Never Say Die (Alex Rider)

Alex Rider is back and there is an army of fans who will be delighted by his return.  At the end of Scorpia Rising it looked as if Alex had given up on his adventures after the death of a close friend.  Well, it seems that the author has decided that there is plenty of action still to be had and perhaps the friend, Jack is not dead after all.  After receiving a very cryptic message Alex decides to investigate what had previously happened.  This brings him into contact with the remnants of an old enemy and twin villains who are determined to get rid of him for good.  The action takes us from the USA to Egypt and the South of France before bringing us back to the UK, but what does a stolen helicopter and a coach full of rich school children have to do with all this?  Well you will have to read the story to find out.

As we have come to expect from Anthony Horowitz, this is a fantastically fast moving adventure.  There is a lot of technology and very precise details about the various weapons and vehicles that are used, something that the audience will love.  The author has several strands to the story and he manages to keep them all in the air, gradually weaving them together so that we get the full picture about what is going on.  This is an exceptionally good read, even for those who are not usually smitten by action thrillers.  Alex Rider is now 15 in the stories, so the author has to manage all of the changes and the issues that teens often have;  and Alex is still a sympathetic character at the end of all this.  Without a doubt this is going to be devoured by the loyal young fans and it will find new ones among the year6 and 7 pupils who have not been parts of the hype before.  A great summer read for the holidays.