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A review by lyderature
Scorpia Rising by Anthony Horowitz
Guys.
The Alex Rider series is over.
It's actually, seriously, "legitly", over .
*retreats into mourning mode*
AAAH, I NEED MY ALEX.
Okay, so fangirl hysterics aside, where do I even begin? The plot? The characters? The action? The transformation that Alex's gone through throughout NINE books? The fact that it's the last AR book EVER?
Yeah, I'm not going to get over that anytime soon.
Blurb/Summary/Premise/Synopsis/Whatever-ya-supposed-to-call-it: In one word: Scorpia. But here's the thing. The book jacket makes it seem like Alex's mission is to bring Scorpia down once and for all and epic stuff like that, but that isn't the case. In fact, if my memory serves me right (hey, it took me a while for all the AR feels to die down and for me to get coherent enough to write a review...somewhat), Alex and the M16 aren't even remotely aware they're dealing with Scorpia until like halfway through the book. Before that revelation, we had sit and read and get increasingly frustrated as the British intelligence forces fall right into Scorpia's trap. They send Alex to Egypt to attend this elite school to investigate this shady security guy (I know, I'm overusing the word "to", but bear with me here), but Scorpia had this all planned . Gasp! Well, not really, we readers knew that from the first chapter, so when we read this, we all probably wanted to jump into the book and be like, "Mr. Blunt! SCORPIA IS TRICKING YOU. ALEX IS GOING TO DIE!" So Alex is at some college in Cairo, but his involvement in Egypt is just one small figment of this huge plan that Scorpia contrived, (it's Scorpia, they always go ridiculously overboard and ridiculously violent with something that can be completed quite simply), and the whole book is about Alex falling into the trap, and then figuring out that Scorpia tricked them, and then bringing them DOWN. There.
But, as you've probably noticed, the basic plots for AR novels are essentially all the same—Alex meet bad guy, bad guy go bye-bye. But what makes these books phenomenal is that details, the things that Alex do, the people that Alex encounters, enroute to killing the villain.
In Scorpia Rising, the creepy, sadistic, downright evil guy is Razim. Razim is heartless. Seriously. It's as if someone took a human, and wrenched out all those messy but wonderful things—feelings, emotions, SOUL. What's left, is this brilliant but extremely stoic and very disturbing man by the name of Razim. But this time, the villain has a cohort. Minion? Counterpart? Accomplice? You get what mean. And this "side-kick" would be Julius Grief. Grief...now where oh where does that name sound familiar?
Flashback to seven books back. Point Blanc. Bam. Dr. Grief and his twisted clones. Alex masquerading as an Alex Friend. Him and his carbon-copy double facing it off. Yeah, that double? HE NEVER DIED.
And he's back. And he's just as...EVIL as Razim, but he feels. He has the feels. The feelings of hatred, loathing, contempt, and revenge.
All of which, happen to be directed toward Alex Rider.
We all subconsciously knew that Alex was going to live...BUT, this time around, it seemed simply IMPOSSIBLE for Alex to get away. But, Horowitz worked some of his Horowitz-y magic, and we have an epic finale book AND Alex lives.
Oh, spoilers.
The format of Scorpia Rising was unlike any other AR book. The first portion was not about Alex. Alex does not appear until about 1/3 of the way in. Instead, we read about all the people and events that Alex with encounter later on in the back, basically the build-up/background. And, it was really quite ingenious. Horowitz starts out with a bunch of loose ends/seemingly irrelevant plot threads—the meeting at the museum about the Elgin marbles, Razim's history, Julius's escape from the prison—and ties them all together in the end. It was slightly off-putting at first, but then you quickly grow accustomed to it.
And speaking of tying loose ends together, that's one of the reasons I LOVE concluding novels so much. Everything is really "wrapped-up" and the way the author does it is always something to look forward to. It signifies that the end is near...For instance, you really realize this near a part in the end where Alex holds a gun in his hands and silently laughs at the irony of it...the M16 has always refused to supply him with a lethal weapon, but now here he is. Holding a gun, and ready to kill.
And he does. Julius Grief, his sadistic "twin" who's genetically identical to him, dies at his own hands. But...I didn't really care about his death. He seriously deserved to die.
