These stories just don't seem as interesting at 26 Now this may seem obvious - but at 27, these stories just don't seem to have a lot of depth to them. This is obviously because they're written for children/teenagers and not adults. However, there are books (the Harry Potter etc.) That can be read and enjoyed by all ages. The particular Alex Rider book has got some great plot points and some very interesting ideas. Also (without spoilers) the ending is an absolute cliffhanger that makes you want to carry on with the next book. Alex himself doesn't really have much of a personality and neither do many of the other characters despite cliché children's characters. But what more could I expect?

After the events involving Damian Cray, Alex needs a vacation and goes with his friend Tom to Italy, but Alex has an ulterior motive. As he was dying, Yessen Gregorovich told Alex to go to Venice to seek his destiny. With Tom's help, Alex finds and infiltrates the headquarters of Scorpia where he meets Mrs. Rothchild, who tells him that his father was an assassin working for Scorpia and was killed by Mrs. Jones and MI6. Alex wants revenge and is trained to be a killer. Mrs. Rothchild sends Alex to London to kill Mrs. Jones, but when he gets there, he finds that things aren't always as they seem. Scorpia ups the ante in this fifth installment of the Alex Rider series. The book is filled with twists and turns; some that are easy to figure out and some that are not. The character of Tom is introduced in this story as Alex's long time friend and the closeness between the two is evident in the book. Through that friendship, we learn more about what kind of person Alex is. As in previous entries in the series, this story is filled with action and adventure, but also we gain empathy for Alex as we see the decisions that he is forced to make. Overall, Scorpia is a cut above earlier efforts in this series and makes me anxious to read book #6.

4.5 stars