Customer Reviews

Crocodile Tears (Alex Rider, No. 8)

5 star:		(27)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Crocodile Tears is an excellent addition to the Alex Rider series: fast paced, tense and dead exciting. It picks up two months after Snakehead. Alex is still 14 (although only just) and believes that he's completed his last assignment for MI6.

The book starts off with a bang (literally) as a bomb is exploded in a nuclear power station in India. The action then moves to Scotland where Alex is holidaying with the Pleasure family. He attends a lavish New Year's Eve party in a remote Scottish castle hosted by wealthy philanthropist Desmond McCain, who runs an international charity, First Aid. Alex is disturbed by his first encounter by McCain and wonders if there's a connection when shortly afterwards he narrowly escapes from what he suspects to have been a deliberate car accident.

Back in London, Alex is forced to turn to MI6 for help when a journalist threatens to expose his past. In return MI6 ask him to help them investigate the director of a highly secure GM research centre. Slowly the disparate threads of the story start to come together, but will Alex be able to pass on what he knows before the bad guys catch up with him?

I thought it was an extremely exciting story, a real page turner. It is slightly darker and more complex than others in the series: this is definitely "young adult" territory, although there are also parts which are highly reminiscent of scenes in the previous books. Alex is an appealing hero who is brave and highly resourceful. He has an uncanny ability to keep his cool when he's in danger and pulls off some impressive stunts such as catching a spear in mid air.

Here are some things that parents may like to know:
- There is frequent violence in the book (similar to the previous books in this series). A couple of the villains die in particularly unpleasant ways.
- Alex ends up in a variety of frightening scenarios including being trapped in a car at the bottom of a lake, being dangled over hungry crocodiles and being trapped in a burning building.
- Alex causes the death of two people directly and several more indirectly. While the deaths could be attributed to self-defence, he never shows any signs of remorse or concern at their deaths.
- He also witnesses the deaths of several others, including one individual who has previously saved his life. Again, he shows no particular concern about this.
- No bad language, no romantic scenes.
- Alex is once offered alcohol, which he refuses.
- There are no positive female role models. With the exception of Alex's faithful housekeeper/guardian (and his friends the Pleasures), the women in this book are all either receptionists and nurses, or are emotionless and unpleasant.

I have a few favorite series: Harry Potter, Paulsen's Hatchet books, Mitch Rapp, Jack Reacher, Det. Edward X Delaney, John Rain, but I think the Alex Rider books by Anthony Horowitz get my personal award as Favorite of Favorites.

"Crocodile Tears" is the latest and most thrilling entry into the world of 14-year-old secret agent Alex Rider. That's not a typo--Alex is indeed a secret agent and, in fact, was trained from early childhood to assume the role (although he didn't know at the time). He continues to work (for free) for England's M16. I must rephrase: He is tricked into missions for M16. His parents died when he was very young; his Uncle Ian assumed guardianship. Both father and uncle were agents. Ian taught Alex how to do so many practical things (that would later save his life times over), speak several languages, handle foreign travel. On the other hand, one could say that being a secret agent was a genuine talent for Alex, much as painting or music is to others. Being flexible is one ingrained "talent." An example: To escape a particular mountaintop location Alex had to improvise. The only way out was helicopter with none available. He used an ironing board to "sled" down the mountain. Another time he skateboarded down a pier and over and onto a departing boat, barely making the landing, but, of course, always making it.

In every book there is at least one villain, usually two working jointly to commit mayhem, fraud, evil, and violence on many innocent, unsuspecting people. In "Crocodile Tears" Desmond McCain is the villain--philanthropist extraordinaire and bad to the bone marrow! He is the organizer and disperser of millions of dollars that come into his relief agency which goes from hot spot to hot spot to aid people in dire circumstances. The first is a nuclear reactor explosion in India. First on the scene. How great Mr. McCain is! How compassionate! However, the tears he sheds are crocodile tears.

Normally, I don't read reviews before I write mine, but I did this time. Mixed reactions. I agree with those who call this a page-turner, a must-read-long-into-the-night. I did, too. (Not too long ago I read Mark Twain's "Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc (Dover Thrift Editions) and could not read more than a few pages at time before falling asleep.) With "Crocodile Tears"--I read WAY PAST my normal bedtime. Anthony Horowitz knows how to write a thriller!

Other reviewers called this book the worst of the series. On what scale? By what standard? I do agree that the series is taking on a formulaic format, although this book, for the first time, shows human heart in Mr. Blunt, Alex's handler. In previous books he exudes complete indifference to any fate that might happen to Alex, or that is how it seems.

Another reviewer called Horowitz on the horrible women who people his books in his female villainy. But I remind those readers that Alex's girlfriend is quite genuine and kind, that his guardian (a woman just a few years older than Alex) is a perfect role model for any young lady.

What I do protest and the reason I deduct one star is the really over-the-top escapades Alex must experience and, of course, escape. On one hand, I recognize that it IS possible to escape from all these bizarre circumstances, but, on the other hand, not so many and not so likely. They are just TOO incredible in this book. One example at the beginning--that obviously Alex must escape if the story is to continue-- (SPOILER!) is his escape from a Nissan that crashes over a rail on a steep mountain and into a deep, dark loch in the middle of night. Not only does he rescue himself, but he saves his girlfriend's father--all in freezing water. Then miraculously someone is right there to take them to a hospital for hypothermia.

