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, fourteen-year-old reluctant spy, to the case. Before he knows it, Alex is hanging out with the sons of the rich and powerful, and something feels wrong. Very 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. The clock is ticking-is Alex's luck about to run out?

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #36716 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
Grade 5-10-Move over James Bond, Point Blank's 14-year-old hero is also a member of Britain's secret service. Fresh from his training by MI6, Alex Rider is headed for an exclusive private school in the French Alps because the isolated mountain academy is linked to the deaths of two prominent men. Just like 007, Alex is equipped with special gear such as an exploding stud earring and a CD that doubles as a buzz saw. Though Alex finds himself in a few tight spots, his courage and ingenuity prevent the school's power-mad directors from using adolescent clones to take over the world. Author Anthony Horowitz packs plenty of action into his latest young adult thriller (Philomel, 2002). An exploding helicopter, a machine gunning strike force, and other shootings provide standard superspy-style violence. There's even the classic Bond ending with a last-minute villain to be dispatched. Narrator Simon Prebble adroitly handles a widely diverse cast of characters that includes several distinctive accents. With a plastic case that is both durable and informative, and good sound quality cassettes that are well-marked, this will be popular with listeners who like living on the edge vicariously.
Barbara Wysocki, Cora J. Belden Library. Rocky Hill, CT
Copyright 2003 Reed 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

Boy Spy
Point Blank is a great book by Anthony Horowitz. It's in a series with the main character being Alex Rider. I rate this book 5 stars, and I highly recommend this book for anyone who likes spy books. It's full of action and adventure! It reminds me of James Bond and Indiana Jones, because of all of the excitment and spying. Alex's is an MI6. MI6 in England is the same as the CIA in America. It's a super spy service. Alex is 14. He's gone through a great training program to follow his deceased uncle's career. The adventures he gets into covers spying, fighting, shooting, explosions and cloning. It also has a really great cliffhanger at the end. I think you'll find it a great book filled with suspense and action. I recommend reading Stormbreaker (Anthony Horowitz's first book) to understand how Alex Rider became involved in MI6, although I enjoyed Point Blank much more becasue there was more action.

awesome adventure
The book Point Blank by Anthony Horowitz is about a boy named Alex, a normal boy living his adventure life throughout his teenage years. But that all changes after he catches crooks selling illegal drugs. After that Alex is noticed by a team of investigators. The investigators notice Alex's crazy adventures he goes on to stop crime. So they want him to go on a mission as a spy. Alex accepts the terms to go to a school in London under a false name to find out if anything is suspicious. While Alex is there he meets bad kids that don't care about anybody but themselves. But Alex realizes after awhile all the kids that were bad suddenly want to learn, help, and do anything possible to make things better. This is where Alex knows something mysterious is going on and it was up to him to find out what it was.

Point Blank in Demand
I bought this book for my daughter for Christmas. It was one of many in this series on her wish list. She tells me that both boys and girls in her Junior high love these books. They are action packed and she can't seem to put it down once she starts it.
We went to a book store before Christmas and she wanted to buy a couple of books to read before Christmas - she chose this one and I had to tell her to please choose a different one.
I would recommend this series to anyone with a 12-14 year old.