I started reading Alex Rider back in the eighth grade. That was 2003. It’s been eight years of following the reluctant teenage spy, (The author, Anthony Horowitz, has been working on them for ten.) and now it’s finally time to say goodbye.
Scorpia Rising throws Alex back into the Spy world after months of freedom, just when he was getting used to normal life. As usual MI6 manipulates Alex into doing their bidding, totally unaware of Scorpia’s sinister plans. This is the third time Alex is taking on Scorpia, and they have something to prove.
There’s something magical about the way Horowitz writes that grips you from the beginning. I sat down with the book on Tuesday afternoon and finished in the early hours of Thursday morning. Having to force yourself to stop and go read some boring text books in between is akin to torture.
As usual Horowitz has done his research. This time Alex is thrown into the heart of Egypt as the popular author brings the city to life in sparkling detail. It’s also topical, using real world events and tensions to bring a sense of reality to the story.
As promised, Horowitz is ending the series as Alex turns 15, and with a promising future. That doesn’t mean there aren’t some absolute shockers in the story, including the truth about Smithers, MI6’s gadget genius, who joins Alex on his final mission.
The beauty of these books is that they feel like a movie, playing out scene by scene, holding you in suspense and throwing curve balls. The disappointment that was the 2006 film will haunt me for ages. How can you take a book that screams to be made into a film and turn it into a joke? I look forward to some genius director turning this series into the gritty action packed movies it deserves someday. Until then, we have something better, our imagination.
I’ve never been a fan of fantasy, for whatever reason, wizards and magic don’t do anything for me. However, when these stories are mixed with adventure, suspense, action and even a bit of comedy, I’m instantly glued to the pages – hungry for more.
The book was written by sixteen year old Andy Peterson who was born in Chicago but now lives in Johannesburg. Peterson is Penguin – South Africa’s youngest author ever published. And why should he wait? His brilliant imagination and great sense of timing has this young author ready to compete with experienced authors across the country.
When Alex’s uncle dies in a car crash Alex immediately knows that something is wrong, Alex had lived with his uncle all his life, 14 years, and he knew that he was extremely careful. He never went anywhere without his seat belt on.
