tms98's review against another edition
5.0
Als allerlaatste boek van de serie was dit perfect geweest, spijtig genoeg heeft Horowitz nog verdere verhalen over Alex geschreven. Deze verhalen nemen echter niet weg dat dit boek een van de allerbeste uit de serie is.
clockworkp's review against another edition
2.0
Al fin, después de tanto tiempo terminé la saga de Alex Rider.
Sinceramente con cada libro la serie pierde más y más fuelle, y los detalles molestos que en los primeros pasabas por alto en los últimos los volvían aburridos y hasta ofensivos en ocasiones.
Una decepción como cae Scorpia, casi de refilón y no como plot central de la novela. Los personajes parecen caricaturas de si mismos y el estilo tan cinematográfico vuelve aburridas las escenas de transición. Hay demasiados personajes con POV de repente y sus tramas se resuelven demasiado rápido.
Recordaré con cariño al Alex de Stormbreaker e intentaré olvidar al GarySue que acabó siendo.
Sinceramente con cada libro la serie pierde más y más fuelle, y los detalles molestos que en los primeros pasabas por alto en los últimos los volvían aburridos y hasta ofensivos en ocasiones.
Una decepción como cae Scorpia, casi de refilón y no como plot central de la novela. Los personajes parecen caricaturas de si mismos y el estilo tan cinematográfico vuelve aburridas las escenas de transición. Hay demasiados personajes con POV de repente y sus tramas se resuelven demasiado rápido.
Recordaré con cariño al Alex de Stormbreaker e intentaré olvidar al GarySue que acabó siendo.
jasonlaw77's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
elsaaqazi's review against another edition
5.0
5 stars
Okay, first off I want to hate to Horowitz. HOW CAN A PERSON IN THERE SANE MIND KILL JACK STARBRIGHT?? EITHER HE MADE A PACT WITH THE DEVIL OR HE WAS DRUNK WHILE WRITING THAT PART AND I AM PISSED.
Now that I have ranted off on Horowitz and calmed myself to some extent, here's the review:
*This was definitely my favorite book of the series.*
This was the only book in which character development is really visible. Alex not only matured physically but his character also changed. Whether it be the way he handled MI6 or the fact that he just seemed a little more independent and free.
Now of course that was before someone (cough *Horowitz*) decided to kill Jack. After that Alex just became a new person. But we are going to come to that later.
The action in this book was rather believable if you compare it to the other books. It was certainly fast-paced (you cannot accuse a Horowitz novel to be slow), and it was full to the brim of the manipulative devices of MI6. A classic Alex Rider book.
Now I believe that a character is really good or let's say "well-written" not when they have done great things in the books but when you feel about them the way the author wants you to feel about them. So, Razim and Julius were actually great characters not because they were portrayed as good people but because I hated them as much as Horowitz wanted me to.
Coming to the plot it was unpredictable as always. You couldn't possibly point out where everything would go right for Alex and he would finally be safe (except for the fact that it is somewhere in the last 10 pages).
The way Alex was described at the end of the book really made me want to cry. This series means a lot to me. This has been a two year long journey where I have taken breaks from and read obsessively these nine books. Before this book and even before the last chapters or so I didn't want this series to end. BUT I DON'T WANT HOROWITZ TO LAUNCH A NEW BOOK. Alex sounded so despondent and sad and drawn that I felt sorry for him and really don't want him to go through everything that comes with spying again. Some part of Alex lives with me and he has been a great friend but I don't want a sequel.
HE KILLED SOMEONE FOR HEAVEN'S SAKE!! HOW IS HE SUPPOSED TO RECOVER FROM THAT? HOW IS SUPPOSED TO RECOVER FROM THE FACT THAT HE SAW JACK DIE??
I DON'T WANT A SEQUEL.
Okay, first off I want to hate to Horowitz. HOW CAN A PERSON IN THERE SANE MIND KILL JACK STARBRIGHT?? EITHER HE MADE A PACT WITH THE DEVIL OR HE WAS DRUNK WHILE WRITING THAT PART AND I AM PISSED.
Now that I have ranted off on Horowitz and calmed myself to some extent, here's the review:
*This was definitely my favorite book of the series.*
This was the only book in which character development is really visible. Alex not only matured physically but his character also changed. Whether it be the way he handled MI6 or the fact that he just seemed a little more independent and free.
