“Most schoolboys dream of being a spy. With Alex, we have a spy who dreams of being a schoolboy.” (Alan Blunt, Head of MI6 - Point Blank.)
Last month, I told you that I planned to read the entire Alex Rider series by Anthony Horowitz, after rereading the first book, “Stormbreaker.” “Point Blank” did not disappoint, with a lot of action and daring by the reluctant 14-year-old MI6 operative. Alex is sent into the prestigious Point Blanc boarding school near Grenoble, France, in search of a possible connection between the school and the mysterious deaths of some of the students’ billionaire fathers. He learns of a plan to take over the world, and thwarts it. Or does he?
Anthony Horowitz is a master of the cliffhanger. In my opinion, he is also a master of a narrative principle known as Chekhov’s gun. Put simply, this principle states that every element in a story should be necessary, and irrelevant elements should be removed. An example would be that if there is a gun in a scene, there must be a reason for it. Someone should use the gun at some point in the story. This is why I get annoyed with writers who describe the excruciating minutiae of every scene with absolutely no relevance to the plot. It tells me that they are probably trying to make their word count. Unless the character has some sort of relationship with Audi, the word car is sufficient. Endless references to makes, models, exterior and interior color, just to take up space on the page, make me cringe. I know that if Horowitz describes something like Alex Rider’s clothing in detail, later in the story I will need to know what he was wearing. I like a book that keeps me thinking.
I didn’t stop there. I moved right on to “Skeleton Key.” In this book, Alex Rider starts as a ball boy at Wimbledon, where he thwarts an attempt by a Chinese triad to throw the tournament. From there, he is loaned-out to the CIA for an undercover operation in Cuba, which eventually takes him to Russia, where he saves the world from a madman with a nuclear bomb. Piece of cake! Understanding that these are stories of espionage, I still feel that this book was just a little darker overall than the first two. This mission seemed to take a greater emotional toll on Alex. So, it’s no surprise that in the end we see him heading off for a vacation in the south of France. If anyone deserves it, he does!
So much for Alex’s Mediterranean vacation! His idyllic time in the sun ends suddenly in “Eagle Strike,” when he sees Yassen Gregorovich, the man who killed MI6 agent Ian Rider, Alex’s uncle. When the villa in which he is staying is destroyed, it’s obvious to Alex that this is no coincidence. He must have been Gregorovich’s target. Or was he?
As Alex’s host, British journalist Edward Pleasure, is raced to the hospital, Alex discovers the charred remains of the article on which he has been working. Then he uncovers a connection between the subject of the article and Gregorovich. Again, Alex does not believe in coincidence. However, when he takes his suspicions to MI6, he’s basically told to mind his own business - after all, he’s just a schoolboy. Feeling betrayed and used, Alex sets out on his own to prove that Gregorovich was hired to kill Edward Pleasure, and why. He’s well on his way to doing just that, but then Gregorovich finds Alex’s weakness.
I have to confess that I always expect the best - well, he is a hired killer, so maybe I expect better - from Yassen Gregorovich. Maybe it’s because despite killing Ian Rider, he did actually save Alex in “Stormbreaker.” Maybe it’s because the character was played by the incomparable Damian Lewis in that adaptation and that’s how I picture him. Either way, I’m always rooting for Yassen to do he right thing. The question is: Did Yassen do better in “Eagle Strike?” Or not? Maybe we, and Alex, will be able to answer that question in the next book, “Scorpia.”
Be sure to take Alex Rider along, whether you’re planning your own end-of-summer vacation or just doing your usual thing around town.
Happy Reading!
Last month, I told you that I planned to read the entire Alex Rider series by Anthony Horowitz, after rereading the first book, “Stormbreaker.” “Point Blank” did not disappoint, with a lot of action and daring by the reluctant 14-year-old MI6 operative. Alex is sent into the prestigious Point Blanc boarding school near Grenoble, France, in search of a possible connection between the school and the mysterious deaths of some of the students’ billionaire fathers. He learns of a plan to take over the world, and thwarts it. Or does he?
Anthony Horowitz is a master of the cliffhanger. In my opinion, he is also a master of a narrative principle known as Chekhov’s gun. Put simply, this principle states that every element in a story should be necessary, and irrelevant elements should be removed. An example would be that if there is a gun in a scene, there must be a reason for it. Someone should use the gun at some point in the story. This is why I get annoyed with writers who describe the excruciating minutiae of every scene with absolutely no relevance to the plot. It tells me that they are probably trying to make their word count. Unless the character has some sort of relationship with Audi, the word car is sufficient. Endless references to makes, models, exterior and interior color, just to take up space on the page, make me cringe. I know that if Horowitz describes something like Alex Rider’s clothing in detail, later in the story I will need to know what he was wearing. I like a book that keeps me thinking.
I didn’t stop there. I moved right on to “Skeleton Key.” In this book, Alex Rider starts as a ball boy at Wimbledon, where he thwarts an attempt by a Chinese triad to throw the tournament. From there, he is loaned-out to the CIA for an undercover operation in Cuba, which eventually takes him to Russia, where he saves the world from a madman with a nuclear bomb. Piece of cake! Understanding that these are stories of espionage, I still feel that this book was just a little darker overall than the first two. This mission seemed to take a greater emotional toll on Alex. So, it’s no surprise that in the end we see him heading off for a vacation in the south of France. If anyone deserves it, he does!
So much for Alex’s Mediterranean vacation! His idyllic time in the sun ends suddenly in “Eagle Strike,” when he sees Yassen Gregorovich, the man who killed MI6 agent Ian Rider, Alex’s uncle. When the villa in which he is staying is destroyed, it’s obvious to Alex that this is no coincidence. He must have been Gregorovich’s target. Or was he?
As Alex’s host, British journalist Edward Pleasure, is raced to the hospital, Alex discovers the charred remains of the article on which he has been working. Then he uncovers a connection between the subject of the article and Gregorovich. Again, Alex does not believe in coincidence. However, when he takes his suspicions to MI6, he’s basically told to mind his own business - after all, he’s just a schoolboy. Feeling betrayed and used, Alex sets out on his own to prove that Gregorovich was hired to kill Edward Pleasure, and why. He’s well on his way to doing just that, but then Gregorovich finds Alex’s weakness.
I have to confess that I always expect the best - well, he is a hired killer, so maybe I expect better - from Yassen Gregorovich. Maybe it’s because despite killing Ian Rider, he did actually save Alex in “Stormbreaker.” Maybe it’s because the character was played by the incomparable Damian Lewis in that adaptation and that’s how I picture him. Either way, I’m always rooting for Yassen to do he right thing. The question is: Did Yassen do better in “Eagle Strike?” Or not? Maybe we, and Alex, will be able to answer that question in the next book, “Scorpia.”
Be sure to take Alex Rider along, whether you’re planning your own end-of-summer vacation or just doing your usual thing around town.
Happy Reading!
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