I was not expecting it of this series: Horowitz gets out of the James bond formula, kind of. We still have the same crazy and nefarious plots to thwart and the same quick, action-filled pace, but there's some unexpected character growth for Alex Rider, in addition to much new information about his family. I'm not sure how I feel about the decisions Alex makes in this book, but I'm sure it was interesting to read, even if at the end there's a cop-out. ( )

After the events involving Damian Cray, Alex needs a vacation and goes with his friend Tom to Italy, but Alex has an ulterior motive. As he was dying, Yessen Gregorovich told Alex to go to Venice to seek his destiny. With Tom's help, Alex finds and infiltrates the headquarters of Scorpia where he meets Mrs. Rothchild, who tells him that his father was an assassin working for Scorpia and was killed by Mrs. Jones and MI6. Alex wants revenge and is trained to be a killer. Mrs. Rothchild sends Alex to London to kill Mrs. Jones, but when he gets there, he finds that things aren't always as they seem.

Scorpia ups the ante in this fifth installment of the Alex Rider series. The book is filled with twists and turns; some that are easy to figure out and some that are not. The character of Tom is introduced in this story as Alex's long time friend and the closeness between the two is evident in the book. Through that friendship, we learn more about what kind of person Alex is. As in previous entries in the series, this story is filled with action and adventure, but also we gain empathy for Alex as we see the decisions that he is forced to make. Overall, Scorpia is a cut above earlier efforts in this series and makes me anxious to read book #6. ( )

Alex Rider goes to Venice to follow a lead about his father's death, and eventually discovers Scorpia and the beautiful Julia Rothman. Rothman manipulates Alex by showing him gunned down by MI6 and then sends him to kill Mrs. Jones, the head of MI6 operations as retribution. The usual daring heroics by Alex are needed to save the slaughter of thousands of British schoolchildren as part of a contract by Scorpia. ( )

I read this because my son (12) read the series. Both he and I enjoyed it. ( )

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