Skeleton Key by Anthony Horowitz
ISBN: 9781844280940
Description
Teenage superspy Alex Rider is enlisted by the national security services again - this time for a routine reconnaissance mission at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships. But before long, Alex finds himself caught up in a terrifying chain of events that leads from the Chinese Triad gangs in London to an undercover assignment in Cuba. Alex begins to make chilling links between suspicious deaths, an illegal nuclear weapons deal and the plans of his host, Russian General Sarov, for the future of the world.
Reviewed on 27th August 2012
Book three in the Alex Rider series seems weaker than its predecessors. The plot sees Alex sent to America to help the CIA infiltrate a Caribbean island, but apart from a couple of action sequences feels bland and bitty.
The characters are generally forgettable and Rider hardly feels like a realistic teenager. There are hints that he is growing up in this book but they don't really fit well with the rest of the story, and his romance is portrayed in quite a ridiculous fashion.
I'm afraid this series has lost its way a little after a good start, and I'm not sure how much further I'm going to bother with it.
Description
Teenage superspy Alex Rider is enlisted by the national security services again - this time for a routine reconnaissance mission at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships. But before long, Alex finds himself caught up in a terrifying chain of events that leads from the Chinese Triad gangs in London to an undercover assignment in Cuba. Alex begins to make chilling links between suspicious deaths, an illegal nuclear weapons deal and the plans of his host, Russian General Sarov, for the future of the world.
Reviewed on 27th August 2012
Book three in the Alex Rider series seems weaker than its predecessors. The plot sees Alex sent to America to help the CIA infiltrate a Caribbean island, but apart from a couple of action sequences feels bland and bitty.
The characters are generally forgettable and Rider hardly feels like a realistic teenager. There are hints that he is growing up in this book but they don't really fit well with the rest of the story, and his romance is portrayed in quite a ridiculous fashion.
I'm afraid this series has lost its way a little after a good start, and I'm not sure how much further I'm going to bother with it.
Alcatraz Versus the Shattered Lens
Above Suspicion
The Never-Ending Sacrifice
The Reptile Room
City of Dragons
Hey Nostradamus!
Mrs McGinty's Dead
The Mermaids Singing
Ark Angel
The Black Echo
The Final Detail
Storm Front
The Amber Spyglass
No Deals, Mr Bond
Dragonflight
The Mystery of the Vanishing Treasure
The Magicians' Guild
Not Dead Enough
The Watchman
A Storm of Swords (2: Blood and Gold)
Laughing Gas
Mortal Causes
Redshirts
The Accused
The Mystery of the Hidden House
Eragon
Ghost Ship
Diamond Solitaire
Don't Touch Anything
The Way of Kings (part one)
The Way of Kings (part two)
Elantris
The Grave Tattoo
Blood at the Bookies
Pulling Up Stakes (part 2)
Gone
Death Comes to Pemberley
The Case of the Missing Books
Ordinary Thunderstorms
