Product Description

Alex Rider, teen spy, has always been told he is the spitting image of the father he never knew. But when Alex learns that his father may have been an assassin for the most lethal and powerful terrorist organization in the world, Scorpia, his world shatters. Now Scorpia wants Alex on their side, and Alex no longer has the strength to fight them. That is, until he learns of Scorpia’s latest plot: an operation known only as "Invisible Sword" that will result in the death of thousands of people. Can Alex prevent the slaughter, or will Scorpia prove once and for all that the terror will not be stopped?

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #5930 in Books
• Brand: Penguin
• Published on: 2006-02-16
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 400 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780142405789
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

Amazon.com Review
Fans of the Alex Rider Adventures will not be disappointed by the slam-bang action in this fifth book in the spy thriller series, although the ending may leave them feeling a bit dismayed. A parachute jump onto the roof of a super-secure pharmaceutical complex, a desperate escape from a water-filled cellar under the canals of Venice, elegant and witty encounters with mega-criminals bent on death -- it's all here, and Alex, still 14-years old, comes out ahead every time in spite of the heavy odds against him. "Go to Venice. Find Scorpia. And you will find your destiny," Alex was told by a dying man at the end of the previous book, Eagle Strike. And so we find him; in Venice, with his friend Tom, looking for clues to his father's identity and death. Was he an agent of M16, the secret world organization that has used Alex before? Or was he a tool of Scorpia, the powerful international criminal agency that specializes in sabotage, corruption, intelligence, and assassination? And which are the bad guys? Alex loses track as he is recruited by the beautiful and deadly Julia Rothman, one of the nine executives of Scorpia, to be trained at their Venetian island school for assassins and to take part in a plot to kill thousands of 12 and 13-year-olds in England. Caught between shifting allegiances and different versions of his father's life and death, Alex outwits and outfights everybody as the plot rockets along to a smash finish that will leave readers breathless and shocked. (Ages 10-14) --Patty Campbell

From School Library Journal
Grade 7-10–Alex Rider, the 14-year-old spy and adventurer from Stormbreaker (2001), Point Blank (2002), Skeleton Key (2003), and Eagle Strike (2004, all Philomel), is back. While vacationing in Italy, he is recruited by the deadliest terrorist organization in the world, Scorpia, away from the world of M16, a British secret intelligence organization. Through a web of lies and deceit, Alex is persuaded to assassinate the deputy head of M16, a former friend and supervisor, while Scorpia plans a secret mission that will kill hundreds of thousands of British children in the blink of an eye. Missing his target and captured by M16, Rider is sent back into Scorpia, but this time as a spy. It is only with the teen's help that M16 can stop the organization's vicious threat. Of course, Alex Rider saves the day, but not without psychological mind gaming and fighting that will bring readers to the edge of their seats and keep them there until the final page. These titles are perfect for James Bond wannabes and reluctant readers. No prior knowledge of the previous books is necessary, as Horowitz drops clues from previous adventures.–Delia Fritz, Mercersburg Academy, PA

From Booklist
Gr. 8-11. In the fifth book in the exciting series that began with Stormbreaker (2001), Alex Rider, a teenage James Bond, infiltrates Scorpia, a terrorist organization which has accepted a contract from a Middle Easterner who wishes "to humble Britain and the U.S and to ensure they cease to work together as a world power." Searching for the truth of his father's death, Alex finds himself in the middle of a terrifying plot he cannot condone: to kill all 12- and 13-year-old British children. Fourteen-year-old Alex goes from thrilling adventure to improbable escape one quick-turning page after the other. High-tech and low-tech machinations will rivet readers, who will be anxious to learn if Scorpia can carry out its terrorist plan and who really killed Alex's father. This stands alone, but it will leave teens clamoring for the rest of the series. One book, and they'll be hooked. Frances Bradburn
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Customer Reviews

I love these books
At the end of Eagle Strike, Alex learns something about his father who died when Alex was a baby. He must find out the truth about his father's life and work so he is off to Venice to find a crime syndicate called Scorpia. This time he is on his own without any fancy gadgets or backup. When he meets Julia Rothman, one of the leaders of Scorpia, Alex is drawn into that criminal and terrorist world. He must decide what his future will be and reconcile what he learns about his father. If he joins them can he live with the consquences of the hideous attack Scorpia is planning on the city of London?

I listened to this book instead of reading it so I did not have the luxury of lingering slowly over the last few pages. The end of the book is an absolute shock. Horowitz is definitely writing these books with a bow to Ian Fleming. As a reader of the original Bond books, I was struck by how much the end of this novel echoed the ambiguous endings Fleming often used.
A set of Alex Rider books would make a great gift for a reader in your life.

A Great Addition to a Great Series!
Anthony Horowitz once again writes an incredible story and adds another chapter to the Alex Rider series. In this addition, our hero Alex must fight against the world's most powerful criminal organization to stop the murder of thousand of London's children, and himself. The book has many pages of intense action and suspense that makes every reader lose themselves in the book. It is definitely a page turner!

The story is mostly directed at teenage boys, but girls will like it too. The only people who would not like it is kids under the age of 10, since there are some parts that get a little too intense for that age group. If you like action and suspense, this book is just right for you. However, I do recommend reading the books before Scorpia in the series (Stormbreaker, Point Blank, Skeleton Key, and Eagle Strike). If you don't feel like reading all of the others, you wouldn't be too confused. But I highly recommend reading at least Eagle Strike, since a lot of the book is based off things that happen in it.

Overall I rate this book 5 out of 5 stars. The whole series (and Scorpia) are full of page turning action and wide-eyed suspense that will make readers beg for more!

So Coooooool!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This book is so awsome. It will put you on the edge of your seat. If you would like a change from boring old books, you got to read this one. It has many surprising twists and and action packed fighting. This book is the fifth in the series. If you do read this book, don't get depressed about the surprise ending. The series doesn't end at this book.