Snakehead

Snakehead is the seventh novel in the Young Adult Alex Rider series written by British author Anthony Horowitz. And, this is the first one I have read.

The Alex Rider series is a series of novels about British teenage super-spy Alex Rider who is reluctantly enrolled in MI6. He is frequently pitted against a nebulous organization called Spectra – some kind of world-wide criminal and terrorist organization.

My impressions after finishing Snakehead are that it reads like a cross between Harry Potter and James Bond. The story is certainly formulaic – the lonely orphan boy who has to fight the villains on his own steam (Harry Potter without the magic), working for MI6, which provides him with a lot of fancy gadgetry (James Bond references). However, in spite of the formula, it all really works somehow. The book moves rapidly, and the action sections are superb. Snakehead is also surprisingly well-written.

This is a very entertaining read and young boys will particularly enjoy ALex Rider’s exploits. In fact, this book would make for a very good movie. I am pretty sure that there will be one in the works shortly!

All in all, a surprisingly entertaining read. And if I do happen to spot the other books in the series at Eloor Library, I will definitely pick up one to read.

If you are interested in this series, here is a list of the books in the order they are meant to be read (although you can still enjoy the books out of order):

  • Stormbreaker
  • Point Blanc
  • Skeleton Key
  • Eagle Strike
  • Scorpia
  • Ark Angel

You can get more information about these books at the official Alex Rider website.

1 comment

Add Yours

Leave a Reply