Skeleton Key by Anthony Horowitz: A Book Review 

Before I dive into the details of this book and my constructive criticism, I shall provide a short introduction to Alex Rider, the protagonist in the book.

Introduction

Alex is a 14-year-old orphaned British boy who lives with his caretaker. His uncle was secretly a MI6 agent. After his uncle, Ian Rider, was killed on a mission, he got pulled into the world of MI6. Before the events in this book, he saved the world twice, but this mission is the deadliest he has yet faced.

Plot

The plot is centered on Alex, as usual. Undercover as a ball boy, Alex exposes a triad’s plan to ruin the performances of selected players in the Wimbledon Tennis Championship. During his time at Wimbledon as a ball boy, he becomes friends with Sabina Pleasure. Subsequently, Alex is invited to join her on a vacation to Cornwall. At Cornwall, Alex is attacked by the triad operative while surfing on the Cribber. He almost drowns but is rescued by Sabina. 

When Alex wakes up, he finds himself in the office of Alan Blunt, the head of MI6. Blunt informs Alex that the CIA needs his help in infiltrating Cuba and apprehending a terrorist. Agents Troy and Turner accompany Alex to Cuba, undercover as a family. This was necessary so that the Cuban authorities wouldn’t find out that Troy and Turner are U.S. agents. 

Alex is kept in the dark about why General Alexei Sarov is to be put behind bars. Later, he finds out that he has nuclear weapons. The U.S. agents try to enter Sarov’s place of operations. The attempt fails and their cause of death remains elusive. I think they were eaten by the Great White Shark, which roams around the underwater cave entrance that leads to Sarov’s palace, as there is a lack of bodies. Alex faces the Great White when he gets tired of waiting for the agents to return for their scuba dive scouting. He defeats it by using one of the general’s traps. This emotionally scares Alex.

Alex is subsequently kidnapped by the General’s goons.

Sarov tells Alex that he will make a new world where Russia, his home, will reign supreme with him leading it. He says that he will rebuild the world and make it a better place, but Alex knows that detonating nuclear bombs is the opposite of making the world a better place.

Will Alex survive and be able to turn off the nuclear bomb, which, when detonated, would make Europe and some of Russia uninhabitable?

Read the book to find out!

Postitive

Anthony Horowitz takes a bold step and puts Alex in the big leagues with James Bond and Ethan Hunt of Mission Impossible with this book. This story has beautifully orchestrated action sequences. Horowitz’s fluent writing makes it even better.

I think this book deserves more popularity, which is one of the reasons I am writing this review.

Misses

Though his book is great in many aspects, it lacks one thing: complexity. This book, in my eyes, is too straight-forward. It lacks side plots. I think exploring the relationship between Alex and Sabina would make the book even better. Mainly Sabina’s feelings and thoughts when Alex disappears to save the world a third time. Alex had confessed that he is a teenage James Bond and that he has saved the world twice before the attack on him in Cornwall. This would make the story more complex and interesting. 

Except for this, I cannot find any flaws in the story. So, I give Alex Rider 3: Skeleton Key a rating of 3.5 out of 5. Honestly, this story could have been way better if side plots were explored. This is the main reason I rated it 3.5 instead of 4.5.

Age

I think this book is suitable for all ages above 10.

Rating

RATING- 3.5/5

For all over 10 years old

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Image Source – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skeleton_Key_(novel)#/media/File:Skeletonkey.JPG

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This article is published by Bookosmia, India’s #1 publisher for and by young people. Bookosmia publishes stories, books, podcasts, events, TED-Ed talks, workshops, bedtime stories and more related to kids and young adults.

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Skeleton Key by Anthony Horowitz: A Book Review By Rishav, 11, Kolkata