I loved this book, it was one of my favorite books out of the Alex Rider series. It was very interesting because of all the different places he went, he went across the world and even out of this world.It starts off by Alex recovering from a gunshot wound after he just ruined scorpia's plans with their recent operation "Invisible Sword" and he gets placed in a hospital room next to a kid of one of the richest men in the world, Nikolai Dreven. During his stay, the night before he's supposed to leave he finds out men are coming to kidnap Dreven's son Paul. Alex tricks them into thinking that he is actually Paul and hurts all of the men until he is kidnapped by the final man. Alex gets sent to an apartment complex and is going to be used for ransom to get money from Dreven, but Alex admits he is not Paul and they leave him to burn in the apartments but he escapes. Dreven owes Alex a great deal and invites him to go onto a trip to the Caribbean with him and Paul to watch the rocket launch of his most recent project, Ark Angel. Alex has an odd suspicion of Dreven and decides he has had enough of him by the time he reaches America, yet the CIA have other plans. They come into contact with Alex and tell them all of the terrible things Dreven has done to get into power. They give him gadgets and help him on his way to find out what Dreven is up to. When they are in the Caribbean, one of the men is in disguise and is part of a group called Force 3 which is an eco terrorist group used to fight Dreven but is actually one of Dreven's men. He recognizes Alex and tries to have him killed but an inside CIA agent on the island finds him and saves him from drowning. Dreven catches Alex and the other agent and lock them up and tell him that Force 3 was a cover up so they could destroy his Ark Angel, causing the very precise and accurate crash map of the debris to land on Washington D.D.'s pentagon to destroy all of the artifacts against Dreven so it will be like he is a free man. Alex manages to escape and Dreven tries to flee but he crashes his plane and dies, and it is up to Alex to be sent up to space to save Washington D.C from it's doom.
So last week my granddaughter comes home from 5th grade and says "I got you a book from my school library". I explained that I had a lot to read but thanked her for thinking of me. The look on her face was too much (they sure know what buttons to push) so I said that I thought I could work it in. Big print...yes!!!!Of my two granddaughters, she is NOT my big reader, so I was surprised. Maybe they read it in class, but she couldn't or wouldn't say why this particular book. After my comments left on blogs last week about reading a series in order, my cheeks got pink to start in the middle of this series, but not being a prepubescent boy, I had never heard of Alex Rider. Amazingly, this was a really fun book!Alex Rider is 14 and a British spy. He has all the cool James Bond toys and travels all over the world and beyond. It is not written in a childish way, and is a rousing good mystery/adventure style that would certainly hold the attention of any boy or girl . This book begins with Alex in the hospital recovering from a gunshot wound, when he meets the boy in the next room, Paul Drevon, son if a Russian billionaire. Nikolei Drevon has teamed with the British government to build the first hotel in outer space, but is being plagued by an eco-terrorist group, Force Three, lead by Kaspar, a freakish, tattooed, evil, killer. Alex finds himself kidnapped by mistake, daringly escapes, and goes on to stay with Paul and his father, attempting to make sense of why and who is trying to stop the project dubbed Ark Angel.There is violence in this book, but nothing over the top, and I cannot remember one bit of sex, so I think it is recommended for the late elementary age. I was intrigued by the premise and since this was new to me, I may look for other Alex Rider books to read and discuss with GD2. It was a fast read (one day) and if you have any doubt, you can pre-read.I received this book from the Bear Canyon Elementary Library, via GD2. Thanks kiddo!!
What do You think about Ark Angel (2007)?
Here is a list of all the best alex rider novels.1- Ark Angel: Since 1979's Moonraker, sending spies up in space was almost a taboo. But in the sixth edition of the AR series, Horowitz has made it sensational to read and even more fantastic to imagine. Major thumbs up, the best!2- Point Blanc (or Blank, depending where it was released): An ingenious plot. Usually cloning would be a rather overlooked thing, but it was pitched perfectly in this book. Especially the fight at the end, absolute gold!3- Scorpia Rising: The last book in the series is one of the best. One of the saddest plots of the series though, with one of the main characters dying. But that makes the book even better. Alex is the edgiest he's even been in the final installment. A classic.4- Scorpia: A very good book, although slightly overrated. Scorpia is still a good read, with scintillating twists and turns.5- Stormbreaker: Pretty dry at first, but livens up later on. Shortest book in the series, but still a fan favourite.6- Eagle Strike: One of the more overlooked books in the series. Entertaining, but not as good as the first three.7- Skeleton Key and Snakehead: Those two are tied for seventh. Skeleton Key is an entertaining read, but somehow the plot just becomes rather unrealistic and Snakehead was good fun, but it lacked a glue that previous stories had.9- Crocodile Tears: Probably the most disappointing entry into the Alex Rider series. Although it has its good moments, such as Alex winning the poker game and the car veering off a cliff, the book seems rather strange and the plot sometimes seems a bit ridiculous. I won't give it a miss, but probably not up to the standards of the previous books.
—Percy Bolondo
"Ark Angel", by Anthony Horowitz, is yet another book in the Alex Rider series. This series is about a boy who even is young by age, is an advanced undercover agent for M16 for the British Government. In this book, Alex Rider is awake in a hospital in London after being shot by a scout sniper, and is in stable condition. While in the hospital, he notices a group of people attempting to kidnap a boy in the hospital. When Alex tries to help, it leads to a series of multiple unfortunate events. It is up to Alex from then to make it out alive. Out of every Alex Rider book I have read, this has been my favorite. What I enjoy in books, which made me enjoy this one is the ability to hide details to a certain level. I also enjoyed how I could relate to the main character in the book, and how well the Horowitz took me into the story. I would definitely recommend this book to one who is into young action, and can handle surprises. Overall 5/5 stars.
—Christian Touhey
This final book was wonderful, I thought that there wasn't going to be another book because in the last one it seemed like Alex was murdered. apparently not. In this final clincher, Alex is back and is in the hosbital suffering from a gun wound, strange people enter the ward and are planning to kill Alex's nextdoor neighbor. running to the rescue Alex's training kicks in and he saves the boy from being killed. the agency reinlist him and he is forced once more to work for them. Finding a plot on a ship in space he goes there in the conclusion of this series.I liked this book but was kinda disappointed because I thought Alex died in the last book so he wouldn't have to go through everything all over again, spy books arn't my favorite because they always come out the winner.I can make a text to world connection to this book. In this book Alex went up to space that was ment not for a human. I can relate this to the world because human sent apes up to space, just like Alex. I would reccomend this book to people of all ages, even more if you like spy books. I would give this book 5 stars, it is exciteing, and it keeps you on the edge of your chair, or whatever you are sitting on.
—Carlos Tomas Aguirre
