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3.72 AVERAGE
3.72 AVERAGE
Alex Rider is a 14 year old whose uncle mysteriously dies. As Alex looks into his uncles death, he begins to uncover secrets. His uncle, who had always claimed to be a banker, was actually a spy for MI6 (the same organization that James Bond spies for). As Alex continues to investigate his uncles life, he gets pulled into the same mission that got his uncle killed. Soon, Alex Rider is the first 14 year old spy and is surprising everyone.
The Alex Rider series is filled with action and adventure. Horowitz is so clever when it comes to each mission that it is always unpredictable.
Student Review:
*People should read StormBreaker since it has many things in it. If you like suspense, action, comedy, mystery, life books then you would love this book! At first it starts with just a normal schoolboy called Alex but then he finds out his uncle died but then he goes to investigate and finds out there is more to his uncle than what he thinks. It sounds interesting I know but then he becomes a secret agent. Now he goes on an adventure at the same time finding out more about his uncle. There is so much action in this book also mystery all the suspense that Alex feels makes you feel like you are having the same emotion as him! This book grabs your face and implants it into it you get so hooked you don't want to stop reading it. It is one of the worst books for book clubs because you always want to read ahead but you can't! –Edwin C., 6th grade 16-17
Student-Made Playlist for Stormbreaker:
What music would Alex listen to?
Mirror’s Edge OST
Cruising
Thirsty
Overwatch OST
Originally read: October, 2006
Reread: October, 2008
The Alex Rider series is filled with action and adventure. Horowitz is so clever when it comes to each mission that it is always unpredictable.
Student Review:
*People should read StormBreaker since it has many things in it. If you like suspense, action, comedy, mystery, life books then you would love this book! At first it starts with just a normal schoolboy called Alex but then he finds out his uncle died but then he goes to investigate and finds out there is more to his uncle than what he thinks. It sounds interesting I know but then he becomes a secret agent. Now he goes on an adventure at the same time finding out more about his uncle. There is so much action in this book also mystery all the suspense that Alex feels makes you feel like you are having the same emotion as him! This book grabs your face and implants it into it you get so hooked you don't want to stop reading it. It is one of the worst books for book clubs because you always want to read ahead but you can't! –Edwin C., 6th grade 16-17
Student-Made Playlist for Stormbreaker:
What music would Alex listen to?
Mirror’s Edge OST
Cruising
Thirsty
Overwatch OST
Originally read: October, 2006
Reread: October, 2008
This book is fast-paced, easy to get through and never boring. I can also see the appeal of the younger yet serious spy for children and teens, Alex Rider is in many ways appealing. The issue for me, in reading this, is in the characters and the world that is shaped. The premise itself sounds intriguing, and is in many ways interesting, but as I finished chapter after chapter I was just more upset with what the book lacks, and the underlying message.
To not drag it out any longer, the things I don't like about this book that made me give it only 1 star are: 1) the distinct lack of emotion in the main character, 2) the irresponsibility and worthlessness of all adults, 3) the villainization of foreigners and the disabled, which leads to 4) the nationalistic tone that this sets throughout the book. I shall explain each issue accordingly.
The distinct lack of emotion in the main character
Alex Rider is a 14 year old who in the very first chapter finds out that his uncle, his only living relative from what we understand, has died. Alex's initial thought is that it doesn't make sense because the "facts" surrounding his uncle death doesn't align with what he knows about his uncle's behavioural patterns, and thus our mystery/mission for the book is created. The thing is, Alex never expresses sadness, he's very cold in his reaction in that he mostly worries about how he himself is affected. What's going to happen to the house, who will take care of his needs? Which isn't wrong, but pairing that with what seems like an emotional indifference towards his uncle's death rubs me the wrong way.
And it continues like that, Alex is never emotionally rattled in any way, the only emotions he shows are towards him solving the mystery, figuring out what is going on and how things inconvenience him. It reads like he's a psychopath, wholly invested in only what interests him. This too wouldn't be a problem, if that was in any way problematised or discussed in the novel. But even in the afterword Horowitz states that Alex is just a regular boy. This I feel sends the wrong signal to young readers, because it's just another instance where they're indirectly told that normal boys don't have feelings and/or don't emote. It makes me uncomfortable.
