Stormbreaker: The Graphic Novel

Action, adventure, and just plain being a spy- these are the things Stormbreaker has. If you enjoy that, this is the book for you. Anthony Horowitz does a great job of keeping you reading by building tension, though at certain times it gets a little boring. Other than that, though, it's a wonderful book. Stormbreaker is the starting book to the Alex Rider series, all about a teenager who ends up becoming a spy. MI6 needs to use a kid to spy on a company-owner who they think might be up to something, and of course MI6 uses him. The rest is for you to read. Also, Stormbreaker had been made into a major motion picture, so it's got to be pretty famous, right? If you read the book and you like it, you should see the movie next. I've read every book in the Alex Rider series, and just as a warning some of the books are a little bit gory. Although Stormbreaker isn't too much at all, and that's one of the reasons I think this one is the best.

I teach junior high students. I had a lot of kids read the novel version who also liked the graphic novel. Also, this book was good for bridging kids from graphic stories to other kinds of text.

Fourteen-year old Alex Rider knows something bad has happened when the doorbell rings in the middle of the night. He soon learns that his caretaker uncle, Ian Rider, was killed in an automobile accident on his way home. A banker who works for Royal & General, Alex's uncle was a fine man who wasn't home much--but he's still devastated by his death. Except the appearance of some strange people who claim to be his uncle's co-workers, a gun-toting man at his uncle's funeral, and the findings of his uncle's bullet-ridden car make Alex think that there's more than meets the eye to the "automobile accident" story. Alex soons find out that his Uncle Ian's life, at least where he himself was concerned, was based on a lie. Ian Rider was a spy, employed by the Special Operations Divison of MI6. And the last case he was working on, concerning multi-millionaire Herod Sayle, was a case that got Ian Rider killed. Now Mr. Blunt and Mrs. Jones, head of SOD, want Alex to pick up where his uncle, their operative, left off--infiltrate the compound where Herod Sayle is building his new Stormbreaker computers, and find out what Ian Rider had to die for. What follows is an action-packed story of danger, bullets, viruses, and out-and-out excitement. At fourteen, Alex is savvy, trained in martial arts, can speak multiple languages, and is, in fact, a truly bliddy good spy! Anthony Horowitz has devised a real winner with Alex Rider and his new career (although he was actually forced into working for MI6), and I can't wait to read the next book in the series and see what mission Alex will be sent on next!

I don't remember how I got hooked on the Alex Rider Adventure books, but I'm glad I did. Alex is an unusual fourteen-year-old with many skills: he is fluent in French, Spanish, and German...has the ability to drive a Quad...a Blackbelt in karate...can play snooker like Minnesota Fats plays pool...and has a nose for danger...AND a sense of humor! He usually finds himself up against the wealthiest, nastiest, cold-blooded villains this side of James Bond. Alex is also the youngest special agent MI6 (British Intelligence) has ever had. Put all that and more in a fast-paced, action-packed, page-turner of a novel and you can't lose. Mr. Horowitz has developed a likeable and interesting hero. I hope he continues writing more of these wonderful books. I think adults would enjoy reading about Alex, too.

Wow! This was a great book and I really enjoy it. Full of action and realistic people, places and things. Alex Rider is a believable character who gives James Bond a run for his money. I can't wait till the next book in this series comes out.