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Alex Rider #12
Nightshade
Get ready for action, adrenaline and adventure in this explosive, brand new Alex Rider mission by bestselling author, Anthony Horowitz.
In this adrenaline-fuelled adventure in the number one bestselling series, Alex Rider is sent by MI6 Special Operations, to infiltrate a new and sinister organisation known only as Nightshade. Alex is on his own, with the fate of thousands of people resting in his hands.
In this adrenaline-fuelled adventure in the number one bestselling series, Alex Rider is sent by MI6 Special Operations, to infiltrate a new and sinister organisation known only as Nightshade. Alex is on his own, with the fate of thousands of people resting in his hands.
442 pages, Paperback
First published April 7, 2020
523 people are currently reading
6177 people want to read
About the author
Anthony Horowitz
345 books20.9k followersAnthony Horowitz, OBE is ranked alongside Enid Blyton and Mark A. Cooper as "The most original and best spy-kids authors of the century." (New York Times). Anthony has been writing since the age of eight, and professionally since the age of twenty. In addition to the highly successful Alex Rider books, he is also the writer and creator of award winning detective series Foyle’s War, and more recently event drama Collision, among his other television works he has written episodes for Poirot, Murder in Mind, Midsomer Murders and Murder Most Horrid. Anthony became patron to East Anglia Children’s Hospices in 2009.
On 19 January 2011, the estate of Arthur Conan Doyle announced that Horowitz was to be the writer of a new Sherlock Holmes novel, the first such effort to receive an official endorsement from them and to be entitled the House of Silk.
http://us.macmillan.com/author/anthon...
On 19 January 2011, the estate of Arthur Conan Doyle announced that Horowitz was to be the writer of a new Sherlock Holmes novel, the first such effort to receive an official endorsement from them and to be entitled the House of Silk.
http://us.macmillan.com/author/anthon...
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 353 reviews
May 25, 2020
I have come to love the Alex Rider and Jason Steed books, but are they getting 'old'. Or maybe now I have turned 30 I'm getting old?
Now on book 12 on the Alex Rider series and book 7 on Jason Steed series what are they writing about?
Both British teen hero's taking on the worlds most dangerous criminals.
Once or twice we have noticed stories over-lap from one series to the next. No wonder many readers suspected the books were written by the same author, turned out they are not, but two very close British authors.
Go back to 2010 and Jason Steed went under cover to infiltrate a new and sinister leader of the Triads. In book 2 Jason Steed 'Revenge' our teen hero was sent under cover to a Juvie detention centre to befriend the triad leaders son who was held there.
Forward 10 years and we have Alex Rider, his mission is to infiltrate a new and sinister organization known only as Nightshade. He goes to a notorious prison in Brazil. And so the fun starts.
This is another action pack book which has a fantastic climax, (Very much like a scene from the latest Mission Impossible movie, enough said)
I grew up with the Alex Rider & Jason Steed novels and although I am no longer the target audience (now being an adult but boy at heart) I'm still a big fan and fully enjoy this series.
Cons.
Well its was a fun read but if you really dissect the novel. It has gotten rather formulaic with a plot that can be summarized as
1\ Evil organization hatches complicating plan for get rich quick
2\ Alex is the only person qualified to investigate, or stumbles into it by accident
3 \ Alex gets caught by evil person who explains their plan (Just like the Bond stories)
4\ Evil person underestimates Alex
5\ Alex saves the day
Still good fun, the only advantage the Jason Steed novels have, is the emotion and the coming of age story, of a teenage boy.
Will Anthony Horowitz write another? Yes, he has said so. Will I read it? You bet!
Now on book 12 on the Alex Rider series and book 7 on Jason Steed series what are they writing about?
Both British teen hero's taking on the worlds most dangerous criminals.
Once or twice we have noticed stories over-lap from one series to the next. No wonder many readers suspected the books were written by the same author, turned out they are not, but two very close British authors.
Go back to 2010 and Jason Steed went under cover to infiltrate a new and sinister leader of the Triads. In book 2 Jason Steed 'Revenge' our teen hero was sent under cover to a Juvie detention centre to befriend the triad leaders son who was held there.
Forward 10 years and we have Alex Rider, his mission is to infiltrate a new and sinister organization known only as Nightshade. He goes to a notorious prison in Brazil. And so the fun starts.
This is another action pack book which has a fantastic climax, (Very much like a scene from the latest Mission Impossible movie, enough said)
I grew up with the Alex Rider & Jason Steed novels and although I am no longer the target audience (now being an adult but boy at heart) I'm still a big fan and fully enjoy this series.
Cons.
Well its was a fun read but if you really dissect the novel. It has gotten rather formulaic with a plot that can be summarized as
1\ Evil organization hatches complicating plan for get rich quick
2\ Alex is the only person qualified to investigate, or stumbles into it by accident
3 \ Alex gets caught by evil person who explains their plan (Just like the Bond stories)
4\ Evil person underestimates Alex
5\ Alex saves the day
Still good fun, the only advantage the Jason Steed novels have, is the emotion and the coming of age story, of a teenage boy.
Will Anthony Horowitz write another? Yes, he has said so. Will I read it? You bet!
July 4, 2020
"All I wanted to do was make Britain great again."
This sounds a lot like Trump's slogan—just replace Britain with America.👀
I can't believe it took 12 books for me to finally realize how redundant this series is.😅
It's literally the same thing happening in every book:
➢Someone dies in the first few chapters
➢Alex is called in to help
➢Alex goes undercover to infiltrate a base
➢Alex gets captured/discovered
➢Alex saves the day
The only difference are the enemies and conflicts that happen of course. I don't really worry about Alex dying because I know he won't and that kind of just ruins the story, knowing how it's gonna end.😕
Or maybe it's just that the last time I read an Alex Rider book was two years ago and now I have a different opinion on the series. I don't think the series is bad though. I still love Alex Rider as a character. I mean, he's a 15-year old spy!!! (I'm 15 and am no where near as cool as him, ofc)
Alex Rider will forever be a fav series of mine and the ending really gets me curious about the next book. Also, I recently heard that there's a TV show, so that's super exciting!!!😍
Reading Alex Rider has reminded me of how much I want to live in London, England.🤩
And Blackfriars Bridge!!!
Maybe one day🥺.............
This sounds a lot like Trump's slogan—just replace Britain with America.👀
I can't believe it took 12 books for me to finally realize how redundant this series is.😅
It's literally the same thing happening in every book:
➢Someone dies in the first few chapters
➢Alex is called in to help
➢Alex goes undercover to infiltrate a base
➢Alex gets captured/discovered
➢Alex saves the day
The only difference are the enemies and conflicts that happen of course. I don't really worry about Alex dying because I know he won't and that kind of just ruins the story, knowing how it's gonna end.😕
Or maybe it's just that the last time I read an Alex Rider book was two years ago and now I have a different opinion on the series. I don't think the series is bad though. I still love Alex Rider as a character. I mean, he's a 15-year old spy!!! (I'm 15 and am no where near as cool as him, ofc)
Alex Rider will forever be a fav series of mine and the ending really gets me curious about the next book. Also, I recently heard that there's a TV show, so that's super exciting!!!😍
Reading Alex Rider has reminded me of how much I want to live in London, England.🤩
And Blackfriars Bridge!!!
Maybe one day🥺.............
July 24, 2020
Another book in the series done and its book 12 in the series and don't get me wrong i love this series but it really should end now rather than going any further cause it's starting to get repetitive.
Plot: book 12 sees Alex once again going into another mission after saying at the end of book 11 that he was done with being a spy however Mrs Jones once again recruits Alex for a mission that will see him once again risk his life for an organisation he swore he would be done with. A new organization calling themselves 'Nightshade' has taken kids to train them up to be their very own spies however i honestly see this group as more cult like with how the kids have been brainwashed with how to act.
A huge bit of news is revealed in this book and it's the fact that Mrs jones's children are both taken by Nightshade after it's revealed her husband is a spy who only married her to get information on MI6. This was a huge piece of news for me and i really loved getting to know her more and any information i do find out about her opens up her character more. This little piece of information is a throwback to another book in the series where Alex sees a photograph of two children in Mrs Jones apartment however she tells Alex they were her niece and nephew.
I really do love how strong Alex and Jack's relationship has become i feel like they have moved from her being the nanny to her now being a real parental figure for Alex in the series. Every moment these two have shared over the course of the series has been some of my favourite moments to read.
I now have one serious question regarding how long this series will go for because with the way this book ended it feels like it's not over just yet and i really hope this series doesn't drag out to much longer because it will start to get more repetitive like it's already starting to be and i honestly think this series could end with either book 13 or 14 depending what the author has planned but i'd rather it now rather than later.
