24th August 2024

In this brilliant murder mystery inside a murder mystery, Horowitz has put together two incredibly complex plots that tie together beautifully into one story.

I found it took me only a few moments to get into the swing of the font change that sets aside the story from the one within it, and then found myself absolutely gripped. For an author to b able to construct something so compelling as this is amazing.

I’ve read quite a few of Horowitz’s novels before, but that’s has properly inspired me to keep a look out for more of his crime series.

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17th September 2023

The third Power of Five novel introduces us to some new characters - a pair of twins who live a rather unfulfilling childhood in the USA, until someone tries to buy them.

Then it becomes the sort of adventure I’m used to from Horowitz, apart from a section in the middle of the story which twists to a pseudo-Lovecraftian horror escapade (I liked this part less, I don’t find I have the right sort of imagination for those sorts of horror).

It’s a good, well paced story, bouncing around and starting to tie together a bigger picture that’s clearly going to continue into the final two novels.

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26th June 2022

Anthony Horowitz returns to the world of James Bond for a third and final time, on this outing giving us a view of Bond late career, following the last of Fleming’s original novels.

As before, the author is able to successfully emulate Fleming’s style - though I suspect that this might mean the tale doesn’t appeal too well to readers more used to modern thrillers, as this style is quite slow and cerebral compared to later tastes for fast paced action.

However unlike before, I’m janitor convinced that Horowitz has managed to quite balance the Fleming with a more modern viewpoint, with some aspects of story and character coming across as a bit too Fleming in their attitudes towards women.

Overall though a satisfying end to the Horowitz trilogy, and one that gives a deeper sense of character to Bond at least than I think I’ve seen in along time. I’m intrigued next to see what the next author, Kim Sherwood, will bring to the series.

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19th December 2021

The second book in the series, we follow the adventure as Matt’s powers cause him problems, even as his enemies continue to chase him down.

We head off to Peru for part of this story, and it seems like it takes an educational twist as we explore some history, which feels a bit like traditional children’s novels, while still retaining a modern approach to high tech adventure.

I think better than the first book, and I’m certainly encouraged to keep reading onto the remaining three.

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27th June 2020

I’ve read most of Anthony Horowitz’s Alex Rider series, and both his James Bond novels, so when I saw the first book of the Power of Five series on the shelf I thought I’d give it a go, and I was right to. Matt is the classic chosen one - an orphan with suspicions he has powers, living an oppressive home life that he wishes to escape from - and as always adventure ensues.

It’s a great introduction to the series, gradually revealing more about the world and the character and taking the reader to a place where they are keen to find out more from the rest of the series.

The plot moves at a good pace, with nicely proportioned chapters. It’s darker than Horowitz’s previous novels that I’ve read, with a focus on elements of horror that feel a bit like a contemporary Lovecraft, if Lovecraft wrote in a tone that was approachable and readable.

Certainly worth a read if you can cope with the horror elements, and I’ll be keeping an eye out for the rest of the series once I get back to book shops.

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29th July 2018

I enjoyed Anthony Horiwitz’s first James Bond novel - and his Bond-esque Alex Rider series for younger readers - so was glad to see him back to write another. This time it’s a close prequel, dealing with Bond’s first mission as a 00 agent, with some elements taken from unpublished Ian Fleming story ideas.

Horowitz does an amazing job of replicating the Fleming writing style, presenting a narrative that’s so recognisable. The way he describes the clothes, the food, the characters, and especially the travelogue style of introducing locations expertly mirror that used by Fleming in the original novels, and it really makes these books feel like they are a real part of the Bond canon.

Bond’s attitude also replicates the 1950s approach of the original, and yet Horowitz subverts this by adding a stream of female characters who disprove these attitudes - each having unique personalities, opinions and abilities which in turn serve to shape Bond’s character and to counter his initial views.

The narrative also neatly includes references to the originals, as well as back to some of the Young Bond prequels that have been published in recent years. It’s clear that Bond is still being moulded into the character that Fleming portrays, and I was certainly amused to see the origins of several of his foibles coming through here.

A really good Bond novel - I’m glad they picked this author and I hope he’s able to continue writing novels like this in years to come.

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29th April 2018

The ‘final’ novel in the Alex Rider series (because it turns out that another book has now been published) is one I’ve been looking for for some time. It’s an interesting twist on the series, which typically focuses on the titular teenager recruited into MI6 - instead this novel telling the surprisingly parallel story of his arch nemesis, a freelance assassin.

It’s actually a really compelling story, and was a real surprise as I hadn’t appreciated the difference from the rest of the series before starting reading. That said, it does make for a slightly disappointing finale, because it doesn’t wrap up our main character’s storyline, but instead fills in some of the gaps across the series as a whole.

Ultimately it’s just another boy spy, and they’ve become fairly commonplace in literature, but the opposing viewpoint makes it an interesting approach that’s worth reading if you are into the series.

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