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A review by inkandplasma
Nightshade by Anthony Horowitz
5.0
Full review: https://inkandplasma.wordpress.com/2020/04/24/nightshade-by-anthony-horowitz-alex-rider-review-13/
Nightshade followed the same trend as the other later Alex Rider books. It’s longer, and darker, and a little slower. I don’t mind that, as I’m really getting to enjoy the depth that they’re finding. The early books in the series are a lot of fun and hijinks, but as Alex grows up it seems right that the books grow up too. And Nightshade, to me, seems the darkest so far. Yes, Scorpia Rising and Never Say Die had the traumatising aspect of Jack’s ‘death’, but honestly there’s something about Nightshade that viscerally horrified me. Without delving too far into spoilers, Nightshade is a terrorist cell consisting of a few Teachers and a group of highly trained children. They’re weaponised in the same way that MI-6 weaponised Alex, but there’s something even more chilling about their complete and unwavering obedience. There’s also something chilling about where the children have come from, but that’s a reveal best discovered during the book.
I loved the infiltration aspect of this book, and the way Alex had to pretend to be Julius Grief in his high security Gibraltar prison in order to befriend the boy they hoped would lead them to Nightshade – a boy who killed MI-6 agents and slaughtered police officers without hesitation. Alex has to earn his trust, and somehow infiltrate a terrorist cell that can seemingly order its members around without words. The stakes felt particularly high, with Alex stranded without any gadgets, support or communication devices, and when he discovers an imminent attack on London, he’s completely isolated – and being hunted by everyone in the UK. The fact that everyone fully believes that he’s Julius Grief, the fact that not even MI-6 can save him? It feels like Alex might finally be in more danger than he can handle.
I loved the concept of the Nightshade group, and I swear they’re the most interesting of any of the ‘bad guys’ Alex has faced so far – though it would be far too spoilery to get into it in too much detail there’s fascinating aspects of mind-control/indoctrination in the children that work in the cell to control every aspect of their lives and make them willing and eager to live and die for their cause. This makes them infinitely more interesting than the usual paid thug characters, if infinitely more tragic too.
Nightshade followed the same trend as the other later Alex Rider books. It’s longer, and darker, and a little slower. I don’t mind that, as I’m really getting to enjoy the depth that they’re finding. The early books in the series are a lot of fun and hijinks, but as Alex grows up it seems right that the books grow up too. And Nightshade, to me, seems the darkest so far. Yes, Scorpia Rising and Never Say Die had the traumatising aspect of Jack’s ‘death’, but honestly there’s something about Nightshade that viscerally horrified me. Without delving too far into spoilers, Nightshade is a terrorist cell consisting of a few Teachers and a group of highly trained children. They’re weaponised in the same way that MI-6 weaponised Alex, but there’s something even more chilling about their complete and unwavering obedience. There’s also something chilling about where the children have come from, but that’s a reveal best discovered during the book.
I loved the infiltration aspect of this book, and the way Alex had to pretend to be Julius Grief in his high security Gibraltar prison in order to befriend the boy they hoped would lead them to Nightshade – a boy who killed MI-6 agents and slaughtered police officers without hesitation. Alex has to earn his trust, and somehow infiltrate a terrorist cell that can seemingly order its members around without words. The stakes felt particularly high, with Alex stranded without any gadgets, support or communication devices, and when he discovers an imminent attack on London, he’s completely isolated – and being hunted by everyone in the UK. The fact that everyone fully believes that he’s Julius Grief, the fact that not even MI-6 can save him? It feels like Alex might finally be in more danger than he can handle.
I loved the concept of the Nightshade group, and I swear they’re the most interesting of any of the ‘bad guys’ Alex has faced so far – though it would be far too spoilery to get into it in too much detail there’s fascinating aspects of mind-control/indoctrination in the children that work in the cell to control every aspect of their lives and make them willing and eager to live and die for their cause. This makes them infinitely more interesting than the usual paid thug characters, if infinitely more tragic too.