Stormbreaker (An Alex Rider Adventure) [Mass Market Paperback]

Anthony Horowitz (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 10 and up

They told him his uncle died in a car accident. But fourteen-year-old Alex knows that's a lie, and the bullet holes in his uncle's windshield confirm his suspicions. But nothing could prepare 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.

"What if James Bond had started spying as a teenager? Non-stop action keeps the intrigue boiling." (Kirkus Reviews)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Readers will cheer for Alex Rider, the 14-year-old hero of British author Horowitz's spy thriller (the first in a projected series). When his guardian and uncle, Ian, is mysteriously killed, Alex discovers that his uncle was not the bank vice-president he purported to be, but rather a spy for the British government. Now the government wants Alex to take over his uncle's mission: investigating Sayle Enterprises, the makers of a revolutionary computer called Stormbreaker. The company's head plans to donate one to every secondary school in England, but his dealings with unfriendly countries and Ian Rider's murder have brought him under suspicion. Posing as a teenage computer whiz who's won a Stormbreaker promotional contest, Alex enters the factory and immediately finds clues from his uncle. Satirical names abound (e.g., Mr. Grin, Mr. Sayle's brutish butler, is so named for the scars he received from a circus knife-throwing act gone wrong) and the hard-boiled language is equally outrageous ("It was a soft gray night with a half-moon forming a perfect D in the sky. D for what, Alex wondered. Danger? Discovery? Or disaster?"). These exaggerations only add to the fun, as do the creative gadgets that Alex uses, including a metal-munching cream described as "Zit-Clean. For Healthier Skin." The ultimate mystery may be a bit of a letdown, but that won't stop readers from racing through Alex's adventures, from a high-speed bike chase to a death-defying dance with a Portuguese man-of-war. The audience will stay tuned for his next assignment, Point Blanc, due out spring 2002. Ages 10-up.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From 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, Inc.

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Mass Market Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Puffin Books (April 15, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0698119347
• ISBN-13: 978-0698119345
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (326 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,167,854 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

101 of 105 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A parent's review (contains spoilers), December 9, 2007

By 

Julia Flyte - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Stormbreaker (Alex Rider) (Mass Market Paperback)

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.

36 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This isn't just another YA book!, April 28, 2004

By 

H. S. Wedekind "Mr. Weekend" (Pennsylvania, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Stormbreaker (An Alex Rider Adventure) (Mass Market Paperback)

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.

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Heartpounding Action and Heartstopping Suspense!!, July 30, 2002

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Stormbreaker (An Alex Rider Adventure) (Mass Market Paperback)

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!!