Book Review: Scorpia Rising

Scorpia Rising by Anthony Horowitz

Anthony Horowitz's Scorpia Rising, the final mission of Alex Rider, has the reader on the familiar excitement of the first eight books of the series. Just as Jack Starbright begins to feel that Alex is done with spying and will not need her services anymore, Alex is baited into the fray again by MI6 and Alan Blunt. The action is nonstop from the sniper attack at Alex's school to the final showdown in the Egyptian desert as Alex battles Scorpia and its insane operative Abdul-Aziz Al-Rahim. Scorpia frees Julius Grief, who had plastic surgery to look like Alex in Point Blank, in order to blackmail the Britsh Government about its use of a minor spy. Scorpia hopes to use the threat of exposing MI6's exploitation of a child to exert power over the British government. Scorpia plans to earn a handsome profit from Yannis Ariston Xenopolos by having the Elgin Marbles returned to Greece, but the organized crime syndicate also wants to exact its revenge against Alex for having defeated them and almost ruining their image. The conflict is personal.

The issue of a minor's involvement in spying plays more of a role in this book than previous ones. As with all the books, the life of a spy is not presented as all adventure and travel, as it may appear in a Bond film. The dangers of being a spy are ever present in the Rider series as many people die, often at Alex's hands. Being the final book in the series, Horowitz delves deep into Alex's psychology and the damage the world of MI6 has inflicted on him and those around him. Scorpia Rising contains all of the expected action of a spy thriller with the suspense of a psychological thriller. I would recommend it to anyone looking for a mature adrenaline rush.

Review By:

 Dr. Mary Barr