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: #5948 in Books
• Published on: 2006-02-16
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 304 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780142406120
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

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

Assignment: Certain Death
Alex Rider, the youngest spy ever recruited and forced into service by MI6--Great Britain's premiere espionage agency, returns in POINT BLANK with a vengeance. Only a few days have passed since Alex's last adventure when he helped catch the man responsible for murdering his uncle, Ian Rider, who had also been a spy. His excuses, a doctor's note no one quite believes, have barely been made before he's spirited off by Alan Blunt and Mrs. Jones, the head of Special Operations. Two deaths of rich and powerful men, one of them a personal friend of Blunt's, have triggered an investigation into the matter of those deaths. One man was killed violently while the other, a VERY careful man, apparently died by an unfortunate accident. The common denominator: both men had problem children, sons that were sent to a new school in France called Point Blanc. Blunt assigns Alex to infiltrate the school on a Search and Report mission. Once there, Alex discovers that the boys attending the school are all eerie, all acting like little puppets who answer every command of the creepy Dr. Hugo Grief and Mrs. Stellenbosch. In no time at all, Alex Rider fourteen year old spy extraordinaire is once more facing a grim and certain death if he doesn't use every ounce of cunning and intelligence he possesses.

Anthony Horowitz is a novelist and TV writer. In addition to the two Alex Rider novels he's written (STORMBREAKER and POINT BLANK), he's also penned THE DEVIL AND HIS BOY, a historical thriller, THE DEVIL'S DOOR-BELL, NIGHT OF THE SCORPION, THE SILVER CITADEL, and short story collections, DEATH WALKS TONIGHT and MYTHS AND LEGENDS. He's written television scripts for POIROT and MIDSUMMER MURDERS, and recently created two television series for the BBC.

The pacing in POINT BLANK rivals the breakneck speed shown in STORMBREAKER. The story yanks the reader along, as if daring him or her to keep up. Although the book is written about a fourteen year old spy, the prose is keen and precise, rivaling any of that in today's thrillers. The book can be enjoyed by young readers as well as adults, and for the very same reasons. The action sequences are some of the best, tight and intricately planned. Horowitz stays just this side of SF and blends the effect neatly into the spy story. His villains are definitely of James Bond caliber, unique and attention-getting while at the same time vile and loathsome. Alex's tools of the spy trade, delivered by his very own Q-type spy inventor, are neat and plausible. Getting to see SAS soldier Wolf (from the first novel, STORMBREAKER) again was great. It seems Horowitz is going to create a world for his young spy and keep it interactive, weaving threads in one book that will come to fruition in successive novels.

There could be, perhaps, a little more dialogue in the book. Reading narration can be fun, but a reader's ears stay pricked for the conversations a character has. Of course, Alex isn't exactly overly verbose, but other characters could talk to him as well. And there needs to be a little more about Jack Starbright, Alex's housekeeper. So far, all the reader knows is that she is from America. What brought her to Great Britain and why does she continue to stay? Maybe the author has even more secrets to unveil.

POINT BLANK is a wonderful novel of action and suspense. Any reader waiting anxiously for the release of Vin Diesel's new movie, XXX, or the new James Bond film will definitely find a story in this book to meet the driving excitement in those properties.

Point Blank
Point Blank is the most action packed book I've ever read besides Stormbreaker. Alex Rider saves the day again! Working for the british secret service, Alex is sent into the acadamey of Poin Blanc. Alex has only a few gadgets to save the world from an evil scientist. Once again Alex Rider must save the world. This time from cloning!

A sequel shaken - not stirred
Alex Rider is the youngest member of Britain's elite M16 spying agency. He didn't think it would be too bad, but it's hard to be James Bond when everyone thinks that you are too young to carry a gun. After barely surviving his last adventure Alex is back at school - but M16 has plans for Alex. Shipped off to Point Blanc Academy, Alex is about to face a dangerous foe. Dr. Grief - the academy director - has plans for Alex, plans that place him in danger. Alex has to figure out what is going on - before he becomes the latest subject in Project Gemini.

This book is one of the best sequels that I have read for a long time. I loved the opening action scene where Alex manages to cause a lot of damage with a crane and a barge (I won't ruin it by saying anymore) - and the rest of the book kept up with that opening scene. I found that this book was more gripping than the first because it was tricky - just when you thought you had it figured out the author changed the rules.

Girls and guys alike will enjoy this fast-paced, action-packed novel. I can't wait until the next book in this series comes out. I have also recommended these books to my brother who reads Tom Clancy and he enjoyed them too. The best part about this Alex Rider adventure is that the end will leave you thinking about the book for a long time (but if I tell you why it will ruin the ending so you have to read this book for yourself).