Stormbreaker ANNOTATION
After the death of the uncle who had been his guardian, fourteen-year-old Alex Rider is coerced to continue his uncle's dangerous work for Britain's intelligence agency, MI6.
FROM THE PUBLISHER
They told him his uncle died in a car accident. Fourteen-year-old Alex knows that's a lie, and the bullet holes in his uncle's windshield confirm his suspicions. But nothing prepares him for the news that the uncle he always thought he knew was really a spy for MI6—Britain's top secret intelligence agency. Recruited to find his uncle's killers and complete his final mission, Alex suddenly finds himself caught in a deadly game of cat and mouse.
Author Biography: Anthony Horowitz has been called ﾽthe busiest writer in Britainﾽ by a major British newspaper—and with good reason. He is passionate about his work, often writing ten hours a day as he tries to balance multiple careers as a popular novelist, playwright and screenwriter for television and movies. He is also the author of The Devil and His Boy and the Diamond Brothers mysteries.
FROM THE CRITICS
VOYA
Alex Rider becomes the first fourteen-year-old MI6 agent when his uncle is assassinated. Alex is forced to take over the case involving a suspicious computer baron who has donated thousands of his newest, top-secret modules to British schools. This action-packed spy novel, the first in the projected Stormbreaker series, has all the clichés: a stony-faced hero, plenty of preposterous stunts—including using the rappelling cord to catch an airplane—terse dialogue, and the evil Egyptian, Russian, and Fräulein. There is not much else to the story, however, nor to Alex's character. Horowitz draws him out a little in the beginning as a reluctant spy who is unwilling to kill—although plenty of other people do kill each other in this story—but then loses him as the movielike plot predictably and explosively unfolds. This uncomplicated novel is fun fare enough for the Young Indiana Jones fan or reluctant reader. Although it offers little that a B movie does not, sophisticated readers will find it simplistic. Those readers looking for intrigue and suspense will be served better with John Marsden or Peter Dickinson. VOYA CODES: 3Q 4P M J (Readable without serious defects; Broad general YA appeal; Middle School, defined as grades 6 to 8; Junior High, defined as grades 7 to 9). 2001, Philomel, 208p, $16.99. Ages 12 to 15. Reviewer: Nina Lindsay SOURCE: VOYA, August 2001 (Vol. 24, No. 3)
KLIATT - Claire Rosser
To quote from the review of the hardcover in KLIATT, May 2001: Agent 007 comes to the middle school! Horowitz, a British writer of thrillers and mysteries for the BBC and a successful writer of children's books, offers here a nonstop thriller featuring Alex Rider, 14 years old, who is enlisted in the British Secret Service to investigate the reason his uncle was murdered. From the first chapter, Alex manages stunning escapes from near-death situations. Like James Bond, he has all manner of skills and intelligence to call upon, and some useful toys (like those gadgets given to 007 before each mission) that are used just in the nick of time throughout his adventure. In this first mission, Alex is called to investigate why a multimillionaire is donating advanced computers to all the schools in Great Britain. Alex impersonates a boy who won a contest to go to the secret compound in Cornwall where the computers are assembled. It turns out that the crazed tycoon is planning to use the donated computers to spread deadly germs throughout the countryﾽbut Alex single-handedly prevents the disaster. Thrills all the way. KLIATT Codes: JﾽRecommended for junior high school students. 2000, Penguin, Puffin, 192p.,
School Library Journal
Gr 5-9-Alex Rider's world is turned upside down when he discovers that his uncle and guardian has been murdered. The 14-year-old makes one discovery after another until he is sucked into his uncle's undercover world. The Special Operations Division of M16, his uncle's real employer, blackmails the teen into serving England. After two short weeks of training, Alex is equipped with several special toys like a Game Boy with unique cartridges that allow it to scan, fax, and emit smoke bombs. Alex's mission is to complete his uncle's last assignment, to discover the secret that Herod Sayle is hiding behind his generous donation of one of his supercomputers to every school in the country. When Alex enters Sayle's compound in Port Tallon, he discovers a strange world of secrets and villains including Mr. Grin, an ex-circus knife catcher, and Yassen Gregorovich, professional hit man. The novel provides bang after bang as Alex experiences and survives unbelievably dangerous episodes and eventually crashes through the roof of the Science Museum to save the day. Alex is a strong, smart hero. If readers consider luck the ruling factor in his universe, they will love this James Bond-style adventure. With short cliff-hanger chapters and its breathless pace, it is an excellent choice for reluctant readers. Warning: Suspend reality.-Lynn Bryant, formerly at Navarre High School, FL Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.
AudioFile
When Alex Rider is told his uncle died because he didn't have his seat belt done up, he doesn't believe it. When he finds his uncle's car ridden with bullet holes, he's pulled into a world straight out of James Bond. His uncle's employers, the Special Operations Division of MI-6, blackmail the 14-year-old into taking over his uncle's mission, sending him into dangers he couldn't possibly predict. Nathaniel Parker's narration is precise and even. His BBC announcer tones provide the story with an English background that allows the listener to concentrate on the cliff-hanger adventures, special toys, and frightening henchman particular to the British spy genre. This case is an intrigue suitable for the whole family. E.J.F. (c) AudioFile 2001, Portland, Maine
Kirkus Reviews
What if James Bond had started spying as a teenager? This thriller pits 14-year-old Alex Rider against a mad billionaire industrialist. Non-stop action keeps the intrigue boiling as Alex tries to stop the remarkably evil Herod Sayles from murdering Britain's schoolchildren through biological warfare. Alex begins as an innocent boy shocked by the death of his Uncle Ian in a traffic accident. Suspicious of the official explanation, he investigates and finds Ian's car riddled with bullet holes. He narrowly escapes being crushed in the car as it's demolished, then climbs out of a 15-story window to break into Ian's office. He learns that Ian was a spy, and reluctantly joins Britain's MI6 intelligence agency. After surviving brutal training and armed with stealthy spy tools, Alex infiltrates Sayles's operation as the teenage tester of the "Stormbreaker," a new computer Sayles is giving to British schools. Thereafter he survives murderous ATV drivers, an underwater swim in an abandoned mine, and an encounter with a Portuguese man-o-war jellyfish before hitching a ride on an already airborne plane. The plot is, of course, preposterous, but young readers won't care as they zoom through numerous cliffhangers. This is the first book in a series planned by the author, and may prove useful for reluctant readers looking for excitement. (Fiction. 12-14)
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