The seventh installment of Anthony Horowitz's, Alex Rider series, Snakehead was an amazing book to read and had me wanting to read more and more. In this book the protagonist, Alex Rider, a British teenager that is a specially trained spy goes on another adventure. He travels across the world to find out what the dangerous criminal organization Snakehead is up to. Such places include Australia, Bangkok, and back in his native land of Britain. In the story he meets and greets maybe people that can accommodate him during his mission or even try to sabotage his chances of even being alive. Also in the story he has near death experiences which were so deep and tense that you would have thought you would have never made it out alive. I would love to say an example but that would take all of the fun out of reading the entire book. Although this book had a great story line there were somethings that I did and did not like about the book.In the book there were many things that I enjoyed. For example I loved the fact that Alex was only around my age doing all of these outrageous and perilous things. Another thing that I liked was how the author made the characters think forward on what would happen to them and what they would have to do to accomplish a certain task. One last thing that I enjoyed was that this book had an abundance of adventure. This allowed me to glue my eyes to the pages and never bring them off. It was just a great read. Although I have a lot of things that I like about the book there are a few things that I do not agree with. One thing was that no matter the fact or situation Alex would not die. I know that sounds pretty cruel but for example the boy went over a waterfall and lived and was in a dangerous shoot out with military soldiers and survived. I think that the book was at some points to unrealistic and that kind of maybe it some what too fictional. One last thing that I did not enjoy was that there were to many twists to keep up with. Some twists were good but it made some of the chapters confusing making me reread them. Those are the things I do and do not enjoy about the book but who would read this book?Since i enjoyed the book so much I would recommend this book to anyone that has a sense of adventure. This book would definitely send you on a mental roller-coaster that you would want to get on over and over again. The age group that would enjoy the book the most would be from freshmen in high school to anyone after that. Yes it was that good!If you live a boring life this would not be the book for you. Overall Snakehead written by Anthony Horowitz was an amazing read and I recommend this book to everyone.
Most Alex Rider books aren't exactly rooted in realism. They're essentially James Bond tales for teens. Which is what made Snakehead a very exceptional volume in this series. In this book, Horowitz vividly details the very real scourges of people smuggling and organ harvesting. Many people die at the hands of people smugglers or organ harvesters every year, and no one notices. To have his teen spy protagonist go up against a villain whose crimes were rooted in reality was a genius move. Unfortunately, Horowitz couldn't help throwing in a villainous plot worthy of a Bond villain in, to this book's detriment.Alex Rider has just finished with a perilous mission when the Australian secret service asks him to go against a gang of East Asian smugglers known as a snakehead. But he won't go in alone: his partner in the mission is his father's best friend Ash. In order to gain knowledge about what his dead parents were like, Alex agrees to gain information about the snakehead disguised as a refugee. But a sinister plan is brewing...The challenges and the struggles that Alex goes through in this mission are almost too difficult to read about. Horowitz does an amazing job of showing exactly how perilous life is for the refugees and how no living person, much less a teenager, should go through that. Most people in the West ignore the things that happen under their nose, but Horowitz continues to make it very clear that we cannot stand idly by as bad things happen. And unlike in other books, the peril that Alex faces is terrifyingly realistic. For the most part. Regrettably, Horowitz's narrative falters when he indulges his compulsion to make sure that every villain has a sinister plan. It's not even a well thought out plan and there are quite a few holes in it. Was I the only person who thought that the media would only focus on the deaths of the famous people that the villain was trying to kill, despite the many other casualties that would ensue? That's the problem with evil sometimes: It's simply not cynical enough. What makes the Alex Rider series so unique is that it deconstructs the idea of James Bond like adventures. Yes, there's action aplenty, but the point is that it is a life with consequences. Alex suffers immensely in this beautiful, terrifying novel. But despite this, he continues to persevere and use his formidable resourcefulness to triumph. The message of this series, I believe, is that fighting evil has a high cost, but one that we must pay.
What do You think about Snakehead (2015)?
I picked this book because it was the next book in the series. The book takes place in thailand australia and the west part of the pacific ocean. In the book a criminal organization called snake head is working with scorpia to try to stop a group of influential figures trying to change the world for the better. the influential figures are all well known celebrities that are having a meeting to compete with the g8 assembly. The criminal organizations want to make their deaths look like a accident that would not be questioned, a natural disaster. they end up trying to set off a bomb called royal blue above a tectonic plate to start a tsunami.tAlex Rider is a dynamic character that changes a lot throughout the series and the book. Alex Rider is a very intelligent, brave, and tough character. As the book progresses you can tell that his has matured and has also started to become more adaptable to situations. “He had taken on the falls and beaten them.” Horowitz The main theme is that you should try to do the right thing no matter what the consequence. Over all this is a great book.
—Reilly Monahan
"Snakehead" (Alex Rider #7)by Anthony Horowitz is a somewhat entertaining book that can come across as action packed. Someone as myself, not having read or known about any prequels to this book, didn't know what to expect. Ever since the begging of the book, when the main character Alex Rider fell from the sky in a pod, I had a harder time keeping track of the story. If I could, I would have rather read the books before this one. The main story behind this book is that the Alex is recruited to help take down the society of Sankhead who have their own plans. Alex goes through countless amounts of action packed scenes sometimes with is partner Ash. all and all, the book has strong points for the avid readers of Anthony Horowitz, but people who pick this up for a one time thing will be having some problems to keep up. As stated before, the main pull to this series is the constant amount of action used for its scenes. Spy tactics must be employed as Alex goes through countless missions that require some type of intelligence on the Snakehead. This type of story is well developed having chapter long breaks after each mission. This works in helping the book be more story driven. At one point Alex can be in a ring getting demolished by the Snakehead's fiercest fighter, then be simply sitting in a hotel room the next chapter. This writing style helps calm down the story and not have action going 24/7. On the other hand, the writing can sometimes be simplistic. It seems at times that the author tries to push the fact that this is a action book down your throat. Even with those chapters of rest, each action segment has 2-3 chapters of its own. These segments are not slow paced and usually are strong out. Each action segment can last for what seems like forever, and you may just be thinking, " when is it just going to get to the point?" These segments need to be made in moderation with maybe more than a one chapter relapse. Even after all of this, I would recommend this book to people who are into action based books. I also highly recommend that the first six books are read before this one. This is a book that I would most likely not read again, at least until I have been able to read the rest of the series.
—Eric
Snakehead is an adventurous, action novel that follows the life of, Alex Rider, a 14 year old spy. Alex is a spy for ASIS, or the Australian Secret Intelligence Service. Before ASIS, Alex destroyed Ark Angel and fell from space into the Indian Ocean. Alex ends up going to Jakarta and Alex and his partner, Ash, get separated. Alex is forced into a shipping container without Ash, but Alex has a secret bomb and escapes from the container. Then Alex finds Royal Blue, a massive bomb Alex and Ash are
—Luke Sands