Plot: book 12 sees Alex once again going into another mission after saying at the end of book 11 that he was done with being a spy however Mrs Jones once again recruits Alex for a mission that will see him once again risk his life for an organisation he swore he would be done with. A new organization calling themselves 'Nightshade' has taken kids to train them up to be their very own spies however i honestly see this group as more cult like with how the kids have been brainwashed with how to act.
A huge bit of news is revealed in this book and it's the fact that Mrs jones's children are both taken by Nightshade after it's revealed her husband is a spy who only married her to get information on MI6. This was a huge piece of news for me and i really loved getting to know her more and any information i do find out about her opens up her character more. This little piece of information is a throwback to another book in the series where Alex sees a photograph of two children in Mrs Jones apartment however she tells Alex they were her niece and nephew.
I really do love how strong Alex and Jack's relationship has become i feel like they have moved from her being the nanny to her now being a real parental figure for Alex in the series. Every moment these two have shared over the course of the series has been some of my favourite moments to read.
I now have one serious question regarding how long this series will go for because with the way this book ended it feels like it's not over just yet and i really hope this series doesn't drag out to much longer because it will start to get more repetitive like it's already starting to be and i honestly think this series could end with either book 13 or 14 depending what the author has planned but i'd rather it now rather than later.
September 11, 2020
Wow, its was great to read an Alex Rider Novel again, I loved this, there is something special about teh teen Spy books, action, fun and exciting.
When a secret agent is ruthlessly killed in Brazil, Alex Rider is sent to infiltrate a deadly organization known only as Nightshade. But as he gets closer to the truth MI6 is suddenly shut down and the fate of an entire city now rests on Alex’s hands.
Alex Rider: Nightshade is an amazing book with incredible description and action-packed excitement. With an extremely interesting story, it is almost impossible to stop reading. I, for one, have really enjoyed the book and would recommend to anyone who comes across this book. For Jason Steed, Alex Rider and young Jasons Bond lovers. Sit back, relax, and let you mind fly into the spy universe!
When a secret agent is ruthlessly killed in Brazil, Alex Rider is sent to infiltrate a deadly organization known only as Nightshade. But as he gets closer to the truth MI6 is suddenly shut down and the fate of an entire city now rests on Alex’s hands.
Alex Rider: Nightshade is an amazing book with incredible description and action-packed excitement. With an extremely interesting story, it is almost impossible to stop reading. I, for one, have really enjoyed the book and would recommend to anyone who comes across this book. For Jason Steed, Alex Rider and young Jasons Bond lovers. Sit back, relax, and let you mind fly into the spy universe!
April 1, 2020
4/5 stars
It's been a long time since I have read an Alex Rider book. I binged the first 8 I think about 10 years ago? And I loved them then as a young teen. It was just as easy to fall back into the series now at age 23. I put Alex Rider books in the same category as CHERUB, and probably Artemis Fowl. This particular book felt a lot like CHERUB's Maximum Security to begin with, actually, but I'm glad it branched off a different direction as it got going.
One thing I really enjoyed about this book was the intensity. The stakes didn't drop for a second. It's packed with what it says: Action, Adventure, Adrenaline. The writing is simple enough to have you flying through the pages at high-speed to match the thrill in the story, but with enough crafting to be able to visualise complex moves and action scenes.
This book lost one star for me in the way of characters. Maybe it's because I'm older now but the characters just don't feel like they have many dimensions. They are distinct from each other for certain, but the breadth in traits isn't there.
This was a fun book to read (I read it in less than two days - 440 pages) and will please any young teen who claims they don't like books or of course, anyone else who just wants something quick and adventurous to devour.
I was sent this book by Harper Collins NZ in exchange for an honest review
It's been a long time since I have read an Alex Rider book. I binged the first 8 I think about 10 years ago? And I loved them then as a young teen. It was just as easy to fall back into the series now at age 23. I put Alex Rider books in the same category as CHERUB, and probably Artemis Fowl. This particular book felt a lot like CHERUB's Maximum Security to begin with, actually, but I'm glad it branched off a different direction as it got going.
One thing I really enjoyed about this book was the intensity. The stakes didn't drop for a second. It's packed with what it says: Action, Adventure, Adrenaline. The writing is simple enough to have you flying through the pages at high-speed to match the thrill in the story, but with enough crafting to be able to visualise complex moves and action scenes.
This book lost one star for me in the way of characters. Maybe it's because I'm older now but the characters just don't feel like they have many dimensions. They are distinct from each other for certain, but the breadth in traits isn't there.
This was a fun book to read (I read it in less than two days - 440 pages) and will please any young teen who claims they don't like books or of course, anyone else who just wants something quick and adventurous to devour.
I was sent this book by Harper Collins NZ in exchange for an honest review
September 6, 2025
Alex is finally back in school, thinking he is finished with MI-6, when two strangers show up unannounced. He and his BFF Tom prank them and slip away; however, Mrs. Jones comes around to his home and with the permission of his confidante, Jack Starbright, tries to recruit Alex to help stop a terrorist plot in London. He declines until Mrs. Jones reveals her very personal connection to the situation, which changes his mind. Alex assumes the identity of his now-dead nemesis, Julius Grief, returning to the super secret prison in Gibraltar to see if he can bond with 16-year old Freddy, who slaughtered a bunch of trained security jailers in Brazil. Using a prop, he gets through enough to have Freddy save his life, and the two execute a daring escape, aided with knowledge Freddy cannot have. They are shuttled to Crete, where Alex finds himself with subservient kids, who have been brainwashed, following the Teachers' every command. Some super daring jumps and Alex saves the day … oops, was that a spoiler?
September 27, 2024
Overall Rating : B
Oohhh an ambiguous ending!!! Let's hope that means more books!🤩
Alex Rider was one of the first series I can remember started and got hooked from the beginning and ill stick with him till it's done. On to the t.v. show to see if it's just as good!
Oohhh an ambiguous ending!!! Let's hope that means more books!🤩
Alex Rider was one of the first series I can remember started and got hooked from the beginning and ill stick with him till it's done. On to the t.v. show to see if it's just as good!
October 2, 2023
Review from www.bookread2day.wordpress.com
As a big fan of Alex Rider that’s why i just had to read Nightshade book 13. I have read many Alex Rider books and watched the TV series. In my view there’s always something for the future Alex Rider can do for many more books. . Nightshade is easy to follow with the loveable Alex Rider’s mission, with plentiful of action in Nightshade, that makes it a perfect present for teenagers or even an adult. Nightshade doesn’t hold back right from prologue, it me kept me glued making it become urgent to find out more about Alex’s mission.
What I like about the Alex Rider books is that he is a young smart and clever and there’s nothing he can’t accomplish. Alex is just like younger version of James Bond.
The author has cleverly written all books with Alex Rider to become quite addictive for anyone of any age, needing the whole set of the other 12.
At this time of year all Alex Rider books by walker books are the perfect Christmas present for any children/ teenager or adults. I would like to thank Walker Books for sending me my favourite authors book to read and review.
As a big fan of Alex Rider that’s why i just had to read Nightshade book 13. I have read many Alex Rider books and watched the TV series. In my view there’s always something for the future Alex Rider can do for many more books. . Nightshade is easy to follow with the loveable Alex Rider’s mission, with plentiful of action in Nightshade, that makes it a perfect present for teenagers or even an adult. Nightshade doesn’t hold back right from prologue, it me kept me glued making it become urgent to find out more about Alex’s mission.
What I like about the Alex Rider books is that he is a young smart and clever and there’s nothing he can’t accomplish. Alex is just like younger version of James Bond.
The author has cleverly written all books with Alex Rider to become quite addictive for anyone of any age, needing the whole set of the other 12.
At this time of year all Alex Rider books by walker books are the perfect Christmas present for any children/ teenager or adults. I would like to thank Walker Books for sending me my favourite authors book to read and review.
April 7, 2020
Reluctant teenage spy Alex Rider returns in another cracking adventure! Nightshade has all the ingredients you've come to expect from this series & it's an absolute delight from start to finish.
Anthony Horowitz is a fine writer & he gives his Young Adult novels the same love & care he gives to all his work. The plot is terrific & the characters are as well drawn as any in his adult novels.
The Alex Rider books have a distinctly different feel to the James Bond novels, but as Horowitz is big fan of 007 he slips in an occasional subtle Bond reference. Fans of 007 might be familiar with the name Frederick Grey for example.
So, while you wait for the delayed release of the new 007 adventure No Time To Die at the cinema check out this excellent spy story instead. You know it makes sense!
