Snakehead (Alex Rider)

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It seemed that everything was building up to 'Scorpia' and after its cataclysmic ending there just had to be a wrap-up book-but Snakehead... kinda boring. Snakehead follows Alex Rider has he tries to take down a human smuggling ring... disguised as an Afghan refugee child. Complete with painting his entire body and fake rotting teeth. So pretty early on you realize you're in for an uncomfortable reading experience.

Snakehead by Anthony Horowitz | Goodreads Snakehead by Anthony Horowitz | Goodreads

There were also other parts of the book that seemed racist to me. The way Alex views places like Bangkok and Jakarta is not very flattering, obviously those cities are very different from what he's used to so I'm not saying he had to think they were great cities, but he sounds absolutely revolted. Anthony Horowitz also describes a Chinese character as a "chinaman" at one point, a term I thought we had kinda left behind at this point. Snakehead is the seventh book in the Alex Rider series written by Anthony Horowitz. It stars Alexander "Alex" Rider, who is a teenaged MI6 agent. I also think that this one had some good commentary happening surrounding government and some other issues in relation with the government. Alex Rider is unwillingly recruited at the age of fourteen to spy for the British secret service, MI6. Forced into situations that most average adults would find terrifying and probably fatal, young Alex rarely loses his cool although at times he doubts his own courage. Using his intelligence and creativity, and aided by non-lethal gadgets dreamed up by MI6's delightfully eccentric, overweight and disheveled Smithers, Alex is able to extricate himself from situations when all seems completely lost. What is perhaps more terrifying than the deeply dangerous missions he finds himself engaged in, is the attitude of his handlers at MI6, who view the boy as nothing more than an expendable asset.

Meanwhile, the criminal organization SCORPIA, as part of their mission to assassinate eight celebrities due to host a conference to rival the G8 summit on Reef Island, an island off the north-west coast of Australia, breaks into a Ministry of Defense weapons research centre and steals a prototype bomb code-named "Royal Blue", known to be more powerful and devastating than the daisy cutter.

Anthony Horowitz Books | Waterstones Anthony Horowitz Books | Waterstones

The eighth book is entitled 'Yassen' and revolves around the life of this esteemed assassin. Theories are that he's still alive-in my opinion that's the only twist that could make it worth reading, otherwise it would just be a history of his life-yawn.I've been making a couple of comments throughout my re-reading of this series, calling out problematic aspects of the previous books, but for the most parts I've been thinking that there are moments in the series that just haven't aged well, not that anything has been . But this one just crossed a lot of lines for me. Of course I love all the other ones and i loved reading this one, i think mainly because the evil character in this one is so different and scary sounding and the way Major Yu dies is so gruesome! My thoughts about the Alex Rider series changed with every book I read. The first book, Stormbreaker, gave me shivers and totaly amazed me. The second book, Point Blanc, was interesting and I felt weird while I read it, although the end was very good. The third book, Skeleton Key, didn't have much action, but the end was a very cool part. The fourth book, Eagle Strike, was a favorite in the Alex Rider series, and I enjoyed how things played out through the end. The fifth book, Scorpia, was had lots of mystery in it and Alex did some things that were very stupid and I didn't like most of the beginning. But, in the end, it turned out to be a cool book. The sixth book, Arch Angel was alright, not one of the best ones. It was really cheesey and not one of the better ones.

Snakehead by Anthony Horowitz | Waterstones

This edition had the bonus chapter 'Coda' telling us how 'it' happened. Although it did flesh out the There's a particular scene near the end that really grossed me out, but I won't say what because it's a spoiler. This poor kid. These government figures really mess around with him and play these mind games with him and THEY DON'T EVEN PAY HIM. This is kinda a weird complaint to add on here, but they are told that they don't need to worry about the body paint (ugh) washing off unless they bathe (and obviously refugees never wash, at least not in the Alex Rider universe, so that's not a problem...), but they specifically end up soaking wet multiple times. Alex swims through a river, ends up drenched in rain, and I understand that it's not the same as scrubbing yourself with soap, but you would think that at some point he worries about it washing off and at least tries to look himself in a mirror? No, it's never brought up. It's just poor writing. another Alex Rider book is done and usually at this point i would be finished a series but not this one i still have another four books in this series to go until i finish it.

In Australia, Ethan Brooke, head of the Australian Secret Intelligence Service (ASIS), coerces Alex into helping him by pairing him with agent Ash, who was his godfather and once his father's best friend, to investigate the powerful Snakehead Ring under Winston Yu, after two failed attempts to infiltrate the organization. Alex then travels to Bangkok, Thailand where he meets Ash. He explains that he and Alex will take on the identities of Afghan refugees who have paid the Snakehead to smuggle them into Australia. Throughout their journey they are to identify key members of the Snakehead and find out their operations. I was a bit uncomfortable with some of the themes in this one (particularly where Alex dressed up as an Afghan refugee for a mission), but it really showcased the time when this book was published. This one took a little while to get going with the 'straightforward' and 'minimal risk' part of the Forgotten the title or the author of a book? Our BookSleuth is specially designed for you. Visit BookSleuth Anthony Horowitz, OBE is ranked alongside Enid Blyton and Mark A. Cooper as "The most original and best spy-kids authors of the century." (New York Times). Anthony has been writing since the age of eight, and professionally since the age of twenty. In addition to the highly successful Alex Rider books, he is also the writer and creator of award winning detective series Foyle’s War, and more recently event drama Collision, among his other television works he has written episodes for Poirot, Murder in Mind, Midsomer Murders and Murder Most Horrid. Anthony became patron to East Anglia Children’s Hospices in 2009.