Review: Scorpia Rising - Anthony Horowitz

Synopsis: In his time as a British spy, Alex Rider has taken on countless enemies. While he's never come away unscathed, he's always completed his missions. But there is one enemy that just won't stay down, the terrorist organization that murdered his parents and forever changed Alex's life: Scorpia.

Back and more powerful than ever, Scorpia has its sights set on the turbulent Middle East, and Alex must risk his life in one of the most volatile regions in the world. His mission? Put Scorpia out of business. Permanently.

But this may be one mission Alex won't be coming home from. You've been hoping this day would never come, but you won't be able to tear yourself away from the final chapter in this international #1 best-selling series.

Review: An absolutely brilliant conclusion for the series, from beginning to end. I actually had doubts about whether or not Alex would live; the first time that that has ever happened in reading any of the Alex Rider books. Scorpia has, by far, always been Anthony Horowitz's best villains, and what better way to wrap everything up than to have Alex face them once more? Though Scorpia, as a whole, is hardly Alex's worst enemy in this volume. Yet another comes back from a past mission to haunt him, and it's good. Horowitz's choice to allow the Reader to actually see what Scorpia is planning was a new and excellent move on his part as the Author. We have always gotten a small window into what the master villain is planning, but this time we get about half of the book to find it out, making things, believe it or not, a lot more suspenseful. We get to see just enough to understand a little beyond the general gist of what is happening, but we still wonder: What's truly happening?

Scorpia Rising really suffers from no shortcomings that others didn't as well. It is written in a very movie-ish style, which I accept because for a spy series like this, I suppose it would be difficult to write it otherwise. But the chase scene toward the end felt like it dragged. The Author focused on every little detail so much that I found myself tapping my fingers impatiently against the pages. However, it ends satisfactorily, as if to make up for the drag. The villains are pretty cliche, as in all the others. They graciously explain the whole extent of the plan to Alex before killing him, and even before they do that they explain how they are going to kill him. If villains did this more often in real life, fewer people would probably die. But I have to admit that I would miss the clicheness a bit; it's a spy series, after all, and what is a spy series without gadgets, crazy villains who politely explain everything just in case we miss something, and of course the unusual forms of death? No, it just wouldn't be the same.

But for all of those typical shortcomings, Scorpia Rising offers a lot of surprises. I found myself more than once thinking, Wow, I really didn't see that coming. If it weren't for these twists, Scorpia Rising would have been a disappointing grand finale. But it isn't. The end is, in a way, like no other Alex Rider book. It surprised me a little, made me sad, but happy and satisfied at the same time. And also unlike the others, it actually felt like a conclusion. Alex Rider is finally at rest.

I was pleased.

Overall Rating: |||||

Others in the Alex Rider Series:
1)Stormbreaker
2)Point Blank
3)Skeleton Key
4)Eagle Strike
5)Scorpia
6)Ark Angel
7)Snakehead
8)Crocodile Tears
9)Scorpia Rising

Review: Found - Margaret Peterson Haddix

Synopsis: When Jonah and his best friend, Chip, start receiving threatening notes in the mail, they are plunged headfirst into a mystery. With the help of Jonah's sister, Katherine, they discover that the notes may be connected to the shady circumstances surrounding Jonah's and Chip's adoptions. When they begin to investigate, they find a vast conspiracy that reaches from the far past to the distant future - one that will take them hurtling through time. They don't know who to trust, or which shadowy faction to believe. Can Jonah and Chip discover the secrets of their pasts before the conspiracy catches up to them?

Review: One word: Strange. There is no other way to describe this series of books. However, that is not a criticism. Though I have just finished Book One, I am unwilling to say that I dislike the series, but "like" is also not the word that I would use. Will it end up on my shelf? Yes - it's one I would like to read over again, but saying that I like it just isn't the word that I would use. It is rather like the Gideon Trilogy, or The Red Necklace and The Silver Blade. I would definitely read them over again and I intend to buy them, but to say that one likes them . . . I find them interesting, I find them intriguing and engaging reads, and the characters are brilliant. And yet, like is not the word.

But I've gone on about that enough. On to the story itself. Well, it is certainly engaging and it definitely keeps the Reader turning the pages. I am anxious to read Book Two - Sent - because now they are getting into the really good events. When I first picked up the book, I wasn't sure if I would be able to look past the names of the main characters. Jonah I can put up with, but Chip is just downright annoying. And the first two chapters didn't promise very thrilling characteristics in them. Katherine was extremely annoying and Chip threatened to have a crush on her - ugh. Even after finishing Found, Katherine got on my nerves, and though she is supposed to be younger than Jonah, I kept thinking that she was older. But Jonah is an okay "hero;" I may end up ranking him as a well-liked character. Chip isn't horrid, either, though I discovered that I often tuned him out. I got tired of his negativeness.

Still, the events of the book itself will more than likely have the Reader ignoring the annoying attributes of all the characters. Found begins weird and it gets progressively weirder. But a good kind of weird! If it didn't have the storyline that it does, I wouldn't read it, because it is a modern-based book with adolescent boys and I cannot stand those; they turn into coming-of-age stories - how dull! No one who has lived through puberty and has had to deal with three brothers when they went through adolescence wants to read about it. But Margaret Peterson Haddix offers up a wonderfully weird, intriguing, and Gideon Trilogy-like story that saps all the 21st-century bore right out of it!