Anthony Horowitz is a fine writer & he gives his Young Adult novels the same love & care he gives to all his work. The plot is terrific & the characters are as well drawn as any in his adult novels.
The Alex Rider books have a distinctly different feel to the James Bond novels, but as Horowitz is big fan of 007 he slips in an occasional subtle Bond reference. Fans of 007 might be familiar with the name Frederick Grey for example.
So, while you wait for the delayed release of the new 007 adventure No Time To Die at the cinema check out this excellent spy story instead. You know it makes sense!
December 30, 2020
A good story.
Like the last entry, Horowitz ditches the usual formula for his Alex Rider books. Character development is pretty good, even for people who are usually on the sidelines (like Jones and Crawley) It’s also great to see Alex overcome challenges without the use of gadgets. Also, there are some loose ends from the previous books’ Scorpia plotlines (like Grief’s death and Blunt’s retirement) that Horowitz wraps up pretty nicely here, and does so in a fresh plot that doesn’t feel contrived. Some old characters make some satisfying reappearances that don’t feel forced. We even revisit some locations from previous stories. The story is pretty long, but it’s easy to follow and doesn’t drag. The suspense is great, but you might figure out most of the “mystery” early on in the book.
The only problems I had with the book are minor. The main plot does get wrapped up at the end, but there’s still a few questions left hanging, and it does tease another upcoming story. At one point the villain declares, heavy-handedly, that “All I wanted to do was make Britain great again.” Horowitz writes of “Javelin surface-to-air missiles” (they’re anti-tank weapons) At one point it is mentioned that the villain was arrested for selling weapons to ISIS “fifteen years ago.” If the story is set in contemporary times, that timeline doesn’t make much sense.
Still, a great entry overall, I’m glad this series is making a comeback.
Like the last entry, Horowitz ditches the usual formula for his Alex Rider books. Character development is pretty good, even for people who are usually on the sidelines (like Jones and Crawley) It’s also great to see Alex overcome challenges without the use of gadgets. Also, there are some loose ends from the previous books’ Scorpia plotlines (like Grief’s death and Blunt’s retirement) that Horowitz wraps up pretty nicely here, and does so in a fresh plot that doesn’t feel contrived. Some old characters make some satisfying reappearances that don’t feel forced. We even revisit some locations from previous stories. The story is pretty long, but it’s easy to follow and doesn’t drag. The suspense is great, but you might figure out most of the “mystery” early on in the book.
The only problems I had with the book are minor. The main plot does get wrapped up at the end, but there’s still a few questions left hanging, and it does tease another upcoming story. At one point the villain declares, heavy-handedly, that “All I wanted to do was make Britain great again.” Horowitz writes of “Javelin surface-to-air missiles” (they’re anti-tank weapons) At one point it is mentioned that the villain was arrested for selling weapons to ISIS “fifteen years ago.” If the story is set in contemporary times, that timeline doesn’t make much sense.
Still, a great entry overall, I’m glad this series is making a comeback.
December 16, 2020
Watched and enjoyed the Alex Rider series on Prime. So I thought why not pick up one of the books? My local library has this book, which is #12, so the author does expect the reader to be reasonably familiar with the characters. The book started with Alex thinking he's finally out of the spy game. In fact, Mrs. Jones, the head of MI6 special division, was scolded by her new boss at the Foreign office, for using such a young person as an agent. She was told to sever any relationship with Alex Rider or else. But, when word of a pending London terrorist attack by a shadowy group called Nightshade came out, Alex is the only one who will be able to find out the what's and whens.
Prety sure the TV show influenced me, but I found the book to read quite younger than expected. I know it's written for young people, but the Alex Rider on TV seems so much older than the book character. So I had to adjust my expectations. Like a James Bond movie, there's a lot of events that needed a suspension of belief. But then, maybe these are what spies really go through in the real world. I wouldn't know. I find the plot resolution to be simplistic. It did not seem proportional to all this build-up to the event. However, overall, it's an enjoyable cracking read.
Prety sure the TV show influenced me, but I found the book to read quite younger than expected. I know it's written for young people, but the Alex Rider on TV seems so much older than the book character. So I had to adjust my expectations. Like a James Bond movie, there's a lot of events that needed a suspension of belief. But then, maybe these are what spies really go through in the real world. I wouldn't know. I find the plot resolution to be simplistic. It did not seem proportional to all this build-up to the event. However, overall, it's an enjoyable cracking read.
August 22, 2021
Simply the best Alex Rider yet!
November 15, 2020
The series is alive and kicking
October 19, 2021
Amazing book! Little bit like James Bond but with a tennage spy instead called Alex Rider!
May 2, 2020
Amazing and thrilling as always!♥♥♥
July 12, 2020
Horowitz never disappoints 😍
This one was slightly predictable but I still enjoyed it immensely!
This one was slightly predictable but I still enjoyed it immensely!
May 27, 2025
A slight return to form.
If you've read my review of the previous Alex Rider novel, Never Say Die, you'd know that I was quite critical of it. I still am, and that book remains a blemish on the Alex Rider name in my eyes. I was hoping that the next installment would return to Alex's previous greatness, and it did, but not entirely.
This book follows all the usual staples of the Alex Rider series, with a big plan to destroy something. This is my first problem, which is the same one I had with Never Say Die. It's too small scale. A bunch of politicians getting poisoned isn't all that interesting to me. Remember when Alex was stopping the entire world getting bombed? Or when a tsunami was going to wipe out half the planet? In Alex's last three adventures, he's stopped some kids being kidnapped, stopped an assassination attempt and now prevented a few thousand people from dying - noble efforts, surely, but Alex always worked best when he was trying to save everyone. I really long for the stories of older novels, where Alex was stopping a huge plan. I only hope Horowitz returns to this in future installments, but that seems unlikely considering the next book is going to continue this story.
My largest problem with this book is a lack of action. The first 100 pages are relatively slow, setting up the story and events. There's a small skirmish in Brazil, and Alex's escape from the prison certainly is thrilling. The following boat chase didn't do much to wow me though, and it pales in comparison to a similar thing in Ark Angel. After this, Alex chills on an island, goes skydiving, then he takes a lift up the Shard and talks Freddy out of bombing everyone. Previous books had huge, ridiculous action scenes. I could pick any Alex Rider book and I could name a fantastic action scene from it, in fact multiple. In Nightshade, I was constantly waiting for something big to happen, but it never did. Even Never Say Die, with all its faults, had a fantastic action scene involving a train near the end. Nightshade hints at doing something interesting, with Alex being hunted by the police in London, but it doesn't do much with it. I also wonder how Alex is supposed to lead a normal life, or go undercover ever again, now that his face has been plastered across every newspaper.
The villains were similarly weak too, with the "Brothers" and "Sisters" at the head of Nightshade not doing much of anything, and getting easily caught. The twist of the government minister being the one behind it was obvious from a million miles away. The book has no strong villain, no-one to root against. Alex doesn't even confront them at the end. They don't die, there's no big confrontation. Alex never even meets the benefactor behind the entire thing. Alex doesn't have to do much of anything in this book to win. In every other book he goes through hell and back, but here, in Nightshade, he farts about in a prison for a while, then he chills on an island, and then he runs around London. This is the longest Alex Rider novel to date, but it feels like the shortest, considering how little actually happens.
Nightshade, as an organisation, pales in comparison to Scorpia, which is the obvious parallel here. Nightshade has an interesting angle on it, with it being a religious-cult type deal, but Horowitz never explores this much and he doesn't do much interesting with it. Perhaps a deep exploration of religious cultism would be too dark for a kid's book. Nightshade feels like a combination of Point Blanc and Scorpia, but without any of the interesting bits. Both of those books had a more interesting take on the exact same thing.
There was nothing 'bad' about this book at all, but it was simply uneventful, which is not what I want from Alex Rider at all. I've always found Horowitz's prose to be rather clunky, but he does write thrilling action scenes. There was too little action in this book, and action is the brain, heart and skeleton of Alex Rider, without it you don't really have much. For the next book, I hope the Nightshade lot all have a nasty tumble down the stairs and drop dead, so that Alex can face a real villain with real stakes again. There's nothing interesting or thrilling to me about Alex parachuting on top of a cathedral, and talking Freddy Grey out of going through with the plan.
I want to (not very) briefly discuss how I feel about Horowitz's revival of the Alex Rider series, which had ended with Scorpia Rising in 2011 (technically Russian Roulette, in 2013) and brought back with 2017's Never Say Die. Though this is not directly relevant to this review, it is something that, in my view, now overshadows the series and bears discussing.
