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112 of 116 found the following review helpful:
 A parent's review (contains spoilers)Dec 10, 2007
By Julia Flyte
I am coming late to the Alex Rider series as my oldest son is only seven. This is the second Alex Rider book that I've read, for the purpose of understanding when my spy-obsessed son might be old enough to start reading the series.
I enjoyed reading this book. It obviously lacks the complexity and depth of a book written for adults, but it is still a fast paced and enjoyable thriller that borrows heavily on the James Bond and Mission Impossible franchises. Alex Rider makes a likable hero who is brave, tenacious and resourceful.
I would feel comfortable giving it to my son to read when he's a little older - my gut feel is 9-10 years would be about right. He still needs to strengthen his reading skills (words like interrogation, hyperventilating, cloying, claustrophobic and exquisite are typical), but also to develop the maturity to cope with a plot that involves a fair amount of violence (the book opens with the death of Alex's uncle and bad guys get shot on a regular basis).
Here are some things that parents may like to know about this book:
- The storyline is reasonably simple and the bad guy/good guy lines are clearly drawn.
- Violence is not described in overly graphic detail, but it does occur throughout the book. Alex fires a gun twice and hits a bad guy on one occasion. He also causes the death of another villain by causing a plane crash.
- There is no swearing or bad language.
- There is a noticeable absence of positive female characters (unless you count the housekeeper who barely appears). There is a reference by the MI5 (the English equivalent of the FBI) regarding female agents predominantly being of use if you need to slip someone in as a secretary or receptionist.
37 of 40 found the following review helpful:
This isn't just another YA book!Apr 28, 2004
By H. S. Wedekind
"Mr. Weekend"
I don't remember how I got hooked on the Alex Rider Adventure books, but I'm glad I did. Alex is an unusual fourteen-year-old with many skills: he is fluent in French, Spanish, and German...has the ability to drive a Quad...a Blackbelt in karate...can play snooker like Minnesota Fats plays pool...and has a nose for danger...AND a sense of humor! He usually finds himself up against the wealthiest, nastiest, cold-blooded villains this side of James Bond. Alex is also the youngest special agent MI6 (British Intelligence) has ever had. Put all that and more in a fast-paced, action-packed, page-turner of a novel and you can't lose. Mr. Horowitz has developed a likeable and interesting hero. I hope he continues writing more of these wonderful books. I think adults would enjoy reading about Alex, too.
20 of 21 found the following review helpful:
Heartpounding Action and Heartstopping Suspense!!Jul 30, 2002
Story: Alex Rider, a 14 year old boy, wakes up only to find that his uncle, who he was staying with and like a father to him, is dead. The police say it was a car accident. Alex doesn't buy it though. The obvious damage and bullet holes in the car his uncle was in at the time prove something's wrong with the police's story. Why would they lie though? Why would anyone want to kill a bank manager? Alex finds out more than he asked for. His uncle was working for a military intelligence called MI6. He was a "secret agent" as you might say. Now Alex has to summon all his courage to complete his uncle's final mission. In his adventure, he finds himself trapped many times. How will he get out? During the entire book, many questions race through the reader and Alex's minds. Why was there any need for his uncle to die? What did he discover? What will Alex discover? And more importantly, will Alex have to die too for what he finds?Comments: This was a very suspenseful and action-filled book. There was truly hardly a boring moment. Nearly every minute of the book was full of heartpounding action and shocking heartstopping suspense. There can be some confusion to some, but other than that, it can also explain things rather well. The plot is excellent, full of unexpected twists and turns, but not as good as the action and the way the book is written. Right when you think it's over, it's not. It's impossibly hard to guess what happens next. You're literally at the edge of your seat by the 3rd chapter! If not at the 3rd chapter, somewhere else in the book! I'd say it was one of the most exciting, suspenseful, and non-boring books I've ever read. Stormbreaker is a mix of James Bond, Alias, and a mystery. Good mixure indeed. Read it today!!
8 of 8 found the following review helpful:
A Spy Like No OtherFeb 25, 2006
By TeensReadToo
"Eat. Drink. Read. Be Merrier."
