Eagle Strike (Alex Rider Adventure) [Hardcover]

Anthony Horowitz (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 12, 2004 | Age Level: 10 and up | Grade Level: 4 and up | Series: Alex Rider Adventure

R When Dismas Hardy agrees to clean up the caseload of recently disappeared attorney Charlie Bowen, he thinks it will be easy. But one of the cases is far from small-timethe sensational clash between National Guard reservist Evan Scholler and an ex-Navy SEAL and private contractor named Ron Nolan. Two rapid-fire events in Iraq conspired to bring the men into fatal conflict: Nolans relationship with Evans girlfriend, Tara, a beautiful school-teacher back home in the states, followed by a deadly incident in which Nolans apparent mistake results in the death of an innocent Iraqi family as well as seven men in Evans platoon. As the murky relationship between the US government and its private contractors plays out in the personal drama of these two men, and the consequences become a desperate matter of life and death, Dismas Hardy begins to uncover a terrible and perilous truth that takes him far beyond the case and into the realm of assassination and treason.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Anthony Horowitz's enormously popular series about the world’s premier teenage spy, returns for another round with secret agent Alex Rider fighting ingenious villains and charming every girl he meets. Eagle Strike, Horowitz’s fourth fictional foray into the world of British spy agency MI6, starts out calmly enough as Alex and his lovely companion, Miss Sabina Pleasure, vacation with her family in the south of France. But before you can say Goldfinger, Alex spots his old nemesis, renowned assassin Yassen Gregorovich, on the beach. What Alex discovers is a plan so diabolical that it makes all of his previous adventures seem like a stroll in the Queen Mum’s garden. Alex must fight to keep Gregorovich from executing the plans of a mysterious and murderous madman--an operation code named "Eagle Strike." He will just have to face down a few minor complications first: a virtual reality game that inflicts real pain; a fleet of Porche 911 GT3-driving hit men; and even a near fatal brush with death aboard the most famous aircraft in the world, Air Force One. But he’ll persevere, or his name isn’t Rider: Alex Rider. Eagle Strike, like all of the ridiculously fun Alex Rider adventures, is a pure guilty pleasure from start to finish. Even the most reluctant of readers won’t be able to resist Alex’s Bond-like ingenuity and charisma. Anthony Horowitz is a master of pacing, and as Alex swings from one cliff-hanging chapter to the next, Horowitz proves that you don’t have to be Shakespeare to pen a crackerjack plot! --Jennifer Hubert

From School Library Journal

Grade 5-10--Alex Rider, a 14-year-old secret agent who has worked for MI6--British military intelligence--returns for his fourth adventure. Vacationing in France with his girlfriend, Sabina Pleasure, and her parents, Alex spots Yassen Gregorovich, a known assassin, and senses something isn't quite right. Before long, Sabina's journalist father is injured in an "accidental" bombing and Alex is thrown into another mystery that involves a devious scheme to annihilate the world. In this heart-racing novel, Horowitz combines fast-paced action with ingenious gadgets that Alex either has on his side or is forced to battle against. The straightforward writing will appeal to a wide audience; the story is intricate enough to entertain older readers, but accessible to younger ones as well. For anyone who has enjoyed Alex's previous adventures, EagleStrike will prove just as good if not better, and for those who haven't been introduced to this young spy, this book will certainly get them addicted and anxiously awaiting the next installment.--Leigh Ann Morlock, Vernonia School District, OR
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Puffin; 1 edition (April 12, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0399239790
• ISBN-13: 978-0399239793
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (111 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #103,592 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Anthony Horowitz's life might have been copied from the pages of Charles Dickens or the Brothers Grimm. Born in 1956 in Stanmore, Middlesex, to a family of wealth and status, Anthony was raised by nannies, surrounded by servants and chauffeurs. His father, a wealthy businessman, was, says Mr. Horowitz, "a fixer for Harold Wilson." What that means exactly is unclear -- "My father was a very secretive man," he says-- so an aura of suspicion and mystery surrounds both the word and the man. As unlikely as it might seem, Anthony's father, threatened with bankruptcy, withdrew all of his money from Swiss bank accounts in Zurich and deposited it in another account under a false name and then promptly died. His mother searched unsuccessfully for years in attempt to find the money, but it was never found. That too shaped Anthony's view of things. Today he says, "I think the only thing to do with money is spend it." His mother, whom he adored, eccentrically gave him a human skull for his 13th birthday. His grandmother, another Dickensian character, was mean-spirited and malevolent, a destructive force in his life. She was, he says, "a truly evil person", his first and worst arch villain. "My sister and I danced on her grave when she died," he now recalls.
A miserably unhappy and overweight child, Anthony had nowhere to turn for solace. "Family meals," he recalls, "had calories running into the thousands&. I was an astoundingly large, round child&." At the age of eight he was sent off to boarding school, a standard practice of the times and class in which he was raised. While being away from home came as an enormous relief, the school itself, Orley Farm, was a grand guignol horror with a headmaster who flogged the boys till they bled. "Once the headmaster told me to stand up in assembly and in front of the whole school said, 'This boy is so stupid he will not be coming to Christmas games tomorrow.' I have never totally recovered." To relieve his misery and that of the other boys, he not unsurprisingly made up tales of astounding revenge and retribution.


