Published June 2012 Walker Books
From the publisher:
Relaxing in the south of France, reluctant MI6 agent Alex Rider is finally able to feel like any ordinary fourteen-year-old - until a sudden, ruthless attack on his hosts plunges him back into a world of violence and mystery. And this time, MI6 don't want to know. Alex is determined to track down his friends' attackers, even if he must do it alone. But it's a path that leads to a long-buried secret - and a discovery more terrible than anything he could have imagined. Alex Rider has 90 minutes to save the world.
I have read very few graphic novels, they are not the first thing I would turn to when looking for something to read, but there is no denying their popularity. This is a graphic novel version of a novel, and while I haven't read this particular novel, I have read a couple of Alex Rider novels, so I have an understanding of the character and story. In this genre of action packed spy/villain/teenage hero there are a number of graphic novel editions of existing novels being published. Graphic novels of Percy Jackson, Young Bond, and Artemis Fowl have already been published along with Alex Rider, and there is a graphic novel edition of one of the Cherub titles coming out later this year.
When the villa that Alex is staying in is destroyed by a 'gas leak', he figures out that something untoward is going on, and that this gas leak was actually an attempt to kill his friend's father, a journalist. The story he was working on related to the much loved former pop star, now environmental and political campaigner, Damian Cray, and Alex believes that Cray is behind the 'gas leak'. When Alex approaches M16 with what he knows, he is basically told that he is crazy, and he should leave it alone. Of course this is Alex Rider, and he will do no such thing, so with the help of Derek Smithers' gift of a very cool feature packed bike, Alex sets out to take down Cray.
Boys can't get enough of this kind of book. Full of daring escapes, bad guys, gun fights and chases through city streets, they are extremely entertaining reads. Anthony Horowitz is also well known for his writing for television, and I have always thought that this was why boys liked his books so much, his writing is very visual, so for boys who perhaps aren't the biggest fans of reading, reading one of these books is like reading an action movie. It stands to reason then, that the Alex Rider books work very well as graphic novels. In these illustrations we not only read about the gun fire and blood splatter, but we can see it, along with the sweat on Alex's brow as he escapes through the streets being chased by gun toting hit men.
Who will like this
book: Boys age 11+
Read it if you like: Alex Rider, Cherub, HIVE and want to try a different way of raeding a good story
Read it if you like: Alex Rider, Cherub, HIVE and want to try a different way of raeding a good story
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