Ark Angel by Anthony Horowitz
Aug. 25th, 2006 03:22 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
quippeThe Blurb On The Back:
He's back.
Alex Rider is in hospital and determined to put his spying days behind him - but the reluctant teenage superspy is forced into action once again when a group of deadly eco-terrorists breaks in.
Suddenly Alex finds himself in the middle of a war that seems to be somehow connected to Ark Angel, a revolutionary space hotel. This time he will have to push himself to the very limits - and beyond.
Character and plot-wise, I'm going to have to repeat what I've said for each of Stormbreaker, Point Blank, Skeleton Key, Eagle Strike and Scorpia because whilst there are minor improvements, the fundamental problems remain.
There is a level of political and economic sophistication in the book that impressed me, particularly in the motivation for Nikolei Drevin's crazy plot of destruction. I enjoyed the sideswipe that Horowitz is clearly taking at Russian oligarchs via the character (and the football game with Chelsea was a nice touch that advanced the plot). I did think that an opportunity was missed with Paul Drevin though - a lonely boy of Alex's age who can't meet his father's expectations and who really seemed to want Alex as a friend - I think he could have been used to draw a little more emotion out of Alex and made him more vulnerable, but equally, given the ending of the book I hope to see Paul Drevin again (although hopefully not as an enemy).
There is one large contrivance that sets up the end of the book, wherein Alex has to go up to the Ark Angel space station. I think that it would be obvious to any teenage boy reader that the situation is a set up and what the set up is, but Horowitz persists in going through the motions in a way that's actually tedious. A far better way of doing it would have been to acknowledge what's waiting for Alex up in space and give him the decision as to whether or not to go. But that's just me.
I do wonder if the series is perhaps running out of steam. As Horowitz acknowledges through the character, Alex is not going to be 14 forever and I do wonder if there's anything left for him to do - particularly given the amount of attention he's received during the series, which means he's no longer a secret spy any more. Horowitz has said that the series will stop when Rider reaches 15 and he'll get a happy ending. I hope there's enough steam left in the series for that.
The Verdict:
See my reviews of the previous Alex Rider books because very little has changed. Horowitz has said that the series will stop when Rider reaches 15 and he'll get a happy ending. I hope there's enough steam left in the series for that.
He's back.
Alex Rider is in hospital and determined to put his spying days behind him - but the reluctant teenage superspy is forced into action once again when a group of deadly eco-terrorists breaks in.
Suddenly Alex finds himself in the middle of a war that seems to be somehow connected to Ark Angel, a revolutionary space hotel. This time he will have to push himself to the very limits - and beyond.
Character and plot-wise, I'm going to have to repeat what I've said for each of Stormbreaker, Point Blank, Skeleton Key, Eagle Strike and Scorpia because whilst there are minor improvements, the fundamental problems remain.
There is a level of political and economic sophistication in the book that impressed me, particularly in the motivation for Nikolei Drevin's crazy plot of destruction. I enjoyed the sideswipe that Horowitz is clearly taking at Russian oligarchs via the character (and the football game with Chelsea was a nice touch that advanced the plot). I did think that an opportunity was missed with Paul Drevin though - a lonely boy of Alex's age who can't meet his father's expectations and who really seemed to want Alex as a friend - I think he could have been used to draw a little more emotion out of Alex and made him more vulnerable, but equally, given the ending of the book I hope to see Paul Drevin again (although hopefully not as an enemy).
There is one large contrivance that sets up the end of the book, wherein Alex has to go up to the Ark Angel space station. I think that it would be obvious to any teenage boy reader that the situation is a set up and what the set up is, but Horowitz persists in going through the motions in a way that's actually tedious. A far better way of doing it would have been to acknowledge what's waiting for Alex up in space and give him the decision as to whether or not to go. But that's just me.
I do wonder if the series is perhaps running out of steam. As Horowitz acknowledges through the character, Alex is not going to be 14 forever and I do wonder if there's anything left for him to do - particularly given the amount of attention he's received during the series, which means he's no longer a secret spy any more. Horowitz has said that the series will stop when Rider reaches 15 and he'll get a happy ending. I hope there's enough steam left in the series for that.
The Verdict:
See my reviews of the previous Alex Rider books because very little has changed. Horowitz has said that the series will stop when Rider reaches 15 and he'll get a happy ending. I hope there's enough steam left in the series for that.
