Alex Rider: The Gadgets

by Anthony Horowitz

Book Overview

As fans of teen spy Alex Rider know, nothing is more fun or mind-boggling than the gadgets that help free him from tight spots. Now, for the first time, readers can glimpse the secret files and... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0399244867
• ISBN13: 9780399244865
• Release Date: April 2006
• Publisher: Philomel Books
• Length: 42 Pages
• Weight: 0.68 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 6.9" x 8.0"
• Age Range: 10 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 5 and higher

Customer Reviews

Ark Angel Review

Wonder what it's like to go on vacation with a friend and next thing you know you have to turn the vacation into a spy mission? Well, Alex Rider knows. In the book Ark Angel by Anthony Horwitz, Alex Rider is asked to go on vacation by a billionaire named Nikolei Driven. While on vacation Alex finds out that Mr. Driven is a major criminal. Then the CIA asks Alex to go up into outer space to move a bomb that is in Mr. Driven's space hotel so it does not explode sending chunks of debris towards Washington D.C. This book was very fun to read because there was never a dull moment where I said to myself that I wanted to put the book down. Right when something exciting ended something else exciting happens. Before reading this book you should read the book StormBreaker, then Point Blank, then Skeleton Key, then Eagle Strike, and then the book Scorpia to get a better understanding of the characters in the book. This book is best suited for a fourteen year old that likes action because they would be able to understand better how Alex is thinking since he is fourteen. So all you fourteen year old action lovers, this book is best for you.

Ryan's reveiw

I thought this book was one of the best of all the series I liked this book because it is full of action and adventure.It was exciting when Alex used the medicine ball as a sling shot and knocked out the guy. Not even a sniper's bullet can stop Alex Rider. He is back and this time he is facing a terrorist group called Force Three. When Alex saves a billionaire's son, Paul Drevin, he is swept away to a life of luxury. Now MI6 is once again giving Alex no choice to spy on Paul's dad. Then he finds out that Ark Angel is going to be blown up and it is going to fall from space, right into Washington and destroy the whole capital. Will Alex be able to go into space and prove once again that he can stop this or will he die trying? I recomend this book to a 8-14 year old and anyone who likes an action,adventure and a little mystery.

Courtesy of Teens Read Too

Before you read the review of ARK ANGEL, you need to take into account that this is the sixth book in the engaging, entertaining, action-packed adventure series starring Alex Rider. If you haven't read the first five books in the series, you'll probably want to do that before you pick up ARK ANGEL. Although it can stand on its own, you'll feel more in the loop by reading the previous books first. ARK ANGEL picks up immediately where Scorpia (Alex Rider Adventure), book five, left off. At the end of that book, we saw Alex Rider on the ground, wounded by a sniper's bullet. For those who thought that Anthony Horowitz was planning to kill off our favorite young MI6 agent, please be assured that ARK ANGEL does not in any way imply dead. Alex is alive and relatively well, recuperating in an exclusive private hospital in London. The sniper's bullet missed his heart, instead bouncing off a rib and exiting out his arm. Now, as he's recovering in posh room nine of the hospital, he becomes friends with Paul. The same Paul that turns out to be the son of Nikolai Drevin, one of the richest men in the world. When Alex saves Paul during a kidnapping attempt, Nikolai invites Alex to finish his recuperation at his estate. Alex soon wonders at the wisdom of being in Drevin's company, however, when he learns that an eco-terrorist group known as Force Three has threatened not only the Drevin family, but the safety of the entire world. Nikolai Drevin's latest project, Ark Angel, is in full swing. Designed to become the first ultimate luxury hotel in outer space, it contains everything the world's richest people could want. It's also, at least according to Force Three, a threat to the environment of Earth as we know it. Now the members of the terrorist group are out to stop Ark Angel from ever opening, and they'll do anything--and everything--they can to see their mission come to completion. Even if it means hurtling the hotel back through the atmosphere and onto Earth's surface. ARK ANGEL is another action-adventure read that will keep you turning pages right through to the end. Alex Rider has come a long way since the fourteen-year old boy roped into complying with MI6, but there's part of him that's still determined to leave the spy organization for good. Yet he knows that his skills are needed, and the unending action of ARK ANGEL show in detail why that is. You won't go wrong with any of the books in the Alex Rider series, and I can say that I'm excited about the opening of the movie Alex Rider - Operation Stormbreaker (Widescreen Edition), the first Alex Rider adventure, which is in development now.

Terrific

Oh the places you will go, Alex Rider! Ark Angel is the latest chapter in the saga of Alex Rider. I do not want to give away too much in case you have not read the previous books but be warned, "spoilers" follow. If you have not read Alex Rider vols. 1-5 then hie yourself to a library and begin now. Book 5 ended abruptly and very "Ian-Fleming-ly" with Alex on the ground, hit by a sniper's bullet. Ark Angel picks up soon afterwards with Alex recuperating in the hospital. There he befriends another patient, the lonely son of the multi-millionaire, Nikolei Drevin. Drevin is the developer of the Ark Angel space hotel project. As usual, Alex is embroiled in the events that follow against his will. Only Alex, however, has the unique skills and talents to combat the evil plot and danger that unfolds. Horowitz is at the top of his game in this sequel, the action is nonstop. The book actually contains several mini lessons in physics which make some of the predicaments almost believable. They are always fun. While booktalking with some 5th graders, I mentioned that I had read this book and a young fan asked fearfully, "So, is Alex alright?" He cannot wait to get this book.

A great addition to the series

In the sixth Alex Rider Adventure, Alex is recovering from his encounter with a sniper who had been sent to kill him. In the hospital, he meets Paul Drevin, son of multibillionaire Nikolei Drevin. While in the hospital, kidnappers come for Paul. The kidnappers are part of Force Three, a group of eco-terrorists who are angry that Nikolei Drevin caused the extinction of several species of birds during rocket launches for his latest project, Ark Angel, a space hotel. However, Alex defends Paul against Force Three and prevents them from kidnapping him. Rewarding Alex for protecting his son, Nikolei Drevin invites Alex to spend some time with Paul and him in their extraordinary homes, leading up to the launch of one of the most important pieces of the space hotel. Alex finds that Force Three, Ark Angel, and Nikolei Drevin are not what they seem to be and despite Alex's refusal to once again become involved in the world of deception, and spying, he finds himself working to defeat "the biggest criminal in the world." I generally find that books in the Alex Rider series tend to get a touch too repetitive. However, in ARK ANGEL, although it did have some parallels to other books in the series, Anthony Horowitz successfully threw twists into the plot that set the book apart from its predecessors. I also congratulate Mr. Horowitz on the great amount of research he did on topics covered in the book. He even threw in some physics, explaining rotational inertia and some nice examples of Newton's Laws! The setting for the end of the book was very unique and gave the book an exciting ending, but I wish that Anthony Horowitz did not put Alex Rider in so many life or death situations. I enjoy the creative ways Alex Rider slips away from his enemies, but it starts to get a little old when I find that for the third time in the book Alex has dodged a bullet that passes centimeters over his shoulder. ARK ANGEL as a whole has more positives than negatives and definitely is an enjoyable book that Alex Rider fans will love as a great addition to the series. Reviewed by Seth Cassel for Flamingnet Book Reviews www.flamingnet.com Preteen, teen, and young adult book reviews and recommendations.