Anthony Horowitz Alex Rider Undercover: Four Secret Files - World Book Day 2020

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Express option - We provide a express service option which can take 2 working days (Working days are termed as Monday to Friday) Meaningful Name: Stormbreaker features a Big Bad named Herod Sayle, whose Evil Plan involves murdering thousands of children.

That and every single villain seems to be chomping at the bit to spill their plans to Alex in minute detail whenever they get the opportunity. Children enjoy reading about personalities essentially like themselves, but with certain particular exaggerated character traits.If you’re talented enough to turn your hand to sewing, be proud and enjoy it. If you have a bit of spare time or need a little bit of extra cash, let your friends know. They might be just delighted to have a saviour in their circle of friends. The whole dressing-up endeavour should never have become a job for parents. Instead, it has always been an ideal task for children” Earlier, when Turner and Troy are about to be Killed Offscreen, "the whole sky was turning to blood".

Deconstruction: Despite not being Horowitz's original intention, the series gradually becomes a deconstruction of the entire idea of spying being a cool or desirable occupation. Villain Respect: Major Yu happily admits that Alex is clearly very capable, and when Alex turns up alive again after his escape from the snakehead's hospital he admits that he is "very difficult to kill." Desmond McCain also indicates a grudging respect for him, although this chiefly manifests itself in subjecting Alex to the worst torture he can imagine for his interrogation because he knows Alex is brave and clever enough to deceive him. Nightshade has been advertised as being tougher and more adult than the rest of the series, with the intention being that as well as appealing to the series' target market, it will also be enjoyed by readers who read the first books when they originally came out 20 years ago.Manipulative Editing: Sarov records an interview with the Russian President while the latter is fantastically drunk and doesn’t care about anything. He plans to edit this to make the President look bad when the dust has blown over. Killed Offscreen: The two CIA agents, Troy and Turner, in Skeleton Key. Alex watches as they dive into the sea, looking for the underwater passage into General Sarov's complex, and the narration notes that this is the last time Alex ever sees them alive. Alex dives in himself later, and upon discovering the passage is lethally booby-trapped when he sees it take out a great white shark, he realises what must have happened to them, but by that point they have not only been dead for several hours but the trap's disposal system has destroyed their remains. Tagline: Originally the series' tagline was "Alex Rider, the reluctant teenage spy" (which gets dropped in context in Scorpia Rising). More recently this has changed to the original tagline for Stormbreaker, "Alex Rider - you're never too young to die". Several other books in the series have had their own taglines too:

Riddle for the Ages: How exactly Scorpia found out John Rider was still alive is posed in at least two of the books, but is never answered.Bullet Holes and Revelations: The end of Stormbreaker: Sayle has a gun pointed at Alex and two shots are fired. But they went from Yassen's gun into Sayle's chest. Trauma Conga Line: Alex's entire life, especially after becoming a spy. By the end of Scorpia Rising he has lost the only adult he truly trusted and is unlikely to ever really recover. In Ark Angel when Alex tells Kaspar that he's not Paul Drevin when one of the nameless Mooks attempts to cut off one of his fingers. Kaspar threatens to kill Alex if it turns out he's not really Paul Drevin but they purposely allow him to escape the death trap they built for him as it is all part of Nikolei Drevin's master plan. Bond Villain Stupidity: Almost every book has Alex found out by the bad guys, but not killed or forced to make his way through a death trap that he also beats. Alas, Poor Villain: This is implied when General Sarov is Driven to Suicide in Skeleton Key; it is more overt in the graphic novel adaptation, where he seems visibly distressed by Alex's final rejection and sheds a tear as he puts the gun to his head.