Stormbreaker (Alex Rider)

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It is also one of the two books where Alex is debriefed even when the antagonist is still alive, the second being Point Blank. BOOKS BY ANTHONY HOROWITZ The Devil and His Boy THE ALEX RIDER ADVENTURES: Stormbreaker Point Blank Skeleton Key Eagle Strike Scorpia Ark Angel THE DIAMOND BROTHERS MYSTERIES: Public Enemy Number Two The Falcon’s Malteser Three of Diamonds South by Southeast This action-adventure book is the first book in Alex Rider series. The book was published by the Speak Books which is an imprint of Penguin Group. Stormbreaker was written for children aged 12 years and above. The age group reflects readability and it doesn’t necessarily reflect content appropriateness. year-old Alex is an orphan. Around 3 weeks prior to the start of the first book in the series, Alex’s uncle, Ian Rider, who had been raising him, dies in a car crash. Alex later finds out that his uncle used to be a secret agent who was working for M16, a premier spy agency in Britain. M16 later forces Alex to take up his uncle’s place in the spy operation. The adventure constitutes the opening book in the series.

Stormbreaker - Alex Rider

When Sayle attended school, he was bullied because of his accent and skin colour. The worst bully was none other than the future Prime Minister, leading him to despise English children, as well as the whole of the UK in general. As a result, Sayle plans to take revenge on the Prime Minister and Britain with his "April Fools Joke"; when the computers are activated by the Prime Minister, the virus, a potent strain of smallpox, will be released into every school in the country, killing every schoolchild and teacher in the country, with Sayle gloating that there will be none left by midnight.The gadgets include a grappling hook disguised as a yo-yo, acne cream that can dissolve metal, and a Nintendo Gameboy that drops smoke grenades among many other functions. Alex gains access to Sayle Enterprises by impersonating Felix Lester, a boy who had won a contest to visit the plant and be the first to use a Stormbreaker computer. Sayle gives Alex a tour of his mansion, which includes a giant aquarium containing a poisonous Man of War jellyfish. Alex also meets his two servants, a disfigured man named Mr. Grin who used to be a circus performer, and an icy German assistant named Nadia Vole. Alex notices workers unloading metal cases from a submarine. When one accidentally drops a case, he is shot by Gregorovich.

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Anthony Horowitz is among the most successful and prolific writers working in the United Kingdom. He is unique for working across many media. Anthony Horowitz is a born polymath; juggling writing TV series, films, books, plays and journalism. The series as a whole is heavily inspired by James Bond. The first line of the novel ("When the doorbell rings at three in the morning, it’s never good news.") echoes the opening line of Casino Royale, the first James Bond novel ("The scent and smoke and sweat of a casino are nauseating at three in the morning.").Variety Staff (24 July 2006). " 'Stormbreaker' no B.O. whirlwind". Variety . Retrieved 6 April 2023.

Stormbreaker Summary | Shmoop Stormbreaker Summary | Shmoop

Alex nearly lost his life during his first spy mission. As a result, he is now reluctant to work again for M16 yet again. Instead, he wants to enjoy life as a teenager. M16 later convinces Alex to join their operations. However, the young spy is directly enrolled into an international, elite all-boy school known as Point Blanc in France. Mr. Blunt, the M16 director, believes that the school proprietors, Mrs. Stellenbosch and Dr. Grief, are somehow involved in the mysterious deaths of 2 well-known multi-millionaires. In 2005 a graphic novel adaptation of Stormbreaker was released in the United Kingdom and the United States. [9] The graphic novel was an adaptation of the screenplay written for the movie released the year after, [10] and was intended as a tie-in for the film. S T O R M B R E A K E Rperhaps.” He gestured again. He used his hands likea magician, as if he were about to produce a fan ofcards. “I have the office next door. Just here . . .” They went into 1505. It was a large, square roomwith three windows looking out over the station.There was a flutter of red and blue outside and Alexremembered the flag he had seen. The flagpole wasright next to the office. Inside there was a desk andchair, a couple of sofas, in the corner a fridge, on thewall a couple of prints. A boring executive’s office.Perfect for a boring executive. “Please, Alex. Sit down,” Crawley said. He wentover to the fridge. “Can I get you a drink?” “Do you have Coke?” “Yes.” Crawley opened a can and filled a glass,then handed it to Alex. “Ice?” “No, thanks.” Alex took a sip. It wasn’t Coke. Itwasn’t even Pepsi. He recognized the oversweet,slightly cloying taste of supermarket cola and wishedhe’d asked for water. “So what do you want to talkto me about?” “Your uncle’s will . . .” The telephone rang and with another hand sign,this one for “excuse me,” Crawley answered it. Hespoke for a few moments, then hung up again. “I’m Waking up somewhere out in the country, Alex meets MI6 head Alan Blunt and his deputy, Lale "Tulip" Jones. They reveal the truth about his uncle's career, and explain that they had sent Ian to investigate Herod Sayle, a wealthy Lebanese businessman who has developed a revolutionary new computer, the Stormbreaker. Sayle plans to give a free Stormbreaker to every secondary school in the United Kingdom, accompanied by a grand activation ceremony in the Science Museum, supposedly as a gesture of thanks for the country taking him in when he was a child. In his last communication with them, Ian had warned MI6 that the Stormbreakers could not be allowed to leave Sayle's manufacturing plant, but before he could explain, he was assassinated by Yassen Gregorovich, a professional killer apparently under Sayle's employ, on the return to London.Moreover, the movie changes events so that Alex and K-Unit are imprisoned after failing a night-time training exercise. As they approach the city, Alex realizes that he does not have time to land since the ceremony will be taking place very soon. He jumps off the plane in a parachute. Mr. Grin tries to ram the plane into him, but he activates a smoke bomb from his Gameboy which causes the plane to crash into the Thames River. Alex crashes through the roof of the London Science Museum just as the ceremony is about to take place and fires his gun at the Stormbreaker computer to destroy it. He also accidentally shoots the Prime Minister and Sayle, who disappears. Blunt and Jones call off the police and rescue Alex. They tell him that MI6 has managed to recall all the Stormbreaker computers for “safety” reasons. Ian Rider was a very cautious man. As a result, when he passes away in a crash without having worn his seatbelt, Alex, his nephew, suspects foul play in his death. Alex wonders why somebody would choose murder a banker. He then discovers clues that later convince him to believe that his long-time guardian wasn’t the man that he actually claimed to be. in Cornwall, Sayle shows Alex around his mansion, which houses a large jellyfish aquarium containing a giant Portuguese Man o' War. Alex also meets Mr. Grin, a henchman whose name derives from his time as a circus performer, catching knives with his teeth. An accident when his mother distracted him in one of his performances left him without a tongue and two large scars which give him the appearance of constant smiling. Stormbreaker was the only book so far in the series that didn't end with a pitched, climactic battle at the culmination of the story.