Type of bind: Hardcover
Format: Bargain Price
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 336
Printing Date: March 17, 2005
Sale Popularity Level: 650835
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Editor's Notes and Comments:
Product Description:
Alex Rider, teen spy, has always been told he is the spitting image of the father he never knew. But when Alex learns that his father may have been an assassin for the most lethal and powerful terrorist organization in the world, Scorpia, his world shatters. Now Scorpia wants Alex on their side, and Alex no longer has the strength to fight them. That is, until he learns of Scorpia’s latest plot: an operation known only as 'Invisible Sword' that will result in the death of thousands of people. Can Alex prevent the slaughter, or will Scorpia prove once and for all that the terror will not be stopped?
Amazon.com Review:
Fans of the Alex Rider Adventures will not be disappointed by the slam-bang action in this fifth book in the spy thriller series, although the ending may leave them feeling a bit dismayed. A parachute jump onto the roof of a super-secure pharmaceutical complex, a desperate escape from a water-filled cellar under the canals of Venice, elegant and witty encounters with mega-criminals bent on death -- it's all here, and Alex, still 14-years old, comes out ahead every time in spite of the heavy odds against him. 'Go to Venice. Find Scorpia. And you will find your destiny,' Alex was told by a dying man at the end of the previous book, Eagle Strike. And so we find him; in Venice, with his friend Tom, looking for clues to his father's identity and death. Was he an agent of M16, the secret world organization that has used Alex before? Or was he a tool of Scorpia, the powerful international criminal agency that specializes in sabotage, corruption, intelligence, and assassination? And which are the bad guys? Alex loses track as he is recruited by the beautiful and deadly Julia Rothman, one of the nine executives of Scorpia, to be trained at their Venetian island school for assassins and to take part in a plot to kill thousands of 12 and 13-year-olds in England. Caught between shifting allegiances and different versions of his father's life and death, Alex outwits and outfights everybody as the plot rockets along to a smash finish that will leave readers breathless and shocked. (Ages 10-14) --Patty Campbell
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Rated by buyers 
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this is by far the best book in the series. Alex goes to venice with his friend Tom. then sneas into the Ca' Vedova, the house of Julia Rothman. Mrs. Rothmans servant then tries to drown him and he escapes. Later, he joins scorpia. When he tries to kill Mrs. Jones he is captured by MI6 and then discovered the plan of Mrs. Rothman. Read the book to find out the end. Trust me you will want to.
Rated by buyers -
Scorpia by Anthony Horowitz is a brilliant book! I was anticipating a really good book because the last four have been awesome but this book blew me away. It is a masterpiece. I think you can compare it the James Bond series because its every teenager's spy fantasy. It's not fair because it makes the reader instantly want to become a Secret Agent but as if that's ever going to happen! It's pure-class and is action packed. I read it all in one sitting because I became so engrossed in it, from the very very first word I was totally absorbed into Alex Rider's dangerous world. I don't want to give any of the story away because it would spoil the entire book but all I can really say is Alex finds out about his family and there is a HUGE surprise at the ending. Alex Rider is all teenage girls ultimate dream, he is cute, brave and a spy for MI6!
Unfortunately he doesn't lead a normal life because he is always in danger! In this book Alex finds himself questioning who his father was and what he was like. He discovered in the last book that the answer was in Venice. He was told `Go to Venice. Find Scorpia. And you will find your destiny...'
Whilst trying to find out who he is, he stumbles on Scorpia's plan to destroy the world but this time he doesn't know whether to join the baddies or the goodies. In fact he doesn't know which side is which!
Alex doesn't know whether to trust Scorpia or MI6. Who is the one looking out for him?
The ending is sort of a cliffhanger because something very crucial happens. BUT unless Horowitz decides to write another book then it could be seen as a GREAT BIG SHOCKER. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I will cry if Horowitz doesn't continue the series. It is longer than the other books but I read it all in one go. I am so sad! It is meant for older readers, perhaps 13 and above, because it is slightly violent but even then its still great fun. Horowitz has taken MI6 to a whole new level!
Rated by buyers -
remember your supposed to write a riview telling people the plot and the good and bad things NOT THE ENDING!! people read reviews before they buy things to find out if its good not to find out the ending and be like oh well now i cant buy it!! great job guys for spoiling the ending for me , thanks a lot!!
Rated by buyers -
i needed a bookk for reading class and i picked this one randomly because i like spy stuff. man was i surprised at how good this book turned out to be!the best part about this book is how things you dont expect happen so fast its like BANG!! throughout the whole book my mouth was dropped open by the thrilling detaial and action. i absolutly love this book and i am glad i took the cchance on buying it. by the way ive only read this book so far and no others in the alex rider series. i fully understood it without reading the others , if that helps anyone. oh and i am a girl so dont think this is just a boy book!
Rated by buyers -
From the outset, the Alex Rider books have been action packed, but this one beats them all. The story opens with Alex in Venice, where by chance, he discovers a silver scorpion decorating the side of a motor launch. Following his instincts (and the boat) he arrives at a luxurious palazzo. Determined to discover whether this is the headquarters of the infamous Scorpia (and whether his father was indeed one of their top assassins), he gate-crashes a masked ball ... only to find himself trapped in the same room as a man-eating Siberian tiger. And that's just the beginning!!!
The pacing is exhausting, yet cliff-hangers at the end of each chapter make it impossible to stop reading and get your breath back. One minute fourteen year-old Alex is BASE jumping onto the roof of a top secret research facility, the subsequent he's enrolled in a school for elite assassins supposedly following his father's footsteps. Before long he's on his very first mission ... and this time he's armed to kill.
With incredible skill, Anthony Horowitz takes impossible situations and somehow makes them believable. At one point, Alex finds himself attending an emergency cabinet meeting at 10 Downing Street. Terrorists, determined to irrevocably damage relations between Britain and the USA, have demanded that America withdraw its troops from every foreign country, or they will use their deadliest weapon (Invisible Sword) to wipe out countless thousands of British children in one foul swoop.
This book is far darker and more chilling than its predecessors. This is probably because, at times, the setting seems uncomfortably close to the real world. Young readers are doubtless aware of the insidious threat of terrorism, and the uneasy political alliance between Britain and the USA. Add to this the fact that Horowitz promises in his introduction that the technology required for Invisible Sword actually exists ... and you've got one incredibly gripping thriller.
If you've read the rest of the Alex Rider series, then you have to read this too. If you've never read one of Anthony Horowitz's books before, then this is perhaps his best ... and well worth reading, even if you're considerably older than the target readership. If you'd like to read the other stories first, I'd recommend the big compilation edition containing all four books in one volume ... it's great value for money.
Finally, the ending is stunning. Some reviewers see it as a cliff-hanger ... but I'm not so sure. I don't want to spoil it by adding my personal theories; read it yourself and make your own mind up!
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