Anthony Horowitz Book Tour

On Tuesday, I left work early to go to an author event - Anthony Horowitz. I've been reading his books for years and I was SO happy to meet him.

If you're not familiar with him, he's the author of the Alex Rider series. Which I adore. I'm a huge fan.

Here he is chatting.

Alex Rider first came out in 2000, now 17 years later the 11th book came out. But he swore he would stop at 10. So for the last five years, there hasn't been any new Alex Rider stories.

Then his publishers asked him to polish up some short stories for publication. And he fall back into the rhythm of Alex Rider's life. We left Alex in a dark place, hoping that he would get better as time passed. He started writing new stories about Alex and this one wouldn't let go. Thus we have book 11 (which is amazing - read my review here) and book 12 will be out next year (or so). 

He had a boring childhood, but he used to play spies with his sister in their neighborhood. They would sneak about the garden and spy on their neighbors.

Anthony Horowitz hated school, but he loved the library. It was the one place he felt happy. He read action adventure stories. He loved James Bond - first the films and then the books. He hated how old Roger Moore was in the last films, he wanted someone much younger and cooler. A light bulb went on, and Alex Rider was born.

He had written kids books about roughly 10 years with mild success. His wife advised him to give up writing, but he wanted to write one more: Alex Rider. 

The first book sold double of his previous books and then the series took off. And millions of readers enjoy Alex's adventures. 

There's a new TV series in the works, starting with book 2 coming from British TV. I'm quite looking forward to that. 

Besides Alex Rider, he's done quite a lot with British television. 

It was a really fun night and I'm so glad I finally got a chance to meet him!

 

Blog Tour: Never Say Die

BOOK DESCRIPTION

Alex Rider is back in action! His new mission? Rescue an entire bus filled with children belonging to wealthy families. At stake are not only the lives of each child, but the very future of the terrorist organization known as SCORPIA. Thrilling action and pulse-pounding heroics make the pages fly.

The world's greatest teen spy is back in action in a thrilling new mission: destroy once and for all the terrorist organization SCORPIA. Following the events of Scorpia Rising, Alex relocates to San Francisco as he slowly recovers from the tragic death of his best friend and caregiver, Jack Starbright, at the hands of terrorists working for SCORPIA. With Jack gone, Alex feels lost and alone, but then, out of the blue, he receives a cryptic email--just three words long, but enough to make Alex believe that Jack may be alive. Armed with this shred of hope, Alex boards a flight bound for Egypt and embarks on a dubious quest to track Jack down. Yet SCORPIA knows Alex's weakness. And the question of whether Jack is alive soon takes a backseat to a chilling new terrorist plot--one that will determine the lives of many. From Egypt to France to Wales, from luxury yachts to abandoned coal mines, Alex traverses a minefield of dangers and cryptic clues as he fights to discover the truth. The #1 New York Times bestselling series, perfect for fans of James Bond and Jason Bourne, is back with a vengeance!  

My Thoughts:

I Love Alex Rider and I'm so glad he's back. I wasn't crazy about the ending of the last book, so I'm grateful for more books about him. I loved this one. I enjoyed watching him struggle to fit into a new life, knowing that he doesn't belong. There are just some people not meant to have a normal average life and Alex is one of them.

Interesting but creepy villains add to the novel as their evil plan fools MI6. Their plan was ingenious and diabolical. I really liked their identical nature. It's easy to hate villains because of their evilness, but you have to admire their ruthlessness 

I love the settings, from the West Coast, to Egypt, to England, and to Wales. I love the differences between the places. And as someone of Welsh descent, I love the part in Wales. 

I love how the anonymous email spurs him into action. The action and danger never let up, creating plot twists and turns kept me turning the pages quickly. I also wanted to discover if Jack was alive.

I hope this new book adds more fans to the Alex Rider series and I'm happy that at least one more book is coming next summer! 

AUTHOR BIO

Anthony Horowitz (anthonyhorowitz.com) is a world-renowned screenwriter for film and television, having received multiple awards. And he is, of course, the author of the #1 New York Times bestselling Alex Rider novels, which have spawned a major motion picture and a line of graphic novels. Anthony was also commissioned by the Conan Doyle Estate to write two Sherlock Holmes novels, the critically-acclaimed The House of Silk and Moriarty. Most recently he was commissioned by the Ian Fleming Estate to write the James Bond novel Trigger Mortis, incorporating never-before-published material from 007's creator. Anthony lives with his wife in London, England; they are parents to two grown boys. He will be touring the US for the publication of NEVER SAY DIE.

Anthony Horowitz is coming to CT in two week, I'm excited to finally meet him!

Review: Russian Roulette

Alex and Yassen Gregorovich have a history - a long complicated one. While sworn enemies, one day Yassen saves the life of Alex Rider. Why would he do that when he had orders to kill him?

Yassen's history led him to this point at the top of the roof. He had a happy childhood with great parents and an even greater best friend. But everything vanished one day. His parents died along with everyone in town. Yassen was the only survivor. From that moment on, he did everything he had to do in order to survive. 

My Thoughts: I thought this book was the last in the Alex Rider series - but in actuality it's more of a companion novel than part of the series. Alex Rider makes a small cameo, but most of the book focuses on Yassen and how he came to become a ruthless killer. 