Can't wait for Sent to come in!

Overall Rating: JJJ

Others in The Missing Series:
1)Found
2)Sent
3)Sabotaged
4)Torn

5)Caught

Review: The Hidden Gallery - Maryrose Wood

THIS REVIEW HAS BEEN MOVED TO THE READING HEDGEHOG!

Review: Halt's Peril - John Flanagan

Synopsis: Rangers walk the line between life and death every day, but never before has that line appeared so thin or death felt so certain. Hot on the trail of the Outsiders - a cult that's been making its way from kingdom to kingdom, conning the innocent out of their few valuables - Will and Halt are ambushed by the cult's deadly assassins. Pierced by a poisoned arrow, Will's mentor is near death and in dire need of the one antidote that can save his life. Time is not on Will's side as he journeys day and night through the harsh terrain to Grimsdell Wood in search of the one person with the power to cure Halt: Malkallam the Sorcerer.

Review: I have put off writing this review as long as I can. No, I haven't put it off because I have such dreadful things to say about it; I put it off so that I may think of what to say about it. Unfortunately, there really isn't anything in Halt's Peril to excite particular interest in a positive or negative way.

It is a good installment, and fairly suspenseful, though its ending is easy to guess. Mr. Flanagan isn't an Author who allows permanent evil to befall main characters. Like all of the books, his dialogue is funny, but movie-ish, though I must say that some of the interactions between the characters in this volume are particularly funny. I am also pleased to report that Flanagan does not try to tackle any battles, but a few minor skirmishes. He can do that, and I must admit that his avoidance of trying to write a real battle improves the books considerably.

Still, I wish he wasn't writing any more books in the Ranger's Apprentice series. Four was a perfect number; six was really pushing it. But ten?! (And I hear rumors that there is to be an 11th.) Even the best of series need to end, otherwise they become dull and slightly irksome.

Overall Rating: JJJ

Others in the Ranger's Apprentice Series:1)The Ruins of Gorlan
2)The Burning Bridge
3)The Icebound Land
4)The Battle for Skandia
5)The Sorcerer of the North
6)The Siege of Macindaw
7)Erak's Ransom
8)The Kings of Clonmel
9)Halt's Peril
10)The Emperor of Nihon-Ja
11)The Lost Stories

Review: The Kings of Clonmel - John Flanagan

Synopsis: When mankind seeks protection from the world's many dangers, they put their faith in warriors, kings, gods, and even money. In the neighboring kingdom of Clonmel, a mysterious cult has sprung up, promising defense against lawless marauders in exchange for people's riches. Their sermons are attracting audiences from miles around, but there's a dark side to this seemingly charitable group, prompting Halt, Will, and Horace to investigate. What the trio uncovers could threaten the safety of not only Clonmel, but their homeland of Araluen as well.

Review: This one was way better than The Sorcerer of the North, The Siege of Macindaw, or even Erak's Ransom. It picks up where The Siege of Macindaw left off - Will is a full-fledged Ranger, he and Alyss are well aware of each other's feelings (but don't worry; it isn't mushy), and Will is making quite a name for himself.

But best of all - Halt is once more a prominent character, which I really think is what The Sorcerer of the North and The Siege of Macindaw was lacking. Not only that - we Readers get to learn a lot more about Halt's past. I confess that I am divided about that. On one end, it is interesting to finally discover more about the Ranger, but at the same time Halt is one of those characters that Readers aren't meant to know a lot about. A layer of mystery is supposed to surround them; it is part of what makes those sorts of characters so appealing. I think that if Flanagan reveals too much more about Halt, he runs the risk of ruining him (please don't!!).

Flanagan blessedly sticks to mere skirmishes and single-combat scenes, which he can write without it being a huge muddle. That is another plus for this book - the story doesn't become bogged down with scenes that the Author just isn't cut out to write. There is no serious build-up of suspense - no massive revelations of secrets (except Halt's past, but if you have read The Icebound Land, it won't come as too big of a surprise) - and I found it perfectly fine. It reverted back to what was more at the heart of The Ruins of Gorlan and The Burning Bridge: the villain's overall intentions are clear enough, which leaves room of the Author to focus on the villain himself; how he is accomplishing it, how he operates.

All in all, I enjoyed The Kings of Clonmel. It felt much more like Flanagan's first two books - which are, in my opinion, surprisingly the best, - and I hope that Halt's Peril (which I just went out and bought) is just as good, if not better.

Overall Rating: JJJ

Other Books in the Ranger's Apprentice Series:

1)The Ruins of Gorlan
2)The Burning Bridge
3)The Icebound Land
4)The Battle for Skandia
5)The Sorcerer of the North
6)The Siege of Macindaw
7)Erak's Ransom
8)The Kings of Clonmel
9)Halt's Peril
10)The Emperor of Nihon-Ja
11)The Lost Stories