Alex Rider is a series of spy novels by British author Anthony Horowitz about a 14-15 year old spy named Alex
Rider. The series is aimed primarily at young adults. Nine novels have been published to date, as well as four graphic novels, three short stories and a supplementary book. The first novel, Stormbreaker, was first released in the United Kingdom in 2000 and was adapted into a motion picture in 2006 starring Alex Pettyfer. A video game was released in 2006, based on the film. The novels are published by Walker Books in the United Kingdom. They were first published by Puffin in the United States, but have also been published more recently by Philomel, also an imprint of Penguin Books.The graphic novels are published by Walker in the United Kingdom, and by Philomel in the United States.
Novels[]
Stormbreaker[]
It was released in the United Kingdom in 2000 and in the United States in 2001. Alex, the main character, is recruited by the British secret service after discovering his uncle's assassination. Once recruited, he goes undercover as a scholar winning a prize to explore suspicious rumors of some sort of virus at Herod Sayle's manufacturing plant in Cornwall.
Point Blank[]
Point Blanc was published in the United Kingdom in 2001, and in North America in 2002 under the name Point Blank. Alex investigates Dr Hugo Grief, a South African scientist who runs Point Blanc, an academy in the French Alps. Dr Grief is replacing the sons of rich, influential people with clones of himself, which have been modified to look like the boys themselves, through plastic surgery, so that he himself will be in these positions of power. It's a matter of life and death for Alex, who must escape from the academy and report back to MI6.
Skeleton Key[]
Skeleton Key was published in 2002. After foiling a Triad plot to fix the 2001 Wimbledon tennis tournament, Alex is in grave danger of assassination. Forced to leave the country, MI6 sends him on a mission to Cuba with two CIA agents (one of which believes that he is useless), where he is the only one of the three to survive. He encounters a former Soviet general, Alexei Sarov, with plans for a nuclear holocaust, starting at the Russian nuclear submarine base in Murmansk, and world domination.
Eagle Strike[]
Eagle Strike was published in 2003. Damian Cray, a world-famous pop star, hopes to destroy the world's drug-making countries by hijacking the United States' nuclear arsenal. Suspicious of him, Alex takes Cray on without the help of the sceptical MI6. Cray releases a state-of-the-art games console called the 'Gameslayer'. Its first game, 'Feathered Serpent', is much more than it seems. Alex finds the Sloterdijk factory near Amsterdam in Holland and makes an important discovery. He battles the real-life reconstruction of 'Feathered Serpent' at the factory, before being captured by Cray himself. Cray sets off a number of missiles that will destroy almost half the earth and Alex sets them all off. At the end of the novel, whilst refusing to shoot and kill Alex, Yassen Gregorovich is murdered by Cray. However, Cray meets a gruesome end.
Ark Angel[]
Ark Angel, published in 2005, follows Alex's second mission for the C.I.A. He investigates Nikolei Drevin who builds a hotel in outer space called "Ark Angel". Drevin secretly tries to destroy Washington D.C., the capital of the U.S.A and targets the Pentagon, hoping to destroy files on him that the U.S. have acquired. Alex Rider has to fight for his life in this great Alex Rider novel.
Crocodile Tears[]
Crocodile Tears was published in 2010. While taking a vacation with Sabina Pleasure in Scotland, Alex is rudely interrupted by an assassination attempt that nearly kills Sabina's father. The culprit is soon revealed to be corrupted rescue agency called "First Aid". Alex must now embark on a mission to stop their next money-making scheme, involving a terrible man-letting. He spoils Desmond McCain's plans and saves the day.
Scorpia Rising[]
Scorpia Rising, the ninth and last novel, was published on 21 March 2011. In the book, Scorpia is hired to return the Elgin Marbles to Greece. Their plan includes the laying of a false trail to Cairo and blackmailing London into returning the Marbles. MI6 falls for the trap and Alex is sent to Cairo, where, unbeknown to Alex, Scorpia has everything planned and is pulling the strings.