So, Horowitz's new incarnation of the Alex Rider series hasn't done much yet to prove to me that it was actually worth it. His new post Russian Roulette revival hasn't wow-ed me at all, which is disappointing. Similarly, the awful retconning from the previous book completely destroyed the emotional climax to Alex's story in Scorpia Rising, and the in-universe explanations given for these hasty changes are so insulting to the audience's intelligence that it made me question Horowitz's respect for his readers. I'm of course referring to the reveal in Never Say Die that Jack Starbright, Alex's long time companion, didn't actually die, and it was instead faked with CGI so that the Grimaldi Twins could have someone to look after some kidnapped kids. It may be the most absurd, poorly thought out and unrealistic retcon I have ever seen. Not only is it absurd, but it ruins the emotional impact of Scorpia Rising, and puts the entire series on skids since we can now never trust a character's death. Perhaps Ian Rider will come back? Ash? Maybe for another cheap and 'shocking' twist, John Rider will be back from the dead as the next villain. Who knows!
It's abundantly clear that this new incarnation is simply an indulgence from Horowitz, who after ending his series with a neat bow is now taking an axe to it because he can't let go. As I mentioned earlier, the action setpieces are simply retreads and imitations of scenes that already happened in previous books (in fact, the prison escape is quite literally a retread of the start of Scorpia Rising, being the exact same prison).
Horowitz is clearly out of ideas, which is especially evident considering the concept of this book is almost identical to Scorpia, but without the personal angle which gave it an interesting edge. The fact of the matter is that the series ended when it should have - it went out on top, and that continuing it is completely unnecessary artistically. What is the point of this reboot? Is it going anywhere? Horowitz has shown that he will completely betray his own story with hysterical and nonsensical retcons that ruin any investment readers actually had. I am only belabouring this point so much because it is utterly insulting to get your readers invested in the drama and stakes of your world, only to rip it all away for no reason. When the series inevitably ends for the second time, what will the point have been? Alex's arch nemesis, Julius, was destroyed - his biggest rival, Scorpia, was destroyed. His family trauma was explored and mostly resolved on page. Everything came to a natural conclusion that had been built via story arcs across the whole series. What previously propelled the story along - the mystery of Alex's past, his family and their connections to Scorpia (craftily interspersed via cliffhangers and hooks through out the series), with emotional climaxes and reveals in Scorpia, Snakehead and Scorpia Rising, are now gone. What next for Alex? Has Horowitz even considered it? Will Alex Rider be episodic from now on, with little story ties between installments? I really hope not. I think the reason for Alex's character being so dull in this book (and the previous one) is because his character already completed his story arc, and has nowhere else to go (unless Horowitz is willing to do something bold like make Alex a traumatised adult, which he already ruled out).
If more installments must be written, then there needs to be some kind of impetus driving it along. The hook in the first novel, Stormbreaker, was discovering why his uncle Ian was killed. The rest of the series investigated Alex's family ties to Scorpia. Never Say Die's only hook was Alex searching for Jack, whom he believed had died (the awful retcon in question). Now that Jack is back safe, Alex is simply doing missions again with no driving force. I can't see where this series is going to go from here. At this rate, it certainly won't be artistic or original. Ultimately, it seems that Horowitz wanted to finish his series in 2011, did so neatly, and then changed his mind, and was forced to sloppily undo his ending (which is now not an ending), with little consideration for how the series would actually continue thematically or narratively. The new incarnation's worst sin is not just the retroactive butchering of Horowitz's own story, but also the simple fact that it adds absolutely nothing to the Alex Rider canon. It does not need to exist, and its existence is actually a negative because of the aformentioned butchering.
The only silver lining to it may be that younger readers may discover Alex Rider through this book, and then realise they have an entire catalogue of way better Alex Rider novels to dig in to. I'm only so critical because I adore this series so much, I quite literally grew up reading them non-stop. I'm not ashamed to say that, even as an adult, I sometimes find myself packing Snakehead or Point Blanc when I have a long train ride. They are still incredibly readable and entertaining, and the simple prose makes 300 pages fly by. It's not high art or anything, but they are still damn fun.
At the end of the day, I doubt many people dislike the fact that Horowitz brought the series back from the dead. In fact, I imagine that many were happy to see it return if anything. I personally am just a big believer in not overstaying one's welcome - a bit like a legendary rock band from the 70s farting out another mediocre album long past their prime. Sometimes it's best to know when to quit. Horowitz seemed to know when that was, and then undid it all. Regardless, the old books are still there, and if they enrapture kids like they did to me when I was younger, then it will all have been worth it. It doesn't really matter. I poured my heart into this review because I genuinely felt betrayed reading Never Say Die, because I had invested my time and emotions into the series, only to have the author slap me in the face. If the series has to continue from here, I only hope that Horowitz comes up with something a bit more bombastic next time.
EDIT: I haven't read the latest installment, 'Nightshade Revenge' (great title), but I read some of a plot summary online. Much like how Nightshade centres around an evil terrorist for hire group (Scorpia), Nightshade Revenge centres around an evil video game... you know, the exact same plot from Eagle Strike. Horowitz is unashamedly just recycling ideas from earlier novels. I stress again - what is the point in writing more of these books if there are no new and interesting ideas, no new angles or takes on the concept, or no new directions to take the character and world? It is baffling from an author I held in high esteem and was genuinely a hero to me as a kid. I'm glad I stopped reading when I did.
If you've read my review of the previous Alex Rider novel, Never Say Die, you'd know that I was quite critical of it. I still am, and that book remains a blemish on the Alex Rider name in my eyes. I was hoping that the next installment would return to Alex's previous greatness, and it did, but not entirely.
This book follows all the usual staples of the Alex Rider series, with a big plan to destroy something. This is my first problem, which is the same one I had with Never Say Die. It's too small scale. A bunch of politicians getting poisoned isn't all that interesting to me. Remember when Alex was stopping the entire world getting bombed? Or when a tsunami was going to wipe out half the planet? In Alex's last three adventures, he's stopped some kids being kidnapped, stopped an assassination attempt and now prevented a few thousand people from dying - noble efforts, surely, but Alex always worked best when he was trying to save everyone. I really long for the stories of older novels, where Alex was stopping a huge plan. I only hope Horowitz returns to this in future installments, but that seems unlikely considering the next book is going to continue this story.
My largest problem with this book is a lack of action. The first 100 pages are relatively slow, setting up the story and events. There's a small skirmish in Brazil, and Alex's escape from the prison certainly is thrilling. The following boat chase didn't do much to wow me though, and it pales in comparison to a similar thing in Ark Angel. After this, Alex chills on an island, goes skydiving, then he takes a lift up the Shard and talks Freddy out of bombing everyone. Previous books had huge, ridiculous action scenes. I could pick any Alex Rider book and I could name a fantastic action scene from it, in fact multiple. In Nightshade, I was constantly waiting for something big to happen, but it never did. Even Never Say Die, with all its faults, had a fantastic action scene involving a train near the end. Nightshade hints at doing something interesting, with Alex being hunted by the police in London, but it doesn't do much with it. I also wonder how Alex is supposed to lead a normal life, or go undercover ever again, now that his face has been plastered across every newspaper.
The villains were similarly weak too, with the "Brothers" and "Sisters" at the head of Nightshade not doing much of anything, and getting easily caught. The twist of the government minister being the one behind it was obvious from a million miles away. The book has no strong villain, no-one to root against. Alex doesn't even confront them at the end. They don't die, there's no big confrontation. Alex never even meets the benefactor behind the entire thing. Alex doesn't have to do much of anything in this book to win. In every other book he goes through hell and back, but here, in Nightshade, he farts about in a prison for a while, then he chills on an island, and then he runs around London. This is the longest Alex Rider novel to date, but it feels like the shortest, considering how little actually happens.
Nightshade, as an organisation, pales in comparison to Scorpia, which is the obvious parallel here. Nightshade has an interesting angle on it, with it being a religious-cult type deal, but Horowitz never explores this much and he doesn't do much interesting with it. Perhaps a deep exploration of religious cultism would be too dark for a kid's book. Nightshade feels like a combination of Point Blanc and Scorpia, but without any of the interesting bits. Both of those books had a more interesting take on the exact same thing.
There was nothing 'bad' about this book at all, but it was simply uneventful, which is not what I want from Alex Rider at all. I've always found Horowitz's prose to be rather clunky, but he does write thrilling action scenes. There was too little action in this book, and action is the brain, heart and skeleton of Alex Rider, without it you don't really have much. For the next book, I hope the Nightshade lot all have a nasty tumble down the stairs and drop dead, so that Alex can face a real villain with real stakes again. There's nothing interesting or thrilling to me about Alex parachuting on top of a cathedral, and talking Freddy Grey out of going through with the plan.
