Product Description

When an investigation into a series of mysterious deaths leads agents to an elite prep school for rebellious kids, MI6 assigns Alex Rider to the case. Before he knows it, Alex is hanging out with the sons of the rich and powerful, and something feels wrong. These former juvenile delinquents have turned well-behaved, studious—and identical—overnight. It’s up to Alex to find out who is masterminding this nefarious plot, before they find him.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #18519 in Books
• Published on: 2006-02-16
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 304 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Powerful, privileged and screwed up, 16 boys in a boarding school suddenly turn into model students. It's up to 14-year-old Alex Rider to find out why and to face the maniacal man who has engineered it all in a bid to take over the world in Point Blank: An Alexander Rider Adventure by Anthony Horowitz, the follow-up to last year's Stormbreaker.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal
Gr 5-10-After two influential businessmen die in separate freak accidents, MI6, England's spy network, once again calls upon 14-year-old Alex Rider to infiltrate Point Blanc, a private school in the French Alps for out-of-control, wealthy teens. Armed only with his wits and some 007-type devices, he stumbles upon an evil mad scientist's plot to take over the world using clones as replacements for prominent sons. Spy gadgets, chase scenes, mysteries, and a cliff-hanger ending will keep even reluctant readers interested in the second novel in this series. Familiarity with the first novel is not necessary as the plot fills in past information when needed, but many students will want to go back and read Stormbreaker (Philomel, 2001) to see how Alex first became involved with MI6.
Kim Carlson, Monticello High School, IA
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
Gr. 6-10. There are times when a grade-B adventure is just the ticket for a bored teenager--especially if it offers plenty of slam-bang action, spying, and high-tech gadgets. Point Blank, the second in the Alex Rider Adventure series, is a nonstop thriller of just that sort, which features a 14-year-old orphan who is a reluctant spy for the British government. Trained by his uncle, a topnotch spy who died with his boots on, Alex is a bright, tough, daredevil athlete. No wonder M16 wants him to investigate a mysterious Swiss school dedicated to "reforming" delinquent sons of wealthy industrialists and important officials. Using a false identity, Alex enters the school and soon finds himself surrounded by curiously docile students, teachers who support the fascism, and a renegade doctor interested in cloning. With secret rooms, sullen sentries, mysterious disappearances, and wild rides galore, this is a great choice for reluctant readers. Jean Franklin
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Customer Reviews

Point Blank
Alex Rider has again been sent out by M16 for a new mission. When the mysterious deaths two of the rich and important occur this follows up to a school in the Swiss Alps called Point Blank. Disguised as a son of a billioniar, Alex is sent to Point Blank to discover what's wrong. While there the other kids that were said to be bad turned suddenly into well-behaved children. Knowing this, Alex begins to become mysterious and starts searching everywhere and finds the exact same people, rooms, and things on the upper floors. What should Alex do to save himself and the others?

Wow, can a 14-year-old really do these things?
Take an oddly structured mansion. Add a crazed genius. Add a freakish, muscle-enhanced woman. Put in some juvenile deliquents. Wait, make them the sons of very wealthy men. What do they have in common? Why, Alex Rider, of course, of England's M16 spy agency.

A 14-year-old spy? Yes, that would be Alex. Did he ask to be a spy? No, he did not, but he rose to the occasion when it was demanded of him. The remarkable aspect of "Point Blank" and "Stormbreaker" before it is that writer Anthony Horowitz makes the whole thing so believable. When Alex does the most extraordinary things, I found myself thinking, Not beyond the realm of possible (in other words--doable).

How does Alex find himself in the dilemma of juvie thrust into a highly disciplined all-boys school? His outrageous behavior, of course. What he tries to do with a houseboat is possibly not beyond possible and he is put into jail, later rescued by M16 and pretty much forced into involuntary service once again. This time his job is to learn what is going on in this special school for unmanageable boys of rich men. Two of their fathers were killed in "accidents" in a fairly short period.

What Alex learns becomes more and more bizarre (but believable). The ultimate occurs, however, when his true identity is learned. The reader can trust that wherever Alex Rider is will be mayhem and maybe a murder or two. "Point Blank" is no exception.

Book 3 in the series is Skeleton Key (Alex Rider). I am waiting for it to come in. If you are interested in a graphic novel in this series, try Point Blank: The Graphic Novel (Alex Rider (Graphic Novels)). But do start with the first book in the series, Alex Rider: Stormbreaker tie-in novel (Alex Rider Movie) or Stormbreaker: The Graphic Novel (Alex Rider (Graphic Novels)). A definitely exciting young adult series!

Anthony Horowitz; Alex Rider
Book 2 of the Alex Rider series. Maybe not as good as STORMBREAKER but still a cool book. The academy seems real, Alex Rider starts to become a character, It was written 10 years ago, Anthony Horowitz has improved since then, his latest books Necropolis and Fledgling Jason Steed are more real.