The irresponsibility and worthlessness of all adults
This is a novel for kids and teens, so I feel like this in many ways the choice of portraying adults as unhelpful and uncaring might reflect a reality that a lot of people have experience with. That, I'm not mad about. The issue lies in the fact that there is no adult in the whole novel whom it seems that Alex can really trust or believe has his back. Yes, there is a female character who expresses worry about his safety and questions the morality of choosing to make Alex a spy, but she doesn't really do much to stop anything from happening.
The only character whom I feel in any way shows that kind of responsibility is ironically and who outright expresses that Alex shouldn't be a spy because it's not a responsibility kids should have.
The villainization of foreigners and the disabled
I'm not going to say that every "bad" person in this book is a foreigner, but I will say that everyone who are named are, with the exception of one character whose nationality is unclear but who instead is disabled. Do I really have to explain why this isn't a good look? Not only are the villains mostly foreigners, but they're from stereotypically "bad" places, if you consider Great Britain's history, namely Egypt, Germany and Russia.
One villain even takes up examples of racially targeted abuse, that was experienced first hand, and our main character basically shrugs his shoulders and goes "lots of people are bullied". I generally agree with this sentiment of a sad backstory is not an excuse for villainous behaviour, but completely dismissing the racism, in a book where only foreigners are punished for their actions and the Brits go mostly unharmed despite showcasing questionable behaviour. Yeah, I do not like the message this is sending to children.
As for the disabled character, he has a "scary" scarred face from a knife accident and a speech impediment due to missing part of his tongue (to be more exact Alex is told he doesn't talk because he doesn't have a tongue, but this is challenged by the fact that the character does actually talk verbally and manages to make himself understood to characters whom he presumably is fairly close with). It's not written that Alex has a hard time understanding him, but instead his speech is written out messily and unreadably to show the reader a representation of what Alex hears. I don't like this either, because Alex has no experience from what we understand in talking to people with speech impairments and would, certainly, have a hard time understanding. Furthermore, it feels a bit like ridicule, which is not cool in any way or form. I don't understand why Horowitz couldn't just make him use sign language if he had to have Alex not understanding him.
The nationalistic tone
I feel like it should be obvious, due to the previous section, why the book feels quite nationalistic. Foreigners are villainized after all, and the main character doesn't recognise racism for what it is. It is also a spy novel where the point is to protect the nation from this literally foreign threat.
The afterword too is interesting in this regard because Horowitz expresses that making Alex non-nationalistic was a conscious choice, and considering that when I read this book I felt like the undertone was wholly nationalistic, there is inherent disagreement. I think this is important too, because while the main character doesn't necessarily reads as such for me, due partly to him being a young teenager, the underlying message feels a bit like it clashes with that statement.
I don't know, I have a lot of thoughts about this, and am feeling like I put far too much energy into contemplating why I feel this novel only deserves a 1 star. Regardless, I don't recommend it.
To not drag it out any longer, the things I don't like about this book that made me give it only 1 star are: 1) the distinct lack of emotion in the main character, 2) the irresponsibility and worthlessness of all adults, 3) the villainization of foreigners and the disabled, which leads to 4) the nationalistic tone that this sets throughout the book. I shall explain each issue accordingly.
The distinct lack of emotion in the main character
Alex Rider is a 14 year old who in the very first chapter finds out that his uncle, his only living relative from what we understand, has died. Alex's initial thought is that it doesn't make sense because the "facts" surrounding his uncle death doesn't align with what he knows about his uncle's behavioural patterns, and thus our mystery/mission for the book is created. The thing is, Alex never expresses sadness, he's very cold in his reaction in that he mostly worries about how he himself is affected. What's going to happen to the house, who will take care of his needs? Which isn't wrong, but pairing that with what seems like an emotional indifference towards his uncle's death rubs me the wrong way.
And it continues like that, Alex is never emotionally rattled in any way, the only emotions he shows are towards him solving the mystery, figuring out what is going on and how things inconvenience him. It reads like he's a psychopath, wholly invested in only what interests him. This too wouldn't be a problem, if that was in any way problematised or discussed in the novel. But even in the afterword Horowitz states that Alex is just a regular boy. This I feel sends the wrong signal to young readers, because it's just another instance where they're indirectly told that normal boys don't have feelings and/or don't emote. It makes me uncomfortable.