I want to (not very) briefly discuss how I feel about Horowitz's revival of the Alex Rider series, which had ended with Scorpia Rising in 2011 (technically Russian Roulette, in 2013) and brought back with 2017's Never Say Die. Though this is not directly relevant to this review, it is something that, in my view, now overshadows the series and bears discussing.
So, Horowitz's new incarnation of the Alex Rider series hasn't done much yet to prove to me that it was actually worth it. His new post Russian Roulette revival hasn't wow-ed me at all, which is disappointing. Similarly, the awful retconning from the previous book completely destroyed the emotional climax to Alex's story in Scorpia Rising, and the in-universe explanations given for these hasty changes are so insulting to the audience's intelligence that it made me question Horowitz's respect for his readers. I'm of course referring to the reveal in Never Say Die that Jack Starbright, Alex's long time companion, didn't actually die, and it was instead faked with CGI so that the Grimaldi Twins could have someone to look after some kidnapped kids. It may be the most absurd, poorly thought out and unrealistic retcon I have ever seen. Not only is it absurd, but it ruins the emotional impact of Scorpia Rising, and puts the entire series on skids since we can now never trust a character's death. Perhaps Ian Rider will come back? Ash? Maybe for another cheap and 'shocking' twist, John Rider will be back from the dead as the next villain. Who knows!
It's abundantly clear that this new incarnation is simply an indulgence from Horowitz, who after ending his series with a neat bow is now taking an axe to it because he can't let go. As I mentioned earlier, the action setpieces are simply retreads and imitations of scenes that already happened in previous books (in fact, the prison escape is quite literally a retread of the start of Scorpia Rising, being the exact same prison).
Horowitz is clearly out of ideas, which is especially evident considering the concept of this book is almost identical to Scorpia, but without the personal angle which gave it an interesting edge. The fact of the matter is that the series ended when it should have - it went out on top, and that continuing it is completely unnecessary artistically. What is the point of this reboot? Is it going anywhere? Horowitz has shown that he will completely betray his own story with hysterical and nonsensical retcons that ruin any investment readers actually had. I am only belabouring this point so much because it is utterly insulting to get your readers invested in the drama and stakes of your world, only to rip it all away for no reason. When the series inevitably ends for the second time, what will the point have been? Alex's arch nemesis, Julius, was destroyed - his biggest rival, Scorpia, was destroyed. His family trauma was explored and mostly resolved on page. Everything came to a natural conclusion that had been built via story arcs across the whole series. What previously propelled the story along - the mystery of Alex's past, his family and their connections to Scorpia (craftily interspersed via cliffhangers and hooks through out the series), with emotional climaxes and reveals in Scorpia, Snakehead and Scorpia Rising, are now gone. What next for Alex? Has Horowitz even considered it? Will Alex Rider be episodic from now on, with little story ties between installments? I really hope not. I think the reason for Alex's character being so dull in this book (and the previous one) is because his character already completed his story arc, and has nowhere else to go (unless Horowitz is willing to do something bold like make Alex a traumatised adult, which he already ruled out).
If more installments must be written, then there needs to be some kind of impetus driving it along. The hook in the first novel, Stormbreaker, was discovering why his uncle Ian was killed. The rest of the series investigated Alex's family ties to Scorpia. Never Say Die's only hook was Alex searching for Jack, whom he believed had died (the awful retcon in question). Now that Jack is back safe, Alex is simply doing missions again with no driving force. I can't see where this series is going to go from here. At this rate, it certainly won't be artistic or original. Ultimately, it seems that Horowitz wanted to finish his series in 2011, did so neatly, and then changed his mind, and was forced to sloppily undo his ending (which is now not an ending), with little consideration for how the series would actually continue thematically or narratively. The new incarnation's worst sin is not just the retroactive butchering of Horowitz's own story, but also the simple fact that it adds absolutely nothing to the Alex Rider canon. It does not need to exist, and its existence is actually a negative because of the aformentioned butchering.
The only silver lining to it may be that younger readers may discover Alex Rider through this book, and then realise they have an entire catalogue of way better Alex Rider novels to dig in to. I'm only so critical because I adore this series so much, I quite literally grew up reading them non-stop. I'm not ashamed to say that, even as an adult, I sometimes find myself packing Snakehead or Point Blanc when I have a long train ride. They are still incredibly readable and entertaining, and the simple prose makes 300 pages fly by. It's not high art or anything, but they are still damn fun.
At the end of the day, I doubt many people dislike the fact that Horowitz brought the series back from the dead. In fact, I imagine that many were happy to see it return if anything. I personally am just a big believer in not overstaying one's welcome - a bit like a legendary rock band from the 70s farting out another mediocre album long past their prime. Sometimes it's best to know when to quit. Horowitz seemed to know when that was, and then undid it all. Regardless, the old books are still there, and if they enrapture kids like they did to me when I was younger, then it will all have been worth it. It doesn't really matter. I poured my heart into this review because I genuinely felt betrayed reading Never Say Die, because I had invested my time and emotions into the series, only to have the author slap me in the face. If the series has to continue from here, I only hope that Horowitz comes up with something a bit more bombastic next time.
EDIT: I haven't read the latest installment, 'Nightshade Revenge' (great title), but I read some of a plot summary online. Much like how Nightshade centres around an evil terrorist for hire group (Scorpia), Nightshade Revenge centres around an evil video game... you know, the exact same plot from Eagle Strike. Horowitz is unashamedly just recycling ideas from earlier novels. I stress again - what is the point in writing more of these books if there are no new and interesting ideas, no new angles or takes on the concept, or no new directions to take the character and world? It is baffling from an author I held in high esteem and was genuinely a hero to me as a kid. I'm glad I stopped reading when I did.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 15, 2020
Nightshade
(Alex Rider #12)
by Anthony Horowitz
Get ready for action, adrenaline and adventure in this explosive, brand new Alex Rider mission by bestselling author, Anthony Horowitz.
In this adrenaline-fueled adventure in the number one bestselling series, Alex Rider is sent by MI6 Special Operations to infiltrate a new and sinister organization known only as Nightshade. Alex is on his own, with the fate of thousands of people resting in his hands.
Review
Reluctant teenage spy Alex Rider returns in another adventure! Nightshade has all the ingredients you've come to expect from this series. Horowitz's has set the scene for a brilliant story line in the next book.
(Alex Rider #12)
by Anthony Horowitz
Get ready for action, adrenaline and adventure in this explosive, brand new Alex Rider mission by bestselling author, Anthony Horowitz.
In this adrenaline-fueled adventure in the number one bestselling series, Alex Rider is sent by MI6 Special Operations to infiltrate a new and sinister organization known only as Nightshade. Alex is on his own, with the fate of thousands of people resting in his hands.
Review
Reluctant teenage spy Alex Rider returns in another adventure! Nightshade has all the ingredients you've come to expect from this series. Horowitz's has set the scene for a brilliant story line in the next book.
August 1, 2022
This was a great read! Full of action and suspense, played almost like a movie in my head! Brings me back from my past! Recommend this book for all who enjoy spy and adventure! Love this series! Cannot wait for the next book!! 🐾
December 29, 2022
This book was amazing! I really enjoyed the beginning and climax, but the middle just made it feel boring. My favourite bit, though, is when Freddy breaks out of the prison in Rio. That had a lot of action in it.
April 27, 2020
4 stars.
I don't think I'll ever not enjoy an Alex Rider book. If I ever do then there is something wrong (with me).
Once again, Alex Rider is back at school and hoping that his days as a teenage spy working for MI6 are over. However, Mrs. Jones - the director of MI6's special operations - has other ideas. When one of their agents warns of a new terrorist threat just moments before he is assassinated, she becomes convinced that Alex is their only hope. Nightshade are a new organisation unlike anything the secret service has seen before. All they have as a clue is an expertly trained, robotic boy who refers to himself as 'Number Nine'. Alex is desperate not to get involved, but when Mrs. Jones reveals personal reasons why Nightshade must be taken seriously, Alex finds the job impossible to refuse. It is not long before he is forcing himself deep into Nightshade's operations, and with the threat against London growing every day, he has to hurry if he's to protect both himself and the entire country.
When I tell you that I screamed when I found out this book had been written I'm not exaggerating. I had remained secretly optimistic after the last Alex Rider mission ended with a subtle hint towards a follow-up, but I didn't expect Anthony to actually HIT US WITH THIS MID-QUARANTINE?!?!? Chaotic energy, but much much much appreciated.