Now of course that was before someone (cough *Horowitz*) decided to kill Jack. After that Alex just became a new person. But we are going to come to that later.
The action in this book was rather believable if you compare it to the other books. It was certainly fast-paced (you cannot accuse a Horowitz novel to be slow), and it was full to the brim of the manipulative devices of MI6. A classic Alex Rider book.
Now I believe that a character is really good or let's say "well-written" not when they have done great things in the books but when you feel about them the way the author wants you to feel about them. So, Razim and Julius were actually great characters not because they were portrayed as good people but because I hated them as much as Horowitz wanted me to.
Coming to the plot it was unpredictable as always. You couldn't possibly point out where everything would go right for Alex and he would finally be safe (except for the fact that it is somewhere in the last 10 pages).
The way Alex was described at the end of the book really made me want to cry. This series means a lot to me. This has been a two year long journey where I have taken breaks from and read obsessively these nine books. Before this book and even before the last chapters or so I didn't want this series to end. BUT I DON'T WANT HOROWITZ TO LAUNCH A NEW BOOK. Alex sounded so despondent and sad and drawn that I felt sorry for him and really don't want him to go through everything that comes with spying again. Some part of Alex lives with me and he has been a great friend but I don't want a sequel.
HE KILLED SOMEONE FOR HEAVEN'S SAKE!! HOW IS HE SUPPOSED TO RECOVER FROM THAT? HOW IS SUPPOSED TO RECOVER FROM THE FACT THAT HE SAW JACK DIE??
I DON'T WANT A SEQUEL.
hpstrangelove's review against another edition
5.0
I enjoyed this book. although I'm thoroughly depressed that there won't be any more to look forward too. With a death of a major character, it also might be a bit much for younger children. I miss the 'fun' of the prior books. This one had a more adult feel to it.
faehistory's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
negar_s's review against another edition
5.0
من کتاب نه رو با فاصله زیادی نسبت به کتاب هشت شروع کردم. ولی الکس رایدر مطلقا جزء کتابایی نبود که سیر داستانی یادم بره و برای خودن جلد بعد دچار مشکل بشم.
همه ی داستانای الکس تا حالا، بدون استثنا مشکلاتی داشتن، ولی حتی با وجود اونا، که توب هر داستانی می تونستن باعث بشه سه بگیره، کتابای یک تا هشت مستحق چهار یا پنج بودن.
ولی این کتاب واقعا فوق العاده بود. به جز اون تیکه ی توی ماشین که دوباره این ترفند مسخره آنتونی آدم بده ماجرا - که گونتر باشه- همه رو برای الکس تعریف می کنه، بقیه کتاب عالی و به جرئت می تونم بگم بیشتر اشکلات جلدای بعدو نداشت.
احساسات الکس بهتر بیان شده بود، نقشه ها یه کم منطقی تر بودن و...
در کل این کتاب عالییی بود و خوندنشو توصیه می کنم ;)
همه ی داستانای الکس تا حالا، بدون استثنا مشکلاتی داشتن، ولی حتی با وجود اونا، که توب هر داستانی می تونستن باعث بشه سه بگیره، کتابای یک تا هشت مستحق چهار یا پنج بودن.
ولی این کتاب واقعا فوق العاده بود. به جز اون تیکه ی توی ماشین که دوباره این ترفند مسخره آنتونی آدم بده ماجرا - که گونتر باشه- همه رو برای الکس تعریف می کنه، بقیه کتاب عالی و به جرئت می تونم بگم بیشتر اشکلات جلدای بعدو نداشت.
احساسات الکس بهتر بیان شده بود، نقشه ها یه کم منطقی تر بودن و...
در کل این کتاب عالییی بود و خوندنشو توصیه می کنم ;)
spiderstapdance's review against another edition
5.0
Wow. What a ride these nine books have been.
Scorpia Rising was very well done. Unlike the previous books in the series, it is organized in two parts: the first, Scorpia, gives the reader insight into the plan the criminal organization will soon begin to enact against Alex, and the second, Alex, picks up the narrative in the way we're used to, following Alex from the beginning to the end of his mission. This was a brilliant move on Anthony Horowitz's part. The first part gives enough details to develop a strong sense of dramatic irony as Alex tries to work things out, without giving too much away and damaging the suspense (which is just as strong).