But really, I don't care how extreme the circumstances. Horowitz is a rare and talented writer who can put words and plot lines together to make a reader want to read. That's worthy of recognition and respect. His books may not become classics, but they will endure to take down for a thrill ride when one is old and in the rocking chair and in need of a little action.

After his last book I felt like he went downhill. Arc Angel was amazing, snakehead was great, this was OK. Something I totally recognized in this book as his care taker gives him gifts he gets a "Barack Obama baseball cap" which I found odd, but brushed it off, as it went deeper into the book part of the bad guys name was "Mccain". Coincidence? + I didn't feel as if this book was as good as the others, I felt it had a bang, but not a very good one. I was able to read it in about 3 hours, and in the end I felt this book didn't go as far as the other ones did.

This book is a typical Alex Rider book. Its full of the normal imposible situations that alex gets out of. Whats great is that this is just as good as the first book. Unlike tha City of Ember or Pendragon books, this series does not get worse as it goes along. I would recomend this book to anyone. I suggest you read the other ones in the series first, but that is not necessary.

Join 14-year-old Alex Rider for another white-knuckle adventure that has him nearly drowned at the bottom of a Scottish loch, poisoned by super deadly gen-modified plants, consumed by flames in a warehouse fire, and eaten alive by African crocodiles. And that's just a start. Not to fear, the boy-spy escapes with his life, but barely and fans of the series will not be disappointed. The only thing that bothered me was the attempt to Americanize the original British text. US dollars are perplexingly the accepted currency in London (except on p 331) and while the editors change "underground" to "subway," 999 to 911, and "crisps and chips" to "chips and fries," other common British words and concepts remain unconverted--"shingle," for example, in the sense of a pebble beach, or "fringe" for "bangs". It's still a good read and probably no one will be the wiser.

Horowitz's new book is, like all the others, well studied, well written, and hard to put down. With his characteristic style of including every detail, Horowitz delivered another action-filled, fun, and thorough book. However, I can't help but notice how he seems to follow the same track. Sure the 'bad guys' and specific circumstances are different, and certainly the Bulman situation is unique, but overall, the plot was the same as most of the others: MI6 somehow uses an impossible situation to get Alex to do a 'quick, safe' mission, it turns out to be more, he does some investigating, the 'bad guys' find him out, he gets caught, they monologue to him, he saves the day. Honestly, I think it's time for Horowitz to give us something new, like he did in Scorpia. Don't get me wrong, the book is great, and it doesn't lack for action or originality, but a new general plot-line would be refreshing.
That all said, you can look forward to some interesting relationship scenes with Alex, Tom, Jack, even Blunt. Also, as predictable as the overall plot may be, Horowitz did manage to bring in a load of new and surprising aspects.

I'm only a couple chapters through. The book does a great job of holding my attention and making me feel excited. However, several blatant factual errors take me out of the immersion for a couple seconds each time. It is getting annoying but hopefully as the story progresses there will be less of them. For example (extremely minor spoilers):

-The main character's reluctance to do the first step of CPR which is to give mouth-to-mouth air. When the patient is successfully revived by only chest compressions he's "glad" he didn't have to go through the first step. No sane person would forgo the mouth-to-mouth breath when trying to save a friend's life!
-Saying that when a car is underwater, a window can't slide open because of water pressure (that would be true if windows opened outwards)
-Saying that when a car is underwater, the water level will only rise to the ventilation level because that's where the water is leaking into the car (in fact since they are completely submerged it would eventually fill up to the top).

-Almost forgot to mention, there is BLATANT advertising for the Nissan X-Trail, more than once! You'll know it when you get there :)

Edit (Just finished book):
-My sister mentioned CPR is now being taught as chest compressions only. However, I researched this and the advice is only for heart attacks. So if you're giving CPR to a drowned person you should still give mouth to mouth!
-I've been thinking about my third point about the underwater car. I was wrong. I realized this by imagining myself as a child playing with a bucket in the bathtub. If I put the bucket upside down over the water and force it underwater (thus trapping a big air bubble inside the bucket), the air bubble will stay there. And if I were to make a slit in the middle of the bucket (to simulate the water leaking through the vents) the water would flow in only to the level of the vents. So, the author had his physics down pretty good.
-There were no other errors that caught my eye in the book
-It was very enjoyable and the story was well-written and action-packed.

3rd book I had read in the Alex Rider series. I like to keep up on what the kids are reading and when I had out books from the bookcart at the Phx Childrens Hospital I am often asked what the book is about, if it is good, what is the gendra. I have the books for my own kids to read and I as an adult liked it. Strong young hero. Good values. Worth the read.

My 10 year old loves all the Alex Rider Books. It is great to have him really interested in reading.

Alex Rider books are the best. I finished this in one day, it was that good. Alex is on another adventure and this time Sabina joins him from America. A journalist finds out about Alex's secret life and wants to write about it. MI6 will help him get rid of the man as long as Alex will help them in an investigation on a plant altering company. This adventure takes Alex everywhere from Switzerland to Africa with a mysterious stranger helping him along the way. Once you pick this book up, you won't put it down until you've finished.