We're on the twelfth book now, and it is pretty clear that I still love this series and Horowitz can do little wrong in my eyes. Consequently, I'm questioning the usefulness of writing this review, since most of my positive comments are repeats of things I have said in my reviews of the last four books, which I read in 2017. Alex Rider remains one of the coolest characters in fiction and these books some of the most exciting and engaging out there. I was thrilled with where this particular mission took Alex - into prison, up in the sky, into a terrorist camp on a Greek island etc etc - and love that Horowitz continues to be creative and unique in the nature of Alex's new missions.
I have a couple of reasons why this only got 4 stars. One of the reasons is likely to be that I've become harsher with my star ratings in general since I last read one of these books, but aside from that, I felt that the climax of Nightshade was a little rushed. We spend a long time learning about the organisation and investigating their plans, so I just wished we could have seen more of the gritty action where Alex has to do the actual world-saving. What's more, I feel like the 'big reveal' that comes in the last few chapters was too predictable and I was a little disappointed. I feel as though Horowitz missed an opportunity to actually surprise his readers further or, better still, to in fact hold back on the revelation to give any later missions even more urgency and complication. Hint hint, Anthony, please write another one.
However I would like to make a polite request for any of Alex's further adventures to be consensual. It makes me sad every time Alex is so openly reluctant to involve himself with MI6's missions. I'm not saying he has to be trigger-happy and buzzing to miss school but it would be nice to know he actually cares about the work he's doing and wants to be able to make use of his skills. Just a thought.
Anyway, I've just learnt that the Alex Rider TV series that has been spoken about for a while is actually in the works and (hopefully) on the way!!! The best news!! Excited would be an understatement.
I don't think I'll ever not enjoy an Alex Rider book. If I ever do then there is something wrong (with me).
Once again, Alex Rider is back at school and hoping that his days as a teenage spy working for MI6 are over. However, Mrs. Jones - the director of MI6's special operations - has other ideas. When one of their agents warns of a new terrorist threat just moments before he is assassinated, she becomes convinced that Alex is their only hope. Nightshade are a new organisation unlike anything the secret service has seen before. All they have as a clue is an expertly trained, robotic boy who refers to himself as 'Number Nine'. Alex is desperate not to get involved, but when Mrs. Jones reveals personal reasons why Nightshade must be taken seriously, Alex finds the job impossible to refuse. It is not long before he is forcing himself deep into Nightshade's operations, and with the threat against London growing every day, he has to hurry if he's to protect both himself and the entire country.
When I tell you that I screamed when I found out this book had been written I'm not exaggerating. I had remained secretly optimistic after the last Alex Rider mission ended with a subtle hint towards a follow-up, but I didn't expect Anthony to actually HIT US WITH THIS MID-QUARANTINE?!?!? Chaotic energy, but much much much appreciated.
We're on the twelfth book now, and it is pretty clear that I still love this series and Horowitz can do little wrong in my eyes. Consequently, I'm questioning the usefulness of writing this review, since most of my positive comments are repeats of things I have said in my reviews of the last four books, which I read in 2017. Alex Rider remains one of the coolest characters in fiction and these books some of the most exciting and engaging out there. I was thrilled with where this particular mission took Alex - into prison, up in the sky, into a terrorist camp on a Greek island etc etc - and love that Horowitz continues to be creative and unique in the nature of Alex's new missions.
I have a couple of reasons why this only got 4 stars. One of the reasons is likely to be that I've become harsher with my star ratings in general since I last read one of these books, but aside from that, I felt that the climax of Nightshade was a little rushed. We spend a long time learning about the organisation and investigating their plans, so I just wished we could have seen more of the gritty action where Alex has to do the actual world-saving. What's more, I feel like the 'big reveal' that comes in the last few chapters was too predictable and I was a little disappointed. I feel as though Horowitz missed an opportunity to actually surprise his readers further or, better still, to in fact hold back on the revelation to give any later missions even more urgency and complication. Hint hint, Anthony, please write another one.
However I would like to make a polite request for any of Alex's further adventures to be consensual. It makes me sad every time Alex is so openly reluctant to involve himself with MI6's missions. I'm not saying he has to be trigger-happy and buzzing to miss school but it would be nice to know he actually cares about the work he's doing and wants to be able to make use of his skills. Just a thought.
Anyway, I've just learnt that the Alex Rider TV series that has been spoken about for a while is actually in the works and (hopefully) on the way!!! The best news!! Excited would be an understatement.
February 22, 2020
I thought the book is coming out in april
April 2, 2021
Alex Rider, the world's favorite teenage spy, is back to save the world with plenty of new tricks in Horowitz's latest, Nightshade, but this time, he's on his own.
"Only you can help me. Only you can get close to Frederick Gray. And that's why I've come here. Help me find Nightshade. Help me stop whatever it is they're planning. But above all, help me find... Nightshade has them. And only you can help me get them back." - Ms. Jones
Aptly named after the poisonous plant, Nightshade is a dangerous new criminal organization that has risen to take Scorpia's place, but they use the one thing that other organizations have not: children. With London in danger, Alex is once more thrown back into the dangerous world of espionage. His mission: get close to Nightshade's captured agent and find out what Nightshade is planning. But it won't be easy because he's heading to Gibraltar, the most secure prison in the world, by pretending to be Julius Grief, who has plenty of enemies, to get close to a boy who's killed 4 men of the strongest police force in the world. In a book filled with details on Ms. Jones' personal life, camaraderie and friendship, and plenty of danger, can Alex find out and stop Nightshade's plan before it's too late? Will he be able to survive this encounter with an organization that "makes Scorpia look like a vicar's tea party"? Only time can tell.
"Only you can help me. Only you can get close to Frederick Gray. And that's why I've come here. Help me find Nightshade. Help me stop whatever it is they're planning. But above all, help me find... Nightshade has them. And only you can help me get them back." - Ms. Jones
Aptly named after the poisonous plant, Nightshade is a dangerous new criminal organization that has risen to take Scorpia's place, but they use the one thing that other organizations have not: children. With London in danger, Alex is once more thrown back into the dangerous world of espionage. His mission: get close to Nightshade's captured agent and find out what Nightshade is planning. But it won't be easy because he's heading to Gibraltar, the most secure prison in the world, by pretending to be Julius Grief, who has plenty of enemies, to get close to a boy who's killed 4 men of the strongest police force in the world. In a book filled with details on Ms. Jones' personal life, camaraderie and friendship, and plenty of danger, can Alex find out and stop Nightshade's plan before it's too late? Will he be able to survive this encounter with an organization that "makes Scorpia look like a vicar's tea party"? Only time can tell.
May 24, 2020
Again, like Never Say Die, Nightshade had a different feel to the rest of the series. It felt more mature and hinted at more mature subject matters than previous books. Alex himself read different, his character development over the series as a whole very evident and I liked how his relationship with Jack has changed slightly; less like parent and child and more even. I also enjoyed finding out a bit more about other characters back stories.
July 6, 2023
I loved the book… i am looking forward to read the next one.
October 28, 2022
Copy provided by Cindy Mitchell of Kiss the Book
If you've never consulted the Kiss the Book blog, head over there immediately. They have WAY more reviews than I do (sometimes 1,000 a year!), and their blog predates mine. When Cindy saw on Twitter that I wanted to read this book but didn't have a copy, she sent me hers. How sweet is that? It was especially fun because I read it on 5 April, Mr. Horowitz's birthday.
Alex is settling back into school with his best friend Tom, trying to forget all of the missions he's been on in the last year and a half since his uncle died. Of course, Mrs. Jones needs him desperately. She makes the mistake of not telling him she is sending a car to pick him up and Alex's instinct to protect himself goes overboard in an effective but somewhat humorous way. Jack is not happy about Alex going back on a mission, especially when they find out what it is. There's been some criminal activity involving kids Alex's age, and in order to find out who is behind this, Alex is going to pretend to be Julius Grief and go to the super high security MI6 prison on Gibraltar. There, he will befriend Freddy Gray, who was stolen as a child, brainwashed, and turned into a ruthless, highly skilled killing machine. Alex has to study up on all of his doppelganger's activities and personal interactions with the other prisoners, as well as the way that Julius would have acted in all situations. With the help of a stuffed animal from Freddy's past, he manages to make a connection, and the two decide to escape. Alex manages to do this without killing all of the guards that Freddy wants to kill, and the two are soon back in Kavos Bay, Greece where 25 children like Freddy have all been carefully trained to be the operatives for Nightshade, a deadly organization with no mission of its own that works for hire for different nefarious groups. It takes a while, but Alex figures out the target of their Leap of Faith mission, and works to get himself involved so that he can stymie it. If he succeeds, will he be able to go back to being a typical teen, or will he put himself right in the center of Nightshade's target?
