find out the what's and whens.
Prety sure the TV show influenced me, but I found the book to read quite younger than expected. I know it's written for young people, but the Alex Rider on TV seems so much older than the book character. So I had to adjust my expectations. Like a James Bond movie, there's a lot of events that needed a suspension of belief. But then, maybe these are what spies really go through in the real world. I wouldn't know. I find the plot resolution to be simplistic. It did not seem proportional to all this build-up to the event. However, overall, it's an enjoyable cracking read.

mailorderbride's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

This book gave me exactly what I was looking for. A fast-paced high intensity plot with characters that jumped from the page (and airplanes -- oops spoiler).

binabereading's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous mysterious tense fast-paced

Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

ambermahalia's review against another edition

Go to review page

5.0

I am a die hard Alex Rider fan and I loved this book - let’s get that out the way first.

It was so brilliant! Such a perfect balance of tension, heart and pace! I loved it so much - I can’t wait for the next one.

I also love that the font has been kept the same as it was so pleasing to read from! The chapters are nice and short so you can whip through the book at pace and even though this felt like one of the longer ones it didn’t take me much longer than normal to read. 5*s.

katiesreadinglog's review against another edition

Go to review page

3.0

After a complete reread of the Alex Rider series, I am now up to date with series, including this new release Nightshade. I am giving this one 3.5 stars but rounded down on Goodreads to differentiate it from stronger 3 and 4 star reads.

I did find enjoyment in the overall plot and the way that previous stories in the series are weaving together to create a more-rounded look at Alex and the side characters. I also really liked how the juxtaposition of Alex himself was explored by looking into the idea of what could happen if a teenager is recruited for bad, not for good.

However, while the third quarter of this book had my heart pounding at times but the ending just felt a tiny bit rushed for me. Even just a couple more pages during the fight scene with Freddie might have helped. I also did see the two big twists at the end coming and I’ve never been able to do that before.

I am definitely going to read the next book so I can out more about Mrs Jones’ children, Nightshade and see Alex taking on a mission with this different, more voluntary, attitude towards spying. I’m assuming there will be another book given the end, I’ll be annoyed if there’s not!