Secret Weapon (Alex Rider)

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If you are under 16, please obtain your parent/guardian’s permission before submitting or ask your parent/guardian to submit on your behalf. After the traumatic events of Scorpia Rising, it looked very much like Alex had finally been allowed to go back to the life of an ordinary boy, moving to the States to live with his friend Sabina Pleasure and her parents.

In Alex in Afghanistan, he has to undertake a perilous journey that only someone of his age – and size – would be able to accomplish, but despite all the promises, nothing is ever simple where his missions are concerned. High Tension is the shortest story in the book, set in the south of France on a day when Alex tries out parasailing, and naturally, things don’t go entirely to plan, forcing him to put his skills and training to use to get out of a dangerous situation, that for once has nothing to do with anyone deliberately trying to kill him. There are half a dozen stories I’ve written over the years for newspapers and magazines, and they wanted to bring them together. And Alex’s concerns about some dubious chocolate bars lead to one of the few times he actually contacts Mrs Jones and Alan Blunt of MI6 of his own accord.

In truth, I thought I must have run out of action sequences, secret gadgets and plots to destroy the world. This collection of thrilling adventures features familiar and new assailants from the best-loved world of Alex Rider, and also includes three never-before-seen stories. The young spy is less traumatised, and there is a lighter tone to some of the stories, such as the delightfully entertaining Tea with Smithers, which provides some insights into the behind the scenes life of MI6’s gadget inventor, Q to Alex’s Bond.

It demonstrates a cynical willingness to exploit a young boy, and shows that, in essence, Alex’s whole relationship with Ian Rider was based on a series of lies, a hard lesson for him to learn and an even harder one to look back on, although there is an alternative explanation that maybe Ian was simply giving his nephew the skills needed to survive if Ian ever accidentally brings his work home. In my view, Smithers is the only person in MI6 who never manipulated or lied to Alex and, as his creator revealed in Scorpia Rising, there’s a lot more to Smithers than meets the eye – or do I mean a lot less? It wasn’t going to be enough for a whole book, so I’m writing the other half as a sort of novella to give it the paper-length it needs – and I didn’t expect to enjoy it as much as I am, but it’s actually going very well.By submitting a review you grant us the right to display and use it in any way; please read our General Legal Notices for full details. Alternatively, we suggest that you visit your local library and request to borrow a copy from a friendly librarian, if you cannot find the book on its shelves. Ever since MI6 recognised his potential, Alex Rider has constantly been thrust into the line of danger. Then, several years later, his publishers suggested the idea of tidying up some short stories he’d written, published as bonus features and other extras, and Secret Weapon was the end result. The story points up how Alex was trained by his uncle, himself a spy in the employ of MI6, from a very early age to follow in what was effectively a family profession.

This book was good because I enjoyed finding out more about the character of Alex Rider and his determination to solve problems in a fearless way. For fans of the series, Secret Weapon is an excellent and varied collection, showcasing Alex’s talents and problem-solving abilities, interspersed with some rare domestic moments, including his huge fear of dentists!We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform, so if you choose to subscribe your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.

This is the latest book in the Alex Rider series and is my second favourite, with Scorpia being my first choice. This variety kept me interested and entertained although I would say that I prefer the format of a full length story than the shorter stories as you can get into them more. Well, it was when Walker Books asked me to polish some pre-published short stories that I realized I’d rather missed my reluctant teenaged spy.Secret Weapon is a collection of seven explosive adventures featuring familiar and new assailants from the much-loved world of Alex Rider, including three never-before-seen stories.