2.5 Stars ( )

Three stars for the very competent writing. There's a dark atmosphere dogging Alex, the MC in that he's coerced mercilessly into the role of spy and even when he completes the assignment, there's no release. Although I'm not the target audience, the story has been structured like a frenetic action movie which too often requires the reader to suspend belief. Overall, the YA crowd who isn't sophisticated in their expectations will probably think the adventure worth following because the story is certainly gripping. A narrative like this one does not appeal to me at all. ( )

Alex Rider is a fourteen year old reluctant teenage James Bond. When his uncle dies, Alex finds himself recruited into the shady world of spies and espionage. M16 jump at the chance to blackmail him - if he agrees to be a spy, his caretaker and the only family he has left, Jack, won't be deported. It's a choice that's no choice at all.

But the hits just keep on coming. Worse is finding that his uncle was not only a spy but had been training him his whole life - his early years filled with language lessons, martial arts classes, rock climbing, mountain biking, skiing, lock picking and anything else you could imagine. Worse is being sworn to secrecy and given no mental support (seriously that drives me insane). Worse is being sent into constant danger with various gadgets but no real weapons. Worse is being lied to and manipulated and screwed over so many times it's painful to read.

I love Alex, but I'm also surprised he doesn't have a ton more issues than he does. Each novel is fast paced and action packed. There are daring stunts and lucky saves and many near misses. Reluctant readers will find themselves intrigued. Avid readers will find themselves consumed.

I loved Alex Rider as a kid. I must have read the first five books like fifty million times. Since I'm in the middle of a Cherub reread I thought I'd come back to Alex. It's kind of funny reading them now - I don't quite remember them being so depressing. Alex is a lot more jaded than I ever remember him being. It's also warranted but yeah. MI6 and Alan Blunt and Mrs Jones are horrendous people. Poor Alex gets screwed way too often.

I also remember Alex being a lot more talented than he is. But to my adult eyes, it seems like he's getting by more on luck than pure ability. Still they're great books with lots of action and a reluctant teen spy you can't help but root for.

Everything changes for Alex when his uncle dies in a car accident. But something doesn't add up and Alex is compelled to find out what. Unfortunately he finds more than he bargains when he meets Alan Blunt and Mrs Jones - colleagues of his uncle at M16 and his new legal guardians.

I feel sorry for Alex. How could his uncle not have provided better for him? To have made M16 his legal guardian is cruel. Isn't it bad enough he has no family and Ian's been training him his whole life in between being absent? Spy and risk death or we'll take away the only person left, the only house you've ever known, the friends and school you're used to and put you in an institution - what kind of choice is that? It's just wrong.

And so blackmailed into spying, Alex's first mission is to go undercover as Felix Lester - a computer whizz who won a competition to be the first person to use Stormbreaker - a new cutting edge computer designed by Herod Sayle. To all appearances, Herod Sayle looks like a saint, willing to donate thousands of these new computers to schools all across England. But Ian Rider was investigating him and now Ian Rider is dead, forced off the road as he was due to report his progress to M16.

Armed with a few gadgets a fourteen year old boy would have - zit cream that will disintegrate metal, a yoyo with unbreakable string that can hold his entire weight and a Nintendo with games that can find hidden bugs, xray vision, amplify audio and can fax and scan documents - Alex is left to his own devices. (And what's the deal with no guns? I mean - you're sending a teenager into certain danger but the gun is too far?) Snooping around he soon finds what Herod is up to (each computer has a genetically modified version of smallpox that will activate as soon as the Prime Minister presses the on button and kill all the children (or at least a lot) in London.) - and why. Cause the Prime Minister bullied him as a kid and he wants revenge. Lol nice reasoning.

Working with him are Nadia Vole, a stern German woman; Mr Grin - an ironically named man with no tongue and vicious scars that mimic a grin and Yassen Gregorovich - the assassin who murdered his uncle Yassen! . Soon Alex is in a race against time to prevent the Stormbreakers from going online. And it's pretty epic how he does. He commandeers a plane, then parachutes into the building and proceeds to shoot the Prime Minister in the hand as he goes to press the button, shoots up the button, shoots up the power socket and shoots Herod Sayle.

Alex draws you in and doesn't let you go until the very end. This one isn't quite as good as I remember it being - Alex is just so jaded and the way he continually gets screwed over is kind of depressing - but it's still pretty good. I'd rate this a 4 now, maybe 4.5 but back in the day this was an easy 5 stars, so 5 stars it will remain.



Action packed, fast paced, a riveting spy thriller. 5 stars. ( )

Stormbreaker (2000) (Alex Rider #1) by Anthony Horowitz. I was intrigued by this book just by the name of the author. I have enjoyed his work, from Midsomer Murders to Foyle’s War, and his various Murder books as well as his forays into the world of Sherlock Holmes. I thought it was high time to see what the fuss of Alex Rider was all about.
First off, the Rider books are aimed at a teenaged/young adult audience. Not to say older audiences can’t enjoy them, you’ll just have to suspend some of your preconceived notions as to what government agencies can and can not do.
When his uncle dies, his only living relative, suspicions arise within the 14 year-old Rider’s mind. He investigates the “accidental crash” that killed the older man and discovers bullet holes in the car. From there on he is involved in a series of even more dire scenarios, all of which he survives. Fortunately for him, Alex’s uncle Ian has had him involved in high-level confidence activities throughout his young life. Martial arts, surfing, name any type of outdoor, physically demanding activity and Alex has probably not only been opened to it but mastered it. And when MI6, British Intelligence, comes calling, Alex soon realizes they hadn’t been on vacation so much as training for his future in the spy game. A game he want’s no part of but reluctantly agrees to be used by MI6 to get his uncle’s killer.
The is a nefarious evil mastermind millionaire who is determined to kill England’s children. And he has an evil, disfigured assistant called Mr. Grin. I dare you to guess why.
The reason for the evil strike at the heart of England is fully explained, and any bullied youth can agree to the actions that are being taken, to a degree. But through a series of daring action scenes that rapidly pile one upon the other, young Mr. Rider manages to outsmart the adults and save the day, and no, I’m not giving anything away,
For its intended market, this is the start to a series of thrilling adventure tales that leaves reality behind and more than makes up for it with force of personality and the ability of any teen to imagine they are the hero. Like Bond before him, Alex Rider is totally unbelievable, no matter how mech we might wish to be him.
This is a fine introduction to this Devil-may-care series and Alex makes a nice hero. But you might have second thoughts about the addition of product placements and so much male-oriented details about cars, motorbikes and so forth. That the book imperials the youthful hero in every chapter has to be overlooked as being merely fiction and not a call to arms that can actually get young do-gooders into series trouble.
And you might not like the hero’s superior attitude, but that is an aspect of his character that is appealing to the reader.
I can understand why this is a favorite read for the younger set and, if you are looking for adventure you could do worse than this series. ( )

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. ( )