Fourteen-year old Alex Rider knows something bad has happened when the doorbell rings in the middle of the night. He soon learns that his caretaker uncle, Ian Rider, was killed in an automobile accident on his way home. A banker who works for Royal & General, Alex's uncle was a fine man who wasn't home much--but he's still devastated by his death. Except the appearance of some strange people who claim to be his uncle's co-workers, a gun-toting man at his uncle's funeral, and the findings of his uncle's bullet-ridden car make Alex think that there's more than meets the eye to the "automobile accident" story.
Alex soons find out that his Uncle Ian's life, at least where he himself was concerned, was based on a lie. Ian Rider was a spy, employed by the Special Operations Divison of MI6. And the last case he was working on, concerning multi-millionaire Herod Sayle, was a case that got Ian Rider killed. Now Mr. Blunt and Mrs. Jones, head of SOD, want Alex to pick up where his uncle, their operative, left off--infiltrate the compound where Herod Sayle is building his new Stormbreaker computers, and find out what Ian Rider had to die for.
What follows is an action-packed story of danger, bullets, viruses, and out-and-out excitement. At fourteen, Alex is savvy, trained in martial arts, can speak multiple languages, and is, in fact, a truly bliddy good spy!
Anthony Horowitz has devised a real winner with Alex Rider and his new career (although he was actually forced into working for MI6), and I can't wait to read the next book in the series and see what mission Alex will be sent on next!
10 of 11 found the following review helpful:
 Shaken AND StirredJul 25, 2002
By Mel Odom
When fourteen year-old Alex Rider hears of his uncle's tragic death in an auto accident, he becomes immediately suspicious. Ian Rider had been a banker, a very careful man. He was also Alex's only living relative. Following up on his uncle's car, Alex discovers that the car is at a junkyard and is sporting dozens of bullet holes and blood on the seats that proves his uncle was murdered. So who killed Ian Rider and covered the act up? And why? Alex's quest for the truth introduces him to Alan Blunt, a spymaster for Great Britain's MI6 espionage agency. Caught while seeking further information, Alex is blackmailed by Blunt into becoming the youngest spy to ever work for MI6. Herod Sayles, a multi-millionaire, is giving away thousands of his newest computer, Stormbreaker, to the children of London's schools. Ian Rider was investigating the man and those machines when he was killed. If Alex doesn't agree to undertake the mission, Blunt promises that he will be sent off to an orphan's home, and that his housekeeper, Jack Starbright, will be deported back to America. Before he can adjust to getting blackmailed, Alex is sent on a three-week crash course training with SAS commandos. Yanked out of training, Alex is thrown headlong into the grinning jaws of death where he will meet a spectacular array of villains, including Mr. Grin who has had his face disfigured during a throwing knife accident in a circus, and a huge jellyfish. Anthony Horowitz is a successful writer of novels and television shows. His second Alex Rider novel, POINT BLANK, is out this year. In addition, he's written historical thrillers, THE SINISTER SECRET OF FREDERICK K. BOWER and THE DEVIL AND HIS BOY. He's also written a series of books involving the FIVE including THE DEVIL'S DOOR-KNOB, NIGHT OF THE SCORPION, and THE SILVER CITADEL. His work for television lists scripts for POIROT and MIDSOMER NIGHTS, and he has created his own television show, MURDER IN MIND. STORMBREAKER is an exciting, easy to read, and hard to put down novel. The breakneck pace of the story draws the reader on, and the simple use of the language to convey the story make it that much easier to read just one more page, and another, and another. However, the simple writing evokes full images, cast and settings. And there are twists and turns aplenty in the story. Alex is very likeable, and he's very much like James Bond must have been at that age. Not only is he quick and mildly sardonic, but he gets equipped with a cutting-edge tech GameBoy equipped with spygear, zit cream that eats through metal, and a yo-yo that doubles as a winch, serving him as well as Spider-Man's weblines. Even though the pace is driving and the descriptions are wonderful, the book could have used a little more dialogue. The dialogue that the author uses is pretty much spot-on, but more of it was needed. STORMBREAKER is an excellent read for anyone interested in action adventure novels and spy stories.
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