Skeleton Key (Alex Rider Adventure) Download Free (EPUB, PDF)
Alex Rider has been through a lot for his fourteen years. He's been shot at by international terrorists, chased down a mountainside on a makeshift snowboard, and has stood face-to-face with pure evil. Twice, young Alex has managed to save the world. And twice, he has almost been killed doing it. But now Alex faces something even more dangerous. The desperation of a man who has lost everything he cared for: his country and his only son. A man who just happens to have a nuclear weapon and a serious grudge against the free world. To see his beloved Russia once again be a dominant power, he will stop at nothing. Unless Alex can stop him first... Uniting forces with America's own CIA for the first time, teen spy Alex Rider battles terror from the sun-baked beaches of Miami all the way to the barren ice fields of northernmost Russia. Come along for the thrilling ride of a lifetime.
Series: Alex Rider Adventure
Paperback: 368 pages
Publisher: Puffin Books; First Printing edition (February 16, 2006)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0142406147
ISBN-13: 978-0142406144
Product Dimensions: 5.1 x 0.6 x 7.8 inches
Shipping Weight: 12.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (258 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #33,012 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #76 in Books > Teens > Literature & Fiction > Action & Adventure > Mystery & Thriller #86 in Books > Teens > Literature & Fiction > Boys & Men #165 in Books > Teens > Mysteries & Thrillers > Mystery & Detective
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be a teenage spy? If you have, then this is the book for you. Alex Rider is a 14 year old boy who never knew his father. His uncle, John Rider, who worked for MI6, told him that his father died in a plane crash and had been training to be a spy all his life only Alex just didn't no it yet. One day, Alex's uncle dies while on a mission and Alex is contacted by MI6. Soon after, Alex is sent on a number of missions by MI6.In Skelton Key, Alex starts out by trying to save Wimbledon from a Chinese betting conspiracy and ends up with a contract on his life. Alex heads off to Cuba to help the CIA track down a missing bomb and soon finds himself in the clutches of an ex-Soviet general trying to destroy the world. It's up to Alex to save the world. If you like action and adventure, you should read this book.
I'm thirteen years old and have read the entire series over and over again. I LOVE them. They're fast-paced, interesting, but sometimes cheesy -- especially when the villain ties Alex up and then explains their grand plan to him in detail. I mean, COME ON. No villain would do that. Then they just so happen to leave Alex alone for the night or alone to die. The author's manipulation is felt really strongly in these parts. I much prefer it when the protagonist figures out what's going on by themselves, not by the antagonist. When they start to monologue, it's just so CRINGY.But despite some of the flaws, I thought that the fourteen year old spy concept was pulled off well. Alex's good abilities were well-explained and not just passed off as talent, which I find irritating.But anyway, ON WITH THE REVIEW.Personally, I found "Skeleton Key" the weakest in the series. In it, Alex goes to Wimbledon as a ballboy by request of Crawley because there was a break-in. So once Alex gets there, he starts investigating a security guard who turns out to be part of a gang called the Big Circle, who will stop at nothing to kill Alex. So, Blunt sends Alex off to America for his safety with the CIA agents Turner and Troy as part of their cover. Once they get there, it becomes clear Alex doesn't know the full story and that the agents are REALLY investigating a man called General Sarov, who allegedly has a nuclear bomb. The Russian president is coming and nobody has a clue what's going on.That's a pretty loose synopsis, but I want to get on with my opinion. [MILD SPOILERS AHEAD.]OK, so first off: I didn't like Sarov as a villain. There, I said it. He always seemed far too sympathetic for my taste. Yeah, it's nice to have a "grey" character, but this is the ALEX RIDER SERIES! All the villains are NASTY! Sarov wants to do this terrible thing but his character just doesn't match that. He's willing to kill thousands of people, but wants to adopt Alex.Personally, if Sarov had been driven insane by his son's death and thought Alex was a sort of replacement for him, I would've liked it better. It would've fitted, anyway. But Sarov has never caused Alex bodily harm. I just find it hard to root for Alex when Sarov isn't that unlikeable.Conrad, on the other hand... I love Conrad. After Kaspar, he's my favourite sidekick. He is AWESOME. If he was the main villain and Sarov was the sidekick, it would've been a bit better. But hey, that's just my opinion.Some parts of the book I loved. The bit with the shark was really good, so was the sugar crusher thing Conrad used on Alex. I didn't think Sarov's plan would've worked as well as he hoped. It's a pretty big plot hole for Horowitz, because if something like that had happened, the outcome would be completely different.In conclusion: A decent entry to the series, but by no means up there with Scorpia and Snakehead.
As I have been reading the series of Alex Rider this book is getting me hype for next book which I will reading soon as I can but I recommended to a friend or anyone who like spy anyways this was very good.
I orginally bought this book off of .co.uk.com because its a british book and it came out sooner in england. I was sooooo amazed at how anthony horowitz once again, captures so much action in one book! I absolutlely LOVE this series because its so enjoyable to read and also because it never gets boring! I'm a girl and although this book would probably seem more apealing to guys, i would HIGHLY suggest this book and the rest of its series to any girl out there! If you want to read this book i would recomend reading the first two first (stormbreaker, point blank/blanc)
Each book has gone and exceeded all my expectations. I can't wait till I'm done this review so I can start the next one. They just are the types of books that you cannot put down from page 1. If you like Artemis Fowl and Rick Riordan's books you will love these.
This is a good read for teen boys - a teen age James Bond. It is faced paced and the characters are well developed. Women play stereotypical roles and/or minor ones. That is my biggest criticism - the female agent is the worrier, dies early in the book, women are used as sex objects, even Mrs. Jones and Jack Starbright are cardboard characters. The level of violence is greater and more gruesome than it's predecessor the Hardy Boys. Yet it is fun to read and is a good choice for boys who don't like to read.
Skeleton Key, the sequel to Stormbreaker and Point Blanc, is surely the best book in this gripping teen spy series. Before you read it, however, make sure you read the others first so as to understand the story.Just a month after his previous adventure at an exclusive school in the French Alps, sixteen-year-old Alex Rider is attempting to return to a normal life in London. But this is a wish quickly forgotten as an M16 agent recruits him for a mission during a school soccer game.He is soon over in the USA, and taking on the role of the son of two up-tight and by-the-book CIA officers.Together, they must infiltrate the home of an ex-Russian army commander. Trouble is, his house is an island in Cuba and Americans aren't exactly welcome in that part of the world.Armed with some outrageous and extremely useful gadgets disguised as toys, Rider must soon try to win the trust of the Russian on his own, but finds himself in a seemingly losing battle against the rich and powerful man.Alex discovers the Russian's deadly plot to take over the world, but will a young boy be able to stop him?A terrific book that will having you struggle to put it down as you dive into the world of international spies, crazy military men and truly gripping suspense.I gave this book 5 stars, and it deserves 6, so read it now and find out why!
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