Strengths: The most brilliant part of the Alex Rider books is that they are written in a hard hitting, adult style that is incrementally tweaked to adjust to younger readers (for example, the print is still slightly larger than adult books). Horowitz is the master of writing the Reluctant Hero; we get tantalizingly small doses of Alex's ordinary life before he is taken off on yet another mission. Even though he is reluctant, he is fantastically good at his job, and wants to make things right in the world. The twists and turns of the adults' forays into counter espionage, as well as Mrs. Jones' backstory, add another interesting layer to this. Nightshade is a new organization for Alex to take down, and it seems like there will be another book to deal with them. As always, the details about jumping out of planes, evading security, and being on the run are well drawn and intriguing. It won't be long before MI6 finds that many of its recruits will cite Stormbreaker (2000) as their impetus for joining the secret service!
Weaknesses: Freddy is very vicious, so this starts out with more brutal killings than most books. This does, however, serve to highlight Alex's compassion and dislike for killing.
What I really think: There are four series in my library that I make sure are being held together by whatever means necessary: Horowitz's Stormbreaker, Ally Carter's Gallagher Girls, John Flanagan's Ranger's Apprentice, and Shan's Cirque du Freak. I don't know that I could work in a library that didn't have the complete Stormbreaker series. Just couldn't.
On a personal note, this is what I was reading when I couldn't be with my mother as she was dying. My father was able to be with her, but since she was in a nursing facility, they wouldn't let me in, since it was very early days of the pandemic.
If you've never consulted the Kiss the Book blog, head over there immediately. They have WAY more reviews than I do (sometimes 1,000 a year!), and their blog predates mine. When Cindy saw on Twitter that I wanted to read this book but didn't have a copy, she sent me hers. How sweet is that? It was especially fun because I read it on 5 April, Mr. Horowitz's birthday.
Alex is settling back into school with his best friend Tom, trying to forget all of the missions he's been on in the last year and a half since his uncle died. Of course, Mrs. Jones needs him desperately. She makes the mistake of not telling him she is sending a car to pick him up and Alex's instinct to protect himself goes overboard in an effective but somewhat humorous way. Jack is not happy about Alex going back on a mission, especially when they find out what it is. There's been some criminal activity involving kids Alex's age, and in order to find out who is behind this, Alex is going to pretend to be Julius Grief and go to the super high security MI6 prison on Gibraltar. There, he will befriend Freddy Gray, who was stolen as a child, brainwashed, and turned into a ruthless, highly skilled killing machine. Alex has to study up on all of his doppelganger's activities and personal interactions with the other prisoners, as well as the way that Julius would have acted in all situations. With the help of a stuffed animal from Freddy's past, he manages to make a connection, and the two decide to escape. Alex manages to do this without killing all of the guards that Freddy wants to kill, and the two are soon back in Kavos Bay, Greece where 25 children like Freddy have all been carefully trained to be the operatives for Nightshade, a deadly organization with no mission of its own that works for hire for different nefarious groups. It takes a while, but Alex figures out the target of their Leap of Faith mission, and works to get himself involved so that he can stymie it. If he succeeds, will he be able to go back to being a typical teen, or will he put himself right in the center of Nightshade's target?
Strengths: The most brilliant part of the Alex Rider books is that they are written in a hard hitting, adult style that is incrementally tweaked to adjust to younger readers (for example, the print is still slightly larger than adult books). Horowitz is the master of writing the Reluctant Hero; we get tantalizingly small doses of Alex's ordinary life before he is taken off on yet another mission. Even though he is reluctant, he is fantastically good at his job, and wants to make things right in the world. The twists and turns of the adults' forays into counter espionage, as well as Mrs. Jones' backstory, add another interesting layer to this. Nightshade is a new organization for Alex to take down, and it seems like there will be another book to deal with them. As always, the details about jumping out of planes, evading security, and being on the run are well drawn and intriguing. It won't be long before MI6 finds that many of its recruits will cite Stormbreaker (2000) as their impetus for joining the secret service!
Weaknesses: Freddy is very vicious, so this starts out with more brutal killings than most books. This does, however, serve to highlight Alex's compassion and dislike for killing.
What I really think: There are four series in my library that I make sure are being held together by whatever means necessary: Horowitz's Stormbreaker, Ally Carter's Gallagher Girls, John Flanagan's Ranger's Apprentice, and Shan's Cirque du Freak. I don't know that I could work in a library that didn't have the complete Stormbreaker series. Just couldn't.
On a personal note, this is what I was reading when I couldn't be with my mother as she was dying. My father was able to be with her, but since she was in a nursing facility, they wouldn't let me in, since it was very early days of the pandemic.
April 14, 2020
With Alex Rider you come to expect the unexpected. Nightshade, the twelfth in the series, is a fast-paced explosive read that delivers in so many ways.
Although he’s trying to get back to normal life, nothing is ever going to be straightforward for Alex. He is, once again, contacted by the new head of MI6 when one of their agents is attacked. The person responsible for the attack was a fifteen year old boy...and Alex may well be the best hope they have of learning more about the boy known as Freddy who killed five of Brazil’s most dangerous police force.
Having already been mistaken for Julius Grief, Alex is shipped out to the facility from which he is thought to have escaped. The psychologist there is the only one who knows the truth about Alex, and it’s up to Alex himself to find a way in to befriend Freddy.
What follows is an adventure beyond your wildest imaginings.
Once again Alex finds himself relying on his wits and his very special set of skills. This time round he’s up against the mysterious Nightshade group who are planning a lethal attack on London. Alex has to learn the truth and find a way to stop what could, potentially, be the most dangerous event in British history. Business as usual - except this time MI6 have been shut down, Alex is on his own and there’s a leak from within.
An audacious scheme, plenty of opportunities for it to go wrong and - at its heart - young Alex being pushed to his limits. There’s a depth to this that hasn’t always been in the Alex Rider novels with the personal revelation about Mrs Jones...and the most ominous ending suggesting that things are not over.
Although he’s trying to get back to normal life, nothing is ever going to be straightforward for Alex. He is, once again, contacted by the new head of MI6 when one of their agents is attacked. The person responsible for the attack was a fifteen year old boy...and Alex may well be the best hope they have of learning more about the boy known as Freddy who killed five of Brazil’s most dangerous police force.
Having already been mistaken for Julius Grief, Alex is shipped out to the facility from which he is thought to have escaped. The psychologist there is the only one who knows the truth about Alex, and it’s up to Alex himself to find a way in to befriend Freddy.
What follows is an adventure beyond your wildest imaginings.
Once again Alex finds himself relying on his wits and his very special set of skills. This time round he’s up against the mysterious Nightshade group who are planning a lethal attack on London. Alex has to learn the truth and find a way to stop what could, potentially, be the most dangerous event in British history. Business as usual - except this time MI6 have been shut down, Alex is on his own and there’s a leak from within.
An audacious scheme, plenty of opportunities for it to go wrong and - at its heart - young Alex being pushed to his limits. There’s a depth to this that hasn’t always been in the Alex Rider novels with the personal revelation about Mrs Jones...and the most ominous ending suggesting that things are not over.
September 28, 2024
Well, Nightshade is the 13th novel in this series, and now finally even I feel a little tired of the same structure.
It's like every time Alex somehow gets caught up in some nefarious event, then MI6 tries to help him and be there for him but due to something or the other at the end of the day, Alex has to save the day all by himself. I see many people got tired of this charade way back but finally, even I am feeling a little burnt out by all of this. Also, there are no real risks involved here, Anthony plays it extremely safe almost every time. I never wanted the series to end but somehow I now think that it should have ended at Scorpia Rising or at the most at Never Say Die.
However, don't get me wrong, Nightshade wasn't particularly dull. It did have the DNA of a quintessential Alex Rider novel. Massive set pieces, unfathomable action scenes, devilish evil plots, and a teenager saving the day at the end. One thing I missed was the cool gadgets, which were severely lacking here. At the end of the day, maybe this had a bit too much of the Alex Rider DNA.
The new characters introduced here, like Freddy Grey, Sofia, and all the other numbers and teachers do seem interesting, and the "evil plot" had some ingenuity. However, it certainly does not beat SCORPIA or that arc. Also, I don't know why but I do miss the continuing complex antagonist like Yassen Gregorovich.
Either way, I am not gonna be reading the Nightshade Revenge anytime soon, and when I read it in the future, I certainly will be reading it for nostalgia.
