Scorpia by Anthony Horowitz
Jul. 30th, 2006 01:56 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
quippeThe Blurb On The Back:
Alex Rider is in Venice, looking for secrets long-buried in the past. Was his father really a ruthless assassin - and if so, what does that make Alex?
The truth lies with the shadowy criminal organization known as Scorpia, and soon Alex will have to make a choice: will he continue to work for MI6, who have manipulated and betrayed him? Or will Alex join Scorpia - and get his revenge?
Much of what I have said in my reviews for the previous Alex Rider books applies here. Certainly, characterisation has not improved and the same narrative issues remain. For example, this time Horowitz introduces the character of Tom Harris, who we're told is a friend of Alex's, even though he has not appeared or even been mentioned in any of the previous books. It reinforces my feeling that Horowitz did not have a clear view of his canon when he started writing the series, and creates an artificiality that marrs the books.
Saying that, Horowitz uses Scorpia to continue the story arc introduced in Eagle Strike to more effect. The Scorpia organisation is an interesting one and has a structure that is credible and Mrs Rothman as the 'Project Manager' for Invisible Sword is by turns manipulative and cunning. I was particularly impressed with the way in which she manipulates Alex's need to know more about his father and the use of film footage does allow for a certain amount of doubt in the reader's mind as to what Alex will do.
The central point about whether Alex is prepared to deliberately kill someone in cold blood is less well handled, mainly because we know that he's already killed people in the past (and not had any look at how he feels about it), which makes his current dilemma feel a little forced. There is tension to be had when he finally breaks into Mrs Jones' apartment, but the shock that you feel when he fires the gun is nullified when you discover that she was protected all the time and then Horowitz deliberately lessens that effect later when he says that Alex wouldn't have hit her anyway. In part, I think this is a problem of Horowitz's own making. On the one hand, he can't have a teenager who is also a cold-blooded killer because the parents won't like it (and from a screenplay perspective, it would not be sellable). On the other hand, it's difficult to have a credible teenage spy who refuses to kill.
Where Horowitz does redeem himself is with the shock ending, which I won't give away. I was genuinely impressed that he had the guts to do it and whilst you could argue that it's cynical in the context of the series, it does serve to tie in with what we know of the Scorpia organisation and as such is satisfying.
The Verdict:
Whilst I think that the writing has improved and this time the villain is a credible one, the old narrative problems still remain (and I am increasingly convinced that this is because Alex Rider was originally conceived as a tv or film series and what we're seeing is adapted scripts). What redeems this book is the ending, which is excellent and completely out of left field and leave you wanting to know what happens next.
Alex Rider is in Venice, looking for secrets long-buried in the past. Was his father really a ruthless assassin - and if so, what does that make Alex?
The truth lies with the shadowy criminal organization known as Scorpia, and soon Alex will have to make a choice: will he continue to work for MI6, who have manipulated and betrayed him? Or will Alex join Scorpia - and get his revenge?
Much of what I have said in my reviews for the previous Alex Rider books applies here. Certainly, characterisation has not improved and the same narrative issues remain. For example, this time Horowitz introduces the character of Tom Harris, who we're told is a friend of Alex's, even though he has not appeared or even been mentioned in any of the previous books. It reinforces my feeling that Horowitz did not have a clear view of his canon when he started writing the series, and creates an artificiality that marrs the books.
Saying that, Horowitz uses Scorpia to continue the story arc introduced in Eagle Strike to more effect. The Scorpia organisation is an interesting one and has a structure that is credible and Mrs Rothman as the 'Project Manager' for Invisible Sword is by turns manipulative and cunning. I was particularly impressed with the way in which she manipulates Alex's need to know more about his father and the use of film footage does allow for a certain amount of doubt in the reader's mind as to what Alex will do.
The central point about whether Alex is prepared to deliberately kill someone in cold blood is less well handled, mainly because we know that he's already killed people in the past (and not had any look at how he feels about it), which makes his current dilemma feel a little forced. There is tension to be had when he finally breaks into Mrs Jones' apartment, but the shock that you feel when he fires the gun is nullified when you discover that she was protected all the time and then Horowitz deliberately lessens that effect later when he says that Alex wouldn't have hit her anyway. In part, I think this is a problem of Horowitz's own making. On the one hand, he can't have a teenager who is also a cold-blooded killer because the parents won't like it (and from a screenplay perspective, it would not be sellable). On the other hand, it's difficult to have a credible teenage spy who refuses to kill.
Where Horowitz does redeem himself is with the shock ending, which I won't give away. I was genuinely impressed that he had the guts to do it and whilst you could argue that it's cynical in the context of the series, it does serve to tie in with what we know of the Scorpia organisation and as such is satisfying.
The Verdict:
Whilst I think that the writing has improved and this time the villain is a credible one, the old narrative problems still remain (and I am increasingly convinced that this is because Alex Rider was originally conceived as a tv or film series and what we're seeing is adapted scripts). What redeems this book is the ending, which is excellent and completely out of left field and leave you wanting to know what happens next.
