The likes of Alex Rider, Jason Steed or young James Bond is the hero that a young reader (Or young minded reader) wants to be: a secret agent trained The likes of Alex Rider, Jason Steed or young James Bond is the hero that a young reader (Or young minded reader) wants to be: a secret agent trained in every field of espionage skills who travels round the world outsmarting bad guys. I’ve followed the series all the way through Alex working for/with MI6, to his turning his back on MI6 in favour of the ultimately evil organisation SCORPIA, and back again to the devastating conclusion of Scorpia Rising.
In Never Say Die, Anthony Horowitz brings us back to the world of Alex just a few months after Scorpia Rising. There’s no trace of series fatigue here; in fact the break seems to have given Horowitz a chance to give new life to his most famous character. Horowitz knows what he’s doing here and seems to relish throwing Alex into ever more dangerous and bonkers scenarios.
Alex propels himself on a personal crusade to chase that which seemed lost and Horowitz delivers action set-piece after set-piece with breathtaking abandon. As well as that, we have another brilliant villain or in this case villains in the shape of the Grimaldi brothers, twins operating pretty much as a single entity. They have a suitably notorious history and a suitably nefarious scheme that Alex finds himself having to stop.
There are several stand-out scenes, cinematic in their writing and preposterous in their execution. Chief among those is undoubtedly a sequence along an English motorway which builds and builds as it pulls you into the pages.
The story moves along at a brisk pace as you’d expect, with several countries across three continents covered with ease, and the ingenuity of gadgets and quick thinking are to the forefront.
Throughout, Horowitz leaves clues for you to figure out Alex’s next move in any given sticky spot, but buries it deep enough that the ultimate pay-off often brings a smile to your face.
A brilliant return to an absorbing series. Alex is certainly one of the best series. If you are young at heart or have a youngster who should be reading take a look at the Alex Rider or the Jason Steed series. Both series offer fun, excitement and escapism. The Jason Steed series also offers coming of age and emotion....more
I would give it 3.5 stars. I enjoyed the storyline, but not the dialogue, it is clearly written by an adult for young adults, by an adult who does notI would give it 3.5 stars. I enjoyed the storyline, but not the dialogue, it is clearly written by an adult for young adults, by an adult who does not engage with tweens. This is not how they speak or act or think. A good reference would be to look at the likes of Alex Rider, Jason Steed novels, the characters come to life. Alex Rider is a smart teenager. Jason Steed is cute, emotional with a bad temper. Both teenagers get bratty as they do in real life. That was missing form here.
The story was original to a point and I enjoyed that, for an authors first attempt is was good, I would read another of his novels. I would suggest he tries adult spy books, it would fit better with style....more
Michael Vey, The Prisoner of Cell 25, by Richard Paul Evans, is a fun fantasy with lots of funny and yes, stupid humor too. It is not like the Alex RiMichael Vey, The Prisoner of Cell 25, by Richard Paul Evans, is a fun fantasy with lots of funny and yes, stupid humor too. It is not like the Alex Rider or Jason Steed series and maybe not quite as good. The story lacks the emotion from the Jason Steed novels and the skill of Anthony Horowitz on the Alex Rider series. It is about Michael and his best friend Ostin. Ostin has his name because his mother mistakenly misspelled Austin, as in the Texas city Austin. Michael was born with powers that are due to an experiment gone horribly wrong at hospital he was born in. Most of the babies born during a relatively short period of time died at or soon after their birth. For those that survived, they all have some powers that seem to be related to electricity. Michael’s power is that he is like an electric eel and can shock people. One thing that happened early on in the book is that his mother’s car’s battery was dead and he gave her car a jump start. Ostin is the only one that knows about Michael’s power other than his mother. Life at school is hard for Michael as he has to keep his power secret so he gets picked on and can’t defend himself. One day Michael is pushed too far and jolts a group pretty badly leaving them flopping on the ground and whimpering pretty sorrowfully. Now Michael is afraid that not only do they know but so does this girl he has a crush on, a cheerleader named Taylor, who witnessed the whole incident. Things could get worse but Michael and Ostin discover that there are other electrics out there and also, the bullies leave them alone because of fear. There are many laugh out loud moments and I did laugh a lot. I also thought that the plot line was kept pretty on track and was filled with fun action. I am not really sure why it was called The Prisoner of Cell 25? Hardly a mention in the novel about this....more
The third in Horowitz's Power of Five series sees the action move to Nevada where Scott and Jamie Tyler perform a mind-reading act to bored casino audThe third in Horowitz's Power of Five series sees the action move to Nevada where Scott and Jamie Tyler perform a mind-reading act to bored casino audiences. Only their act is real and one night they are ambushed by two mysterious men who kidnap Scott and frame Jamie for murder. Jamie escapes with the help of Alicia McGuire, a former aide to Presidential nominee Senator John Trelawney who has been searching for her son, Danny. Together they discover that children all over the country have been disappearing - children with strange abilities - and all roads lead back to the sinister Nightrise Corporation. To find Scott, Jamie must go undercover into a youth detention centre that's run by Nightrise. Doing so will place Jamie in terrible danger, danger that that will send him back 10,000 and put him in the middle of the first fight between the Gatekeepers and the Old Ones.
This is a terrifically paced read, full of thrills, fights and perilous situations. Horowitz does well to convey Jamie's confusion at what is happening to him and his fear of his extraordinary ability and Jamie grows from being in need of his brother's protection to becoming his brother's protector. There's a strong political backdrop to events, with Trelawney's Presidential campaign likely to draw a wry smile from adults. Horowitz also throws in some scenes from the side of the Old Ones, helping to flesh out what is happening among their supporters.
There is very much a sense of story strands coming together in this novel and Horowitz ends his tale with a teaser that will leave readers desperate to read the next in the series. This is a deeply enjoyable series with a strong fantasy element and I look forward to finding out what happens next....more
I was a little disapointed. I was expecting better, after reading great teen spy series like Alex Rider and Jason Steed, this lacked speed, action andI was a little disapointed. I was expecting better, after reading great teen spy series like Alex Rider and Jason Steed, this lacked speed, action and excitement. It was little old-fashioned, stiff upper lip. The author tried to be Ian Fleming, :FAIL. We have possibly 4 great teen spy writers alive today and for some reason Steve Cole who writes Kids books was given Bond.Okay,
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Anthony Horowitz
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Robert Muchamore
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Mark A. Cooper
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Eoin Colfer
Okay okay Anthony Horowitz is now writing the next adult Bond book, but he and the others listed are fantastic at writing Teen Spy Novels. Steve Cole tried but it failed.
The story lacked teen antics, jokes, fun and wit. That is what makes The Alex Rider series, Jason Steed Series, CHERUB series and Artemis Series so good and popular....more
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