Snakehead (Alex Rider Book 7)

Note: The zeros were cast by a troll and her gang, not real and decent people, and are against me personally and not the book or the review! It's over! "Snakehead," the seventh and last book in the Alex Rider series, concludes the secret service adventures of one 14-year-old English lad. It was a great adventure for our unwilling but lucky super hero, but all good things must inevitably come to an end. The only spoiler I will give is this: Anthony Horowitz ends the series well. I have my interpretation, but it will sit quietly in my brain so the next reader will conclude the series with the same blank slate I had--no spoilers, no clues, just surprises. "Snakehead" is just as full of wild adventure, amazing escapes, and clever plotting as each novel in the series. I must declare that I don't have a favorite in the seven. I found each as enjoyable as the one preceding and the one following. I displayed the first in the series in the small school library where I work just yesterday. I did a quick book talk to two different boys who picked it up. The second checked it out. The first returned today to borrow it! Can't wait to get a student opinion of this exciting series. Literary merit? The books are well-written, cleverly plotted, and plausible, but the series is strictly escapist fare, adventure par excellence. It's greatest bid for permanence in the pantheon of older children's literature is that it is a link of books that will reinforce a love for reading. Like the Harry Potter books, the reader must read! Both Harry and Alex are forces for good and dare all to be so. Alex inspires courage, valor, and stamina in the face of great odds. In nearly all of the books, the villain has the face of good but the heart and actions of evil. Alex is placed in circumstances that allow him to discover this truth and thus must act. No coward Alex! Of course, in a spy series there must be violence, but it isn't graphic. Although there are deaths, there are no curse words, drinking, sex, or anything else objectionable (this sounds silly in the face of deaths and violence), but there it is: a very mild warning. In comparison with video games, the Alex Rider series is Dr. Seuss, OK, maybe something stronger. How about the dangers of The Magic Tree House series magnified by age and locations? As for "Snakehead," the villain is a Snakehead, one part of Scorpia, who controls black market trafficking in human beings, i. e. moving immigrants for vile purposes. One thing Alex is forced into as a smuggled person is facing a master of Muay Thai (a killer combination of boxing and martial arts used for personal discipline by real masters) in a ring with bets on how long the opponent can last against this master. Need I say that Alex wins? This is not a spoiler since it happens very early in the novel and I am not revealing HOW he wins. Later he will be used as a harvest field for body parts. "Snakehead" also involves the destruction of an island and all of Western Australia by a tsunami. It is Alex's assignment to stop this from happening. So I come to a close in the close of a series. Goodbye, Alex Rider. It was great fun while it lasted!

My title says it all. I wasn't sure that I wanted my next reading (after STORMBREAKER: THE GRAPHIC NOVEL and the corresponding movie) to be this book. It wouldn't surprise me if this is the grittiest and most true-to-life of the Alex Rider series of novels. (Drawn in, I read it through in two nights.) Author Anthony Horowitz certainly does his homework. There is absolutely no reason to think that every basic element of what happens in SNAKEHEAD doesn't or couldn't happen in real life, somewhere. In fact, a good many things one reads about here I knew about already. I'm not sure that the event around which the plot revolves could be done in reality, but then I don't comprehend the scope of the adapted real-life weapon invoked as a trigger. Make no mistake: some of the things Alex faces are absolutely horrific, and yet there are people out there who really do these things to other people. The reader needs to be PREPARED for this. No wonder Alex uses every curse word he knows on one of the perpetrators (even if we're only told of one of those words). Good on Alex that he "bites back" more than once, and most effectively.

Book 7 of the Alex Ryder series. Picks up where Arc Angel left off. Alex does a simple job for Austrailan Secret Service that goes terribly awry. Plenty of action and excitement. Highly recommended. Leads into book 8 Crocodile Tears

I thought it was a good book I never got bored reading it kept me interested which was good ya

Just read for the fourth time. I loved it, and all of the others in this series. It is sort of aimed at middle schoolers, and it would be great for anyone who loves a lot of action throughout, and no dull part. It is VERY hard to put down, as is the others in the series. Overall, it was awesome.

I loved this book so much, one of the best on the series, Anthony Horowitz never ceases to impress.

I read these in my childhood and I added it to my library I read it again and wow it's still so great even though I'm 21 now! I was hooked.

I love Anthony Horowitz, and I love Alex Rider. In the early Rider books, Alex was an unwilling boy spy, keyword boy, but Snakehead marks a change in Alex's mindset, and in the feel of the books. Alex is getting older, and the books become darker, like Harry Potter did. Snakehead is extremely tense (in a good way!) and, while a thematic departure from the earlier books, it is certainly a very, very good read.

Great book

This is one of my 12 year old’s favourite action series, and strongly recommends it for any avid readers in the same age range.

So Interesting I must say this is the best book ever of Anthony Horowitz. Lots and lots of Twists & Turns.Unlike the other books this book is Outstanding!!!. GO FOR IT.

Alex Rider is a stunning bookset and a must read for every child growing up. My sophisticated 11-year-old is a perfect target market, but I read also to my sensitive 9-year-old and despite being occasionally scared, she really enjoyed it. Lots of people die, often grotesquely, but Anthony Horowitz is sensitive to the target audience and doesn't labour the gore unnecessarily. I particularly like how as little as possible is invented -- with lots of true information about modern history, culture, geography, statistics etc into the storytime. Snakehead, for example, deals very well with the realities of people smuggling. I recommend reading these books in order, but it's not essential. Early on in each book, Anthony Horowitz summarises the relevant bits from the previous books. Like Bond stories, the basic plotline is identical in each book, but the relationships develop sequentially. Personally, I think this blows Harry Potter and Percy Jackson out of the water. My daughter preferred Percy Jackson. There were many times where I was unable to read because I had a lump in my throat and needed to regain composure, as Alex's emotions (especially to loss of loved ones) is done well.

SEMPRE LA SERIE PER LA MIA AMICA CONTENTISSIMA DI AVER TROVATO QUELLO CHE CERCAVA E CHIARAMENTE L'AVEVATE SOLO VOI. ERA CHIARO !!!!