It's like every time Alex somehow gets caught up in some nefarious event, then MI6 tries to help him and be there for him but due to something or the other at the end of the day, Alex has to save the day all by himself. I see many people got tired of this charade way back but finally, even I am feeling a little burnt out by all of this. Also, there are no real risks involved here, Anthony plays it extremely safe almost every time. I never wanted the series to end but somehow I now think that it should have ended at Scorpia Rising or at the most at Never Say Die.
However, don't get me wrong, Nightshade wasn't particularly dull. It did have the DNA of a quintessential Alex Rider novel. Massive set pieces, unfathomable action scenes, devilish evil plots, and a teenager saving the day at the end. One thing I missed was the cool gadgets, which were severely lacking here. At the end of the day, maybe this had a bit too much of the Alex Rider DNA.
The new characters introduced here, like Freddy Grey, Sofia, and all the other numbers and teachers do seem interesting, and the "evil plot" had some ingenuity. However, it certainly does not beat SCORPIA or that arc. Also, I don't know why but I do miss the continuing complex antagonist like Yassen Gregorovich.
Either way, I am not gonna be reading the Nightshade Revenge anytime soon, and when I read it in the future, I certainly will be reading it for nostalgia.
April 14, 2020
First half a little slow for my tastes, but the second half hits the ground running. Can't wait to see where this NIGHTSHADE arc is going to do next.
Review taken from The Pewter Wolf, which will be going live in mid/late April 2020
***Please note that while I read my preordered copy, I was gifted an eProof by UK publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review/reaction. However, due to technical difficulties, I couldn't read the eProof. But, I will still give my honest reaction***
One of the the weird things about self-isolation over the Easter Weekend is that the amount of free time I have to read. Am trying to keep a daily routine (for the sake on my mental health) but, on a normal working-day, I can only grab snatches of reading here and there while relying hugely on audiobooks and podcasts. But what I mean is that reading a book of this size would normally take me several weeks and yet, the past few weeks, I have been reading books of this size at a pace and I’m not sure how my reading is going to cope when I go back to work…
But we’re not here to talk about work, we are here to talk about Nightshade, the twelfth Alex Rider novel. I have read Alex on and off since my college days (starting with Eagle Strike) and, earlier this year, I audiobooked/reread Ark Angel, a bit of a “jump the shark” in the series and, after that, I went “I’m going to read Nightshade. I mean, what is the mysterious Nightshade that was referenced at the end of Never Say Die?”. So, I preordered it and, unlike the other preorders I made while in self-isolation which I start then DNF/put on hold for one excuse or another, I powered through this at a quick speed.
After the events of Never Say Die, the criminal organisation Scorpia is truly dead and all 15 year old Alex Rider wants to do is go back to school, study for his GCSEs and not be a spy anymore for MI6. But MI6 have other ideas. According to intel they have recently discovered, a new and far more dangerous criminal organisation has come on their radar: Nightshade.
And they seem to be using children. MI6 want Alex to go to a high security prison in Gibraltar to befriend a boy who, without hesitation, killed an MI6 agent, several policemen and will happily kill without question. As Alex tries to get involved with this boy’s involvement with Nightshade, he finds out an attack will hit London and must, somehow, stop it. But this time, he’s on his own…
I’m glad I’m making myself go back into the world of Alex Rider because it’s a mix of fun, comforting and pure escapism. I admit that this series isn’t going to be everyone’s cup of tea (what if James Bond was a regular teenage who was dragged into this world?) but there’s something about this series that is fun.
It’s interesting that the Alex Rider books where Alex is fourteen (starting withStormbreaker and ending with Scorpia Rising - though we do have Russian Roulette that focus on fan fave, Yassen Gregorovich), the missions have a slight sci-fi twist to them (at the time. Look now to technology such as space travel and cloning, we are very close), whereas the newer Alex Rider novels, starting with Never Say Die (Alex Rider 2.0, if you will), the books are far more grounded, more darker in tone and seems to go a little further.
For me, this book has two parts. The first half is slower in pace - this isn’t a bad thing, but I like stories where I hit the ground running. But I completely get why I struggled with this half - we are setting up a new criminal organisation, one that seems to be far more ruthless and coldblooded compared to Scorpia and unlike Scorpia, Alex discovers this differently. Alex first hears about it at the end of Eagle Strike with hints that his father was involved so Alex had a personal reason to find out more. Here, Alex has no real ties to it, (but other main characters do) so it’s a slower burn and, because of that and Alex slowly trying to get in, it takes time. But, once we got halfway through the book, the book suddenly picks up pace and we are running. I do hope that, because of this, the next book in the series continue with this speed.
I am going to keep going with this new Nightshade arc as I am so intrigued over where Anthony is going to go. Though I am a little worried over Alex, as much as I enjoy this series and I think fans all over the world, I don’t want this series to outstay its welcome. There are several series that did and fans were glad/relieved when these series ended and I don’t want that to happen to Alex.
But I’m planning to stay with Alex for a little while longer. I’m thinking of rereading some old Alex Rider missions and maybe one or two I haven’t. You’re not getting rid of me that easily…
Review taken from The Pewter Wolf, which will be going live in mid/late April 2020
***Please note that while I read my preordered copy, I was gifted an eProof by UK publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review/reaction. However, due to technical difficulties, I couldn't read the eProof. But, I will still give my honest reaction***
One of the the weird things about self-isolation over the Easter Weekend is that the amount of free time I have to read. Am trying to keep a daily routine (for the sake on my mental health) but, on a normal working-day, I can only grab snatches of reading here and there while relying hugely on audiobooks and podcasts. But what I mean is that reading a book of this size would normally take me several weeks and yet, the past few weeks, I have been reading books of this size at a pace and I’m not sure how my reading is going to cope when I go back to work…
But we’re not here to talk about work, we are here to talk about Nightshade, the twelfth Alex Rider novel. I have read Alex on and off since my college days (starting with Eagle Strike) and, earlier this year, I audiobooked/reread Ark Angel, a bit of a “jump the shark” in the series and, after that, I went “I’m going to read Nightshade. I mean, what is the mysterious Nightshade that was referenced at the end of Never Say Die?”. So, I preordered it and, unlike the other preorders I made while in self-isolation which I start then DNF/put on hold for one excuse or another, I powered through this at a quick speed.
After the events of Never Say Die, the criminal organisation Scorpia is truly dead and all 15 year old Alex Rider wants to do is go back to school, study for his GCSEs and not be a spy anymore for MI6. But MI6 have other ideas. According to intel they have recently discovered, a new and far more dangerous criminal organisation has come on their radar: Nightshade.
And they seem to be using children. MI6 want Alex to go to a high security prison in Gibraltar to befriend a boy who, without hesitation, killed an MI6 agent, several policemen and will happily kill without question. As Alex tries to get involved with this boy’s involvement with Nightshade, he finds out an attack will hit London and must, somehow, stop it. But this time, he’s on his own…
I’m glad I’m making myself go back into the world of Alex Rider because it’s a mix of fun, comforting and pure escapism. I admit that this series isn’t going to be everyone’s cup of tea (what if James Bond was a regular teenage who was dragged into this world?) but there’s something about this series that is fun.
It’s interesting that the Alex Rider books where Alex is fourteen (starting withStormbreaker and ending with Scorpia Rising - though we do have Russian Roulette that focus on fan fave, Yassen Gregorovich), the missions have a slight sci-fi twist to them (at the time. Look now to technology such as space travel and cloning, we are very close), whereas the newer Alex Rider novels, starting with Never Say Die (Alex Rider 2.0, if you will), the books are far more grounded, more darker in tone and seems to go a little further.
For me, this book has two parts. The first half is slower in pace - this isn’t a bad thing, but I like stories where I hit the ground running. But I completely get why I struggled with this half - we are setting up a new criminal organisation, one that seems to be far more ruthless and coldblooded compared to Scorpia and unlike Scorpia, Alex discovers this differently. Alex first hears about it at the end of Eagle Strike with hints that his father was involved so Alex had a personal reason to find out more. Here, Alex has no real ties to it, (but other main characters do) so it’s a slower burn and, because of that and Alex slowly trying to get in, it takes time. But, once we got halfway through the book, the book suddenly picks up pace and we are running. I do hope that, because of this, the next book in the series continue with this speed.
I am going to keep going with this new Nightshade arc as I am so intrigued over where Anthony is going to go. Though I am a little worried over Alex, as much as I enjoy this series and I think fans all over the world, I don’t want this series to outstay its welcome. There are several series that did and fans were glad/relieved when these series ended and I don’t want that to happen to Alex.
But I’m planning to stay with Alex for a little while longer. I’m thinking of rereading some old Alex Rider missions and maybe one or two I haven’t. You’re not getting rid of me that easily…
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