He was first introduced to the British intelligence agency when his uncle was murdered on a mission, and Alex was recruited to go and finish the job.

It's just a fast, adrenaline charged experience with mindless action and feats that would bring Bruce Wayne to his knees. I think he's also incredibly lucky in that he always escapes somehow AND is better than so many of the adult agents who have died doing the same missions he finishes. but still just as bloodpumping thrilling, nail-biting exciting and pure breathless addictive as ever!So anyway, Alex gives them the butt-whooping of their lives, and unbeknownst to him, he’s being photographed. Cool fight involving a gun, the same yucky mushroom soup, barrels of leaded oil, and a leftover explosive that Alex hadn’t used on his mission in the GM foods place, and then boom. Maybe not exactly as brilliant and heartfelt as the previous ones in the series (this is the 8th book after all). Suddenly, Bennett is stabbed from behind by the man who saved Alex in Scotland, Rahim, and she is torn apart by the crocodiles after she falls into the river. Usually Alex gets recruited into a mission for MI-6 through some bit of backhanded blackmail, but in this one he inadvertently steps afoul of Desmond McCain (our villain) and ends up first in the sights of a sharpshooter, then at the eye of the storm McCain unleashes on him.

Pleasure are in plunges into the Loch Arkaig, and they are then rescued by a foreign-looking person.I gathered that he had been shot in the past, at Liverpool Street station, and although there is a token effort at showing he still has some reaction when he has to go there again, he doesn't appear to suffer any qualms from killing a number of men in this book, even though it is in self defence. Alex has actually had a couple of months respite since his last mission in Australia ( Snakehead) and he’s beginning to think he may have finally put his relationship with MI-6 in the past. This book, more than any of the others, really takes a spin off the James Bond 007 franchise when it opens up on Alex playing Texas Hold `em with the big baddie of the book. When Alex leaves shortly afterwards in the company of his friend and her father, their car suffers an 'accident' which is nearly fatal. Rahim explains that he is an Indian RAW operative attempting to exact revenge on McCain for what he did in the power plant.

When Rahim passes out due to sickness, Alex takes it upon himself to message RAW and MI6 and then destroy the crops, while the new Prime Ministersummons Blunt and Mrs Jones to a meeting at 10 Downing Street to discuss Alex's message and authorising an Royal Air Force attack on the fields, as well as telling Blunt that he cannot use Alex any more. But here I am, writing a book in which I have no idea what's going on, following in the footsteps of a character who refuses to tell me anything. but alas, Im stuck with a different plot but the same exact concept as most of the books in this series.After McCain finds out about Alex's secret life with MI6, Alex is heavily drugged and kidnapped by Bennett whilst on his way to school the next day. I am not sure how many more of these Horowitz is planning on writing, but every time I finish a new one I cross my fingers that it's not the last. Normally the 8th book in a series doesn't turn out well, but Anthony Horowitz was successful in his comeback.

When his uncle is murdered in the first novel, Alex is recruited by the agency for both his talents and his age—because who would suspect a 14-year-old of being a spy? After the party, Desmond sends a sniper to blow one of the wheels off of the car where Alex, his girlfriend and her dad were and they get into a terrible accident. Anthony Horowitz becomes about 70% creepier as you begin to wonder just how much time he spent dwelling on creating the perfect kidnapping. I was okay with this part, other than the fact it seems quite obvious than Anthony has never really been to India. This and the previous Alex Rider books are excellent for grabbing the attention of boys aged about nine years and onwards who don't want to read.He meets the owner of the remote castle where it is held, a seemingly reformed businessman who was sent to jail for fraud (arson). Alex tells him the truth, but McCain seemingly changes his mind (though it is debatable whether he wanted to kill Alex anyway) and leaves him with the crocodiles. Alex is now killing henchmen left and right and nothing is ever said about how the violence is affecting him.