Shadowed (Alias)

SHADOWED finds rookie SD-6 agent Sydney Bristow in her sophomore year of college. Sloan sends her on a mission with Noah and two new agents to recover KGB intel from a storage facility in Berlin. The mission is a success, but Sydney finds herself slapped into a SD-6 prison cell. To her utmost shock, Sydney is shown herself on surveillance video stealing sensitive information. It will take all of Sydney's cunning to spring the trap and exonerate herself. A good entry in the Alias series, I would rank it as perhaps the second best story line of these books I have read. Good entertainment for Alias junkies, but would probably not appeal to those who are not already fans of the show.

Shadowed, the last book in the Alias Prequel series, was a solid installment. I think that it was the second best in the series, behind only Infiltration by Breen Frazier. The book centers around Sydney's mission with two new SD-6 recruits and someone framing her for theft in Germany. Also, the events in Free Fall come back to haunt her as danger comes to UCLA. This book did a good job of tying previous installments in the series together, bringing Sydney and Noah to the last step in their relationship before he reappears in the show, and revealing what Jack has done to protect his daughter. All in all, a good way to end a good series (with some bumps in the road). Next May, the Alias APO (Authorized Personnel Only) series kicks off with Two of A Kind? by Greg Cox.

It's the beginning of Sydney's sophomore year at UCLA and she and Francie are thrilled about their new, larger dorm room. While Francie is thrilled about her chance to redecorate it, Sydney is distracted by Brennan, a guy she just met. Should she pursue him or stick with Noah, even with all the mixed signals? All this takes a back burner when SD-6 needs her for another mission. She's off to Germany with Noah and new agent Lucy in tow to retrieve long lost notes from a Russian military innovator from World War II. But the danger there is mild compared to what awaits her when she gets back. I really enjoyed this prequel novel because it reminded me a lot of the TV show with things happening on many fronts. And it was confusing enough I didn't have it all pieced together until the end. It did seem a little too long-winded in parts, but the action was so reminiscent of the TV show, it didn't bother me on the whole. These prequel novels continue to create a world unto their own while being faithful to the TV show. I can't wait to see where Sydney goes next.