But what I cared about was what it signified. Alex...he's changed. His innocence, that blessed innocence and purity that comes with youth, is gone. In fact, when you think about it, this series is all about that. It's REALLY dark. Alex, who started out as this innocent BOY, is now a MAN who's seen way too much, gone through way too much, to be psychologically healthy. Throughout the year (and 9 novels), Alex's basically been dragged through hell. And, that scars you. Both the physical scar from various injuries such as the chest one from where a sniper tried to shoot him, and more importantly, the psychological damage. Even Blunt and Jones see it. And they realize how much they've hurt him, exploited him, and how Alex has basically lost faith in all of humanity. He's seen how truly evil people are capable of being, and he's just a TEENAGER.
At one point, Blunt reflects about how this will be the final mission with Alex, because he's seen many full-grown men go as agents and come back in bodybags, but he don't know how he'll handle it if he sees a half-size or child-size bodybag among them...
The damage that's been done on Alex is permanent. Our hearts give out to him. And then, of course, Horowitz had to put him through more pain. In a cruel way to "seal the deal",
Jack Starbright dies.
And her way of demise is just so chillingly cruel . When Julius showed Alex the live streaming of Jack attempting to escape, and at the same moment, Alex and us realize what's going to happen...no. No. They can't do it. They just can't. Please Horowitz, give us some hope for humanity.
Nope, he's merciless. Just like pretty much everyone else in the series.
Julius pressed the button. And gloats, he GLOATS about it.
And Alex watches Jack, the one person he still loves, die before his very eyes, in a world she should've never involved herself in in the first place.
The pain.
Oh my goodness. When I read that, my mind didn't process it the first time. How can, how can, Jack, be dead? I was in denial for the next five chapters or so.
But then the M16 find Alex kneeling beside the remains of a burned out car.
The impact of that scene is just so, overwhelming. I've said it before, and I've said it again, our hearts go out to Alex Rider. He absolutely deserves that fresh start in America, but we know he'll never be the same again.
Oh my. It's really over. For us, and for Alex.
Horowitz does not glorify espionage, he does not make being a spy seem glamorous. He gets to the nitty-gritty, and many times, there have been scenes that I can't help but wince at.
Who cares if it's unrealistic?
It's powerful.
It's epic.
It's Alex Rider.
Amazing conclusion to a phenomenal series. Five stars.
The Alex Rider series is over.
It's actually, seriously, "legitly", over .
*retreats into mourning mode*
AAAH, I NEED MY ALEX.
Okay, so fangirl hysterics aside, where do I even begin? The plot? The characters? The action? The transformation that Alex's gone through throughout NINE books? The fact that it's the last AR book EVER?
Yeah, I'm not going to get over that anytime soon.
Blurb/Summary/Premise/Synopsis/Whatever-ya-supposed-to-call-it: In one word: Scorpia. But here's the thing. The book jacket makes it seem like Alex's mission is to bring Scorpia down once and for all and epic stuff like that, but that isn't the case. In fact, if my memory serves me right (hey, it took me a while for all the AR feels to die down and for me to get coherent enough to write a review...somewhat), Alex and the M16 aren't even remotely aware they're dealing with Scorpia until like halfway through the book. Before that revelation, we had sit and read and get increasingly frustrated as the British intelligence forces fall right into Scorpia's trap. They send Alex to Egypt to attend this elite school to investigate this shady security guy (I know, I'm overusing the word "to", but bear with me here), but Scorpia had this all planned . Gasp! Well, not really, we readers knew that from the first chapter, so when we read this, we all probably wanted to jump into the book and be like, "Mr. Blunt! SCORPIA IS TRICKING YOU. ALEX IS GOING TO DIE!" So Alex is at some college in Cairo, but his involvement in Egypt is just one small figment of this huge plan that Scorpia contrived, (it's Scorpia, they always go ridiculously overboard and ridiculously violent with something that can be completed quite simply), and the whole book is about Alex falling into the trap, and then figuring out that Scorpia tricked them, and then bringing them DOWN. There.
But, as you've probably noticed, the basic plots for AR novels are essentially all the same—Alex meet bad guy, bad guy go bye-bye. But what makes these books phenomenal is that details, the things that Alex do, the people that Alex encounters, enroute to killing the villain.