As the final installment of a series, it was great to see all the nods to Alex's previous missions. It relied a lot more on suspense than on plot than the past books, but it worked. There seemed like less action on Alex's part as well, but that too, worked. This was probably due to the split perspectives of the storytelling.
The resolution was bittersweet, but it suited my feelings about completing a series I have grown up with.
I first read [b:Stormbreaker|136782|Stormbreaker (Alex Rider, #1)|Anthony Horowitz|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1288354739s/136782.jpg|833565] when I was a few years younger than Alex was, and I'm now nearly five years older than he is in Scorpia Rising. I remember at one point after I had passed him in age (I think it was during either [b:Ark Angel|94319|Ark Angel (Alex Rider, #6)|Anthony Horowitz|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1311648941s/94319.jpg|90923] or [b:Snakehead|1821571|Snakehead (Alex Rider, #7)|Anthony Horowitz|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1349007138s/1821571.jpg|2066979]), I could hardly believe that a fourteen-year-old kid could possibly be doing all the things he does in these books. Whereas when I was eleven, it had made perfect sense. After Scorpia Rising, it makes sense again. Yes, Alex is extraordinary: his uncle gave him the kind of training he would need for the life of a spy, but he has also grown up exponentially in the year-and-some-months that the books span. By the end, he moves beyond his uncle's training.
And that's something that I really like about the Alex Rider series. Alex isn't some kind of superhuman James Bond figure going from mission to mission completely untouched by the things that happen to him. He's a fourteen, later fifteen, year old kid, blessed (or cursed) with the luck of the devil. The things he witnesses and the things he is forced to do change him and scar him. I love Alex because he isn't untouchable. And I think that fact makes these stories richer, particularly Scorpia Rising.
Scorpia Rising was very well done. Unlike the previous books in the series, it is organized in two parts: the first, Scorpia, gives the reader insight into the plan the criminal organization will soon begin to enact against Alex, and the second, Alex, picks up the narrative in the way we're used to, following Alex from the beginning to the end of his mission. This was a brilliant move on Anthony Horowitz's part. The first part gives enough details to develop a strong sense of dramatic irony as Alex tries to work things out, without giving too much away and damaging the suspense (which is just as strong).
As the final installment of a series, it was great to see all the nods to Alex's previous missions. It relied a lot more on suspense than on plot than the past books, but it worked. There seemed like less action on Alex's part as well, but that too, worked. This was probably due to the split perspectives of the storytelling.
The resolution was bittersweet, but it suited my feelings about completing a series I have grown up with.
I first read [b:Stormbreaker|136782|Stormbreaker (Alex Rider, #1)|Anthony Horowitz|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1288354739s/136782.jpg|833565] when I was a few years younger than Alex was, and I'm now nearly five years older than he is in Scorpia Rising. I remember at one point after I had passed him in age (I think it was during either [b:Ark Angel|94319|Ark Angel (Alex Rider, #6)|Anthony Horowitz|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1311648941s/94319.jpg|90923] or [b:Snakehead|1821571|Snakehead (Alex Rider, #7)|Anthony Horowitz|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1349007138s/1821571.jpg|2066979]), I could hardly believe that a fourteen-year-old kid could possibly be doing all the things he does in these books. Whereas when I was eleven, it had made perfect sense. After Scorpia Rising, it makes sense again. Yes, Alex is extraordinary: his uncle gave him the kind of training he would need for the life of a spy, but he has also grown up exponentially in the year-and-some-months that the books span. By the end, he moves beyond his uncle's training.
And that's something that I really like about the Alex Rider series. Alex isn't some kind of superhuman James Bond figure going from mission to mission completely untouched by the things that happen to him. He's a fourteen, later fifteen, year old kid, blessed (or cursed) with the luck of the devil. The things he witnesses and the things he is forced to do change him and scar him. I love Alex because he isn't untouchable. And I think that fact makes these stories richer, particularly Scorpia Rising.
roshk99's review against another edition
3.0
Pretty good wrap-up of Alex's adventures - action packed and for once the reader knows the scheme before Alex does