The next in the Alex Rider series by Anthony Horowitz is point Blanc. Check out my previous review for Stormbreaker. His character of Alex, the fourteen year old MI6 spy, has more hair raising adventures in Point Blanc.
The children of the wealthiest families in the world have been acting out, as teenagers do, and have been sent to an ultra-private school in the Swiss Alps.
Point Blanc is a refurbished castle mounted atop one of the highest peaks. The only way in or out is by helicopter, or perhaps an unused ski jump built out of the side of the mountain. Alex goes undercover as a wealthy teenager who got expelled from his last school.
Point Blanc is run by the creepy South African Dr. Hugo Grief, who looks like the undead with his pasty white skin, and his assistant, the even stranger looking Eva Stellenbosch. Somehow, after doing no schoolwork for a few weeks, the teens become model students their families can be proud of. Well behaved, studious and identical.
Point Blanc is the second in the series, and wastes no time with replaying the previous events. It gets right into the action with Alex being kidnapped before he even gets to the school. Once there, he discovers the access to the secret labs and rooms of the upper floors. He even gets in over his head and has to call MI6 for an emergency rescue with one of his ingenious spy gadgets ~ I'm not giving anything away by saying that ~ help doesn't arrive!
Horowitz makes a point of not giving Alex guns or weapons, so the constant action is not filled with violence. Even during the finale, guards are shot with sleeping darts and not just shot as in a James Bond novel.
A deadly hunt on horseback, mountain-climbing, snowboarding and skiing, plus the detection and intrigue of discovering the evil secrets of Dr. Grief, makes this one an exciting entry in the Alex Rider series. The plot was a little unbelievable, but it's just an action thriller, and fun to go over the top. Recommended for fans of fun spy thrillers - teen and up!
2001 / Tradeback / 274 pages
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