In Scorpia Rising, the creepy, sadistic, downright evil guy is Razim. Razim is heartless. Seriously. It's as if someone took a human, and wrenched out all those messy but wonderful things—feelings, emotions, SOUL. What's left, is this brilliant but extremely stoic and very disturbing man by the name of Razim. But this time, the villain has a cohort. Minion? Counterpart? Accomplice? You get what mean. And this "side-kick" would be Julius Grief. Grief...now where oh where does that name sound familiar?
Flashback to seven books back. Point Blanc. Bam. Dr. Grief and his twisted clones. Alex masquerading as an Alex Friend. Him and his carbon-copy double facing it off. Yeah, that double? HE NEVER DIED.
And he's back. And he's just as...EVIL as Razim, but he feels. He has the feels. The feelings of hatred, loathing, contempt, and revenge.
All of which, happen to be directed toward Alex Rider.
We all subconsciously knew that Alex was going to live...BUT, this time around, it seemed simply IMPOSSIBLE for Alex to get away. But, Horowitz worked some of his Horowitz-y magic, and we have an epic finale book AND Alex lives.
Oh, spoilers.
The format of Scorpia Rising was unlike any other AR book. The first portion was not about Alex. Alex does not appear until about 1/3 of the way in. Instead, we read about all the people and events that Alex with encounter later on in the back, basically the build-up/background. And, it was really quite ingenious. Horowitz starts out with a bunch of loose ends/seemingly irrelevant plot threads—the meeting at the museum about the Elgin marbles, Razim's history, Julius's escape from the prison—and ties them all together in the end. It was slightly off-putting at first, but then you quickly grow accustomed to it.
And speaking of tying loose ends together, that's one of the reasons I LOVE concluding novels so much. Everything is really "wrapped-up" and the way the author does it is always something to look forward to. It signifies that the end is near...For instance, you really realize this near a part in the end where Alex holds a gun in his hands and silently laughs at the irony of it...the M16 has always refused to supply him with a lethal weapon, but now here he is. Holding a gun, and ready to kill.
And he does. Julius Grief, his sadistic "twin" who's genetically identical to him, dies at his own hands. But...I didn't really care about his death. He seriously deserved to die.
But what I cared about was what it signified. Alex...he's changed. His innocence, that blessed innocence and purity that comes with youth, is gone. In fact, when you think about it, this series is all about that. It's REALLY dark. Alex, who started out as this innocent BOY, is now a MAN who's seen way too much, gone through way too much, to be psychologically healthy. Throughout the year (and 9 novels), Alex's basically been dragged through hell. And, that scars you. Both the physical scar from various injuries such as the chest one from where a sniper tried to shoot him, and more importantly, the psychological damage. Even Blunt and Jones see it. And they realize how much they've hurt him, exploited him, and how Alex has basically lost faith in all of humanity. He's seen how truly evil people are capable of being, and he's just a TEENAGER.
At one point, Blunt reflects about how this will be the final mission with Alex, because he's seen many full-grown men go as agents and come back in bodybags, but he don't know how he'll handle it if he sees a half-size or child-size bodybag among them...
The damage that's been done on Alex is permanent. Our hearts give out to him. And then, of course, Horowitz had to put him through more pain. In a cruel way to "seal the deal",
Jack Starbright dies.
And her way of demise is just so chillingly cruel . When Julius showed Alex the live streaming of Jack attempting to escape, and at the same moment, Alex and us realize what's going to happen...no. No. They can't do it. They just can't. Please Horowitz, give us some hope for humanity.
Nope, he's merciless. Just like pretty much everyone else in the series.
Julius pressed the button. And gloats, he GLOATS about it.
And Alex watches Jack, the one person he still loves, die before his very eyes, in a world she should've never involved herself in in the first place.
The pain.
Oh my goodness. When I read that, my mind didn't process it the first time. How can, how can, Jack, be dead? I was in denial for the next five chapters or so.
But then the M16 find Alex kneeling beside the remains of a burned out car.
The impact of that scene is just so, overwhelming. I've said it before, and I've said it again, our hearts go out to Alex Rider. He absolutely deserves that fresh start in America, but we know he'll never be the same again.
Oh my. It's really over. For us, and for Alex.
Horowitz does not glorify espionage, he does not make being a spy seem glamorous. He gets to the nitty-gritty, and many times, there have been scenes that I can't help but wince at.
Who cares if it's unrealistic?
It's powerful.
It's epic.
It's Alex Rider.
Amazing conclusion to a phenomenal series. Five stars.