The irresponsibility and worthlessness of all adults
This is a novel for kids and teens, so I feel like this in many ways the choice of portraying adults as unhelpful and uncaring might reflect a reality that a lot of people have experience with. That, I'm not mad about. The issue lies in the fact that there is no adult in the whole novel whom it seems that Alex can really trust or believe has his back. Yes, there is a female character who expresses worry about his safety and questions the morality of choosing to make Alex a spy, but she doesn't really do much to stop anything from happening.
The only character whom I feel in any way shows that kind of responsibility is ironically
Spoiler
Yassen Gregorowitch, who is the contract killer who killed Alex's uncleThe villainization of foreigners and the disabled
I'm not going to say that every "bad" person in this book is a foreigner, but I will say that everyone who are named are, with the exception of one character whose nationality is unclear but who instead is disabled. Do I really have to explain why this isn't a good look? Not only are the villains mostly foreigners, but they're from stereotypically "bad" places, if you consider Great Britain's history, namely Egypt, Germany and Russia.
One villain even takes up examples of racially targeted abuse, that was experienced first hand, and our main character basically shrugs his shoulders and goes "lots of people are bullied". I generally agree with this sentiment of a sad backstory is not an excuse for villainous behaviour, but completely dismissing the racism, in a book where only foreigners are punished for their actions and the Brits go mostly unharmed despite showcasing questionable behaviour. Yeah, I do not like the message this is sending to children.
As for the disabled character, he has a "scary" scarred face from a knife accident and a speech impediment due to missing part of his tongue (to be more exact Alex is told he doesn't talk because he doesn't have a tongue, but this is challenged by the fact that the character does actually talk verbally and manages to make himself understood to characters whom he presumably is fairly close with). It's not written that Alex has a hard time understanding him, but instead his speech is written out messily and unreadably to show the reader a representation of what Alex hears. I don't like this either, because Alex has no experience from what we understand in talking to people with speech impairments and would, certainly, have a hard time understanding. Furthermore, it feels a bit like ridicule, which is not cool in any way or form. I don't understand why Horowitz couldn't just make him use sign language if he had to have Alex not understanding him.
The nationalistic tone
I feel like it should be obvious, due to the previous section, why the book feels quite nationalistic. Foreigners are villainized after all, and the main character doesn't recognise racism for what it is. It is also a spy novel where the point is to protect the nation from this literally foreign threat.
The afterword too is interesting in this regard because Horowitz expresses that making Alex non-nationalistic was a conscious choice, and considering that when I read this book I felt like the undertone was wholly nationalistic, there is inherent disagreement. I think this is important too, because while the main character doesn't necessarily reads as such for me, due partly to him being a young teenager, the underlying message feels a bit like it clashes with that statement.
I don't know, I have a lot of thoughts about this, and am feeling like I put far too much energy into contemplating why I feel this novel only deserves a 1 star. Regardless, I don't recommend it.
Alex Rider is told that his uncle, Ian, has been killed in a car crash, but Alex doesn't believe it. When he finds the car that was supposedly wrecked at a local junkyard, the only thing wrong with it are the bullet holes in the windshield. After he is almost crushed in the car, Alex meets Mr. Blunt and Mrs. Jones who tell him that his father didn't work for a bank. He was an MI6 agent, and they want Alex to take his place. When Alex refuses, they threaten to send his caregiver, Jack, back to America and send him to an institution. Alex has no choice but to do what they ask.
Stormbreaker is the action packed first book in the Alex Rider series. Right away we learn that Alex has skills that Ian taught him preparing him for whatever might come, so he isn't completely unskilled. What we don't learn much about is Alex's personality. There isn't much time for Alex to show grief or for his character to be developed. Also none of the other characters in the story are well developed either. Even though, this story packs a punch with the amount of action and adventure squashed into a small number of pages, some of it is over the top and difficult to believe. Overall, however, Stormbreaker is a fun adventure and terrific beginning to this series. 3 1/2 stars.
Stormbreaker is the action packed first book in the Alex Rider series. Right away we learn that Alex has skills that Ian taught him preparing him for whatever might come, so he isn't completely unskilled. What we don't learn much about is Alex's personality. There isn't much time for Alex to show grief or for his character to be developed. Also none of the other characters in the story are well developed either. Even though, this story packs a punch with the amount of action and adventure squashed into a small number of pages, some of it is over the top and difficult to believe. Overall, however, Stormbreaker is a fun adventure and terrific beginning to this series. 3 1/2 stars.