I liked learning more abut Yassen. My heart broke for his and all that he went through at such a young age. He was resourceful and intelligent. I found his history fascinating, especially his time with John Rider. 

Cover Thoughts: I like it!
Source: My Library

Books I'm Dying to Read: September Edition

Here's a list of books I can't wait to get my hands on come September!

Find Me: A hacker determined to find a killer because it just got personal - sounds awesome

Heaven is Paved with Oreos: Sarah's journal as she leaves home and travels to Rome with her grandmother - loved Dairy Queen

Frozen: Looking forward to this new series by Melissa de la Cruz and her husband.

Burning Sky: Saving the world + Forbidden Love sounds like the perfect combination to the start of a trilogy.

Deadly Heat: Love this series - the ending of the previous book killed me.

Bride Wore Size 12: Can't wait to read more in this funny adult mystery series - love Heather and Cooper

Year of Billy Miller: Kevin Henkes read the first chapter at SLJ Day of Dialog. It was funny and charming. Can't wait to read the rest.

Wake up Missing: I really like her previous books -concussions, secret plots, and escape. Sounds like a great combination to me.

Chaos of Stars: Love her previous books - excited for this one, the human daughter of Egyptian gods.

Russian Roulette: The last of the Alex Rider books - love this series.

Two Lies and a Spy: love the title, haven't heard much about it, but it sounds awesome

Sweet Legacy: Loved the first two books, can't wait to see how it ends.

Scorched: You had me a dragons!

True Spies: Really loved the first book, so happy there's a second one!

Lightning Bay: Love this series! (no cover yet according to Goodreads, it's out this month)

Always on My Mind: Love the Lucky Harbor series, currently reading book 7. These books are perfectly wonderful.

Cave of Wonders: I really like this series - I need to catch up on it.

Case of the Time-Capsule Bandit: Learned about this a BEA - sounds really good. 

Secret Pizza Party: Loved Dragons Love Tacos, happy for a new book and who doesn't love pizza?

Review: Scorpia Rising

The final book for the Alex Rider series is divided into two parts. The first part comes from the perspective of Scorpia - an terrorist organization twice defeated by Alex Rider. They are devising a plan to bring Alex Rider's involvement in MI6 to the attention of the world thus bringing down two enemies with one strike. They need to get Alex Rider back into the field and they have developed an idea to lead him just where they want him.

Alex Rider's life has gone back to normal. He's happy just hanging out with his friends, doing school work, and rehearsing for the school play. Unfortunately, his normal life ends when a sniper appears on the roof across the street from his school, sending a bullet through the window into Alex's classroom.

Jack - his guardian is determined that Alex won't be caught up in MI6 again. However, even she can not stop him from agreeing to protect his friends at school from further harm. Jack insists on accompanying him to Egypt where they will keep an eye on a school for anything out of the ordinary. Someone might be targeting the students of wealthy families from around the globe.

Alex realizes the school isn't under threat. He knows something's not right, but he's unable to put his finger on anything specific. Instead he and Jack make plans to head to America. That's when things start going wrong - deadly wrong.

My Thoughts: I'm sad to see the last of Alex Rider. I LOVED this series for the: action, danger, adrenaline scenes, the crazy double crossings, the spy gadgets, and the determination of one teenage boy. I think the series ended the only way it could, but I don't love the ending.

As for the book: It took me a bit to get used to the two difference segments of the book. However, I liked learning more about Scorpia. I loved how they dropped certain clues to make their plan come together. After reading their section, I found myself annoyed at MI6. MI6 seemed naive, very naive. They also seemed horrific at research. I've always loved Mr. Smithers and was pleased he had a bigger role in the final book. I loved reading about his gadgets and tricks, especially his last trick. I loved the deviousness of the Scorpia group ad trying to uncover their plot from Alex's perspective. I love watching Alex in action.

Cover Thoughts: I'm not crazy about the covers - but they are interesting and eye catching.

Source: My Library
Good Reads
Similar Read: Sure Fire (1st in a series)

Crocodile Tears

Trouble follows Alex Rider, even on vacation. While attending a posh dinner party, Alex find himself curious about the host of the party especially after one poker game. On the way home, their car mysteriously skids into a lake. They almost don't make it out alive, but luck is on their side. He forgets about the incident and goes back to school thinking finally his life is back on track and back to normal. Then out of the blue a reporter uncovers the true about this secret life. At first he wants to create a sensational story, but Alex knows his life would be ruined. He shares the information with his contacts at MI6 who in turn use the information to blackmail him into working for them again. The target of suspicion is none other than the man hosting the dinner party. Luckily, Alex's school is scheduled for a field trip to a top secret laboratory where the workings could change the world. He's asked to uncover some information, but when he's caught the game changes.


Another action filled adventure in one of my favorite series. I love how Alex Rider constantly gets roped back into helping the government. The cover on this book is AMAZING! I know that Anthony Horowitz has stated that the series will end when he turns 15, but there are so many questions to be answered that I hope Alex's birthday is a long ways off

Created: Alex Rider: Stormbreaker Book Trailer