Anthony Horowitz is perhaps the busiest writer in England. He has been writing since the age of eight, and professionally since the age of twenty. He writes in a comfortable shed in his garden for up to ten hours per day. In addition to the highly successful Alex Rider books, he has also written episodes of several popular TV crime series, including Poirot, Murder in Mind, Midsomer Murders and Murder Most Horrid. He has written a television series Foyle's War, which recently aired in the United States, and he has written the libretto of a Broadway musical adapted from Dr. Seuss's book, The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T. His film script The Gathering has just finished production. And&oh yes&there are more Alex Rider novels in the works. Anthony has also written the Diamond Brothers series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Hidden Truth -- a review by Gregory, age 10, May 7, 2004

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Eagle Strike (Alex Rider Adventure) (Hardcover)

While Alex is enjoying his vacation in southern France with Sabina (his girlfriend) and her family, he spots Yassen Gregorovich, the assassin who killed his uncle, Ian Rider. Shortly afterward, a `dreadful accident' puts a quick end to the vacation. When Alex discovers Yassen's cell phone has a speed dial, he dials the number and hears the voice of super-celebrity Damian Cray. Once Alex returns to London and tries to contact MI6, they don't believe him. After failing to convince MI6 of Cray's guilt, Alex sets off to prove it himself. His quest leads him to the headquarters of Cray Software Technology in Amsterdam. At the end of the book, Alex has uncovered a truth that has been concealed from him for his entire life, and will alter his entire future.

Horowitz has created another superb novel starring Alex Rider, the first (and possibly last) teenager to work for MI6. This book is amazing. As is to be expected of Horowitz, Eagle Strike is action-packed to the brim. With car and motorcycle chases, exploding hotdog stands, hidden explosives, and bullfighting, Eagle Strike will keep you on the edge of your seat, even once you've read it through. The finish is stellar and forces you to guess about the next in the series.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely fabulous, February 7, 2007

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Eagle Strike (Alex Rider Adventure) (Paperback)

I loved this book. I have only read the Alex Rider series up to this book but out of the books I have read in the series, this was the best. There were barely any boring bits and it was impossible to put down. It is very exciting and it completely sucks you in.

The story begins in the south of France where Alex and his friend Sabina are on holiday. While on the beach, Alex notices Yassen Gregorovich on a boat. Yassen, of course, is the ruthless assassin who killed Alex's uncle, Ian Rider. Although Alex has been seeking revenge, he decides to ignore him. The result was that the house Sabina's parents had rented was destroyed in an explosion and Sabina's father had been almost killed. Alex was sure that he was the target, so he sets out to find Yassen.

Alex gets on to the boat after beating up one of Yassen's accomplishes and finds a gun. He comes face to face with Yassen but is unable to kill him him. Yassen then captures Alex and forces him into a bull fight. Alex manages to escape and dials the number that Yassen had dialed before Sabina's house had been destroyed. He is shocked to find that the person on the recieving end is Damien Cray.

Damien Cray is the world's most popular pop star and has done many things to save the environment and other people. Cray despises drugs and tries his best to save the environment. His latest project is the gameslayer, a video game consol that is extremely powerful. So naturally, Alex is shocked to find that his number was dialed by a contract killer.

Alex goes to MI6 to convince them that Damien Cray is not who he seems to be but they dismiss his case. Determined, Alex, along with Jack, tries himself to bring Cray to justice. While spying on Cray, Alex discovers a plot of Cray's called 'Eagle Strike' but Alex has no idea what those words mean. He also discovers that he was not the target of the bomb in Sabina's house.

Thus, begins an adventure involving high speed chases, the international drug trade, air plane hijackings, nuclear missiles, and Air Force One: the American President's Airplane. Although the plot may seem a little far fetched, it only adds to the excitement. A must read, I absolutely loved this book. I recommend this book to anyone who loves an action packed novel.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars eagle strike, June 20, 2003

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Eagle Strike: An Alex Rider Adventure (Paperback)

Relaxing in the south of France with Sabina Pleasure and her family , Alex is able to act and do things as a normal teenager would and he doesn't even think of MI6 until someone who Alex does not know who attacked his hosts.This sends him back into the world of decieving and spying.Alex is determind to defeat his hosts enemy and find out why they did it.He knows his enemy is going to be smart when he finds out it is Damian Cray the mastermind behind the new games console Gamelayer which has pain synthesis installed.Damian Cray tries to outwit Alex time after time but the young MI6 spy doesn't give up.It is a great book for suspense and tension.