Continuing logging these with a review of the whole series, more or less, though I think I stopped before they apparently brought someone back to life.
I think the great strength of these was convincing you they weren't for kids. For that reason I'm most confident that they'd expose themselves among the most upon revisiting, but the insistence on "not being like James Bond" to ground the technology and villains tricked me tonally as a kid, even though looking back the villain's plan in the second book to replace the children of powerful men with clones of himself is about as ridiculous as it gets.
Part of that, though, was putting Alex in situations with real active danger, and having him really suffer physically, and have the honesty to admit a kid would hate this job. These felt like heavier fare, for that reason.
I think the great strength of these was convincing you they weren't for kids. For that reason I'm most confident that they'd expose themselves among the most upon revisiting, but the insistence on "not being like James Bond" to ground the technology and villains tricked me tonally as a kid, even though looking back the villain's plan in the second book to replace the children of powerful men with clones of himself is about as ridiculous as it gets.
Part of that, though, was putting Alex in situations with real active danger, and having him really suffer physically, and have the honesty to admit a kid would hate this job. These felt like heavier fare, for that reason.
*REREAD*
I read the first 6 Alex Rider books when I was a child, probably between the ages of 10-14, but then my tastes changed or I grew out of them so stopped reading them. I've always loved the film adaptation and TV series renewed my interest in this world and the characters so when I realised my library has the whole series available on audiobook I thought it was a good chance to reread the books I read 20ish years ago and then carry on and finish the series.
I read the first 6 Alex Rider books when I was a child, probably between the ages of 10-14, but then my tastes changed or I grew out of them so stopped reading them. I've always loved the film adaptation and TV series renewed my interest in this world and the characters so when I realised my library has the whole series available on audiobook I thought it was a good chance to reread the books I read 20ish years ago and then carry on and finish the series.
Quick, easy read for middle grades. Fun, James Bond, Jr.
I listened to this on audio. Finished it in a few days. Even though it's a teen book and is an obvious play on the James Bond story line, I really enjoyed it. Full of action and not bogged down with useless descriptions of everything. Sometimes you just don't need to question everything.
Alex Rider was my favourite book series when I was a kid. A good seven or eight years later, it is still amazing!
Stormbreaker is a rather short, but nonetheless exhilarating beginning for the series in which Alex is introduced to a new world, a new life.
I personally find it fascinating and so much fun to follow his progress and see how he improves at what he does throughout the series. He is also both a mood and an icon and one of my favourite fictional characters overall.
So, despite the Stormbreaker Mission only being the beginning of Alex’s new career, there are already some iconic scenes in there (see parachuting through a glass ceiling, threatening the Prime Minister with a gun, and the appearance of Yassen Gregorovich) which were so much fun even the nth time around.
Stormbreaker is a rather short, but nonetheless exhilarating beginning for the series in which Alex is introduced to a new world, a new life.
I personally find it fascinating and so much fun to follow his progress and see how he improves at what he does throughout the series. He is also both a mood and an icon and one of my favourite fictional characters overall.
So, despite the Stormbreaker Mission only being the beginning of Alex’s new career, there are already some iconic scenes in there (see parachuting through a glass ceiling, threatening the Prime Minister with a gun, and the appearance of Yassen Gregorovich) which were so much fun even the nth time around.
The first book in the Alex Rider series definitely starts off with a kick!
I love how hesitant Alex is about dipping his feet into this new world and how despite going through some intense and stressful situations he retains his sarcasm and sense of humor, and he could definitely win against anybody in a battle of wits. I loved his training, the devices he used and how he used them in addition to his own abilities and curiosity to know. He went beyond what was needed every time and kept us constantly on the edge.
As for the writing style, Anthony Horowitz has always been able to keep me on the hook with his amazing pace and the plot line of course. It's a book I read in one sitting and I believe anyone else would too :)
I love how hesitant Alex is about dipping his feet into this new world and how despite going through some intense and stressful situations he retains his sarcasm and sense of humor, and he could definitely win against anybody in a battle of wits. I loved his training, the devices he used and how he used them in addition to his own abilities and curiosity to know. He went beyond what was needed every time and kept us constantly on the edge.
As for the writing style, Anthony Horowitz has always been able to keep me on the hook with his amazing pace and the plot line of course. It's a book I read in one sitting and I believe anyone else would too :)