I think I tried doing an Alex Rider re-read a few years ago? My memory fails me. I might have re-read Stormbreaker then jumped straight to the newly released Never Say Die which I did not enjoy at all and therefore concluded I had aged too far to gain any true enjoyment from the series again. Anyway I love the new series on Amazon Prime which I can confidently say is better than the books and that motivated me to revisit my favourite installment in the series Scorpia.

I realised partway through writing this that this is not going to be a simple review of this book and includes major spoilers for this book, the tv series (season 1 and 2) and the whole Alex Rider series (#1-11). Sorry.

Okay here is where I give a not-so-mini review of the tv series and why I think it's more effective than the books. The Alex Rider tv series is not a direct carbon copy of the books. For example the first season meshes elements of Stormbreaker into a central Point Blanc plot. Season two doesn't follow Skeleton Key but jumps to Eagle Strike. Elements like Scorpia come in much sooner (in Season 1). Aside from the liberties they've taken with the plots, they've also made Jack and Tom more prominent in the stories. Not only do they know what Alex is up to, at times they're actively contributing to the mission. And I thought this was a perfect change. one of my major complaints with Never Say Die was that it seemed like Alex didn't have a personality. And that is a minor complaint I have with the Alex Rider series as a whole. It's all plot, all action, all the time. There's no significant character growth with Alex through the series because all the books happen so close together timeframe wise. Yes he gets a little darker, but the leap in this from book 1 to 2 to 3 becomes more and more negligible. And because of this, it makes even this one and only character change insignificant. Because you can only get so dark. Alex's shadows in Eagle Strike is basically the same level of disturbance as in Ark Angel. So no growth.

I will say that this works perfectly for middle grade, because the aim to get people into reading to begin with. But it's also why the tv series is a much more successful execution of the story (in my opinion!) because it adds so may more layers of nuance that is missing from the books. Back to Jack and Tom being more prominent. Because they're interlaced through the story, not just at the start then the end, we see Alex interacting with them. This allows Alex's personality to shine in a way that's impossible to spotlight in a book that's all action and following this lone wolf among shifting strangers. He's still Alex, still reserved and serious and at times sombre, but not this bland dull character that appeared in Never Say Die. By including Jack and Tom more, it also adds necessary moments of levity to an otherwise dark story. And finally, it adds stakes! Stakes!

By book eleven the Alex Rider story got staid. It had all been done before and every plot became feeling formulaic. In the tv series, by making Tom and Jack more involved, Alex always has more to lose. And that adds a constant tension for the viewer. Excellent. We see the importance of stakes is Scorpia Rising with Jack.

Okay so to Scorpia. I loved the tv series so much! So much, and it made me wonder if classic Alex Rider would still hold up for me. Because season two of the tv series was focused on Eagle Strike I didn't feel like going back to earlier stories and Scorpia was one of my favourite installments anyway.

My initial rating was 5 stars and I've left it at that for nostalgia. And also because it was a gripping story. I forgot how action packed Alex Rider books are. It's go go go. The central plot of Alex finding Scorpia to find out about his father also held up. His actions made sense (especially for a 14 year old). Could this plot have been taken further and built with more emotional nuance and stakes? Sure. But then it wouldn't be a middle grade book. And as a middle grade book I had to say it was perfectly executed.

I also jumped ahead and read Snakehead as well (another favourite), and they were sooo quick to read to boot.

Anyway I won't continue with the re-read as I think between Scorpia and Snakehead, I've satisfied my Alex Rider craving for the moment.

Seriously though, if you let go of the tv series not being a direct remake of the books, and rather a complement that takes the same characters and DNA and does more with them, I cannot recommend it enough.

I love the Alex Rider books...

Alex Rider = Absolute fav teenage male book character (o:

The best Alex Rider book in the series so far. From the characters, to the high-suspense plot, and to the ending, I was desperately turning the page to see what came next.

I think that Alex dies too many times. If I tried to explain what goes on in this book I would really confuse you.

This author's numerous plot twists never fail to astound me. One minute I'm cursing John Rider, the next, I'm cursing Julia Rothman for killing him and his wife because they were both innocent.

And even though I know there's more books in the series to continue, HE LEFT THIS ON SUCH A CLIFFHANGER!

ehhhhh

My all-time favorite Alex Rider adventure.

Is this my favorite book in the series?
HELL YEA.
But I think I would have loved it if Alex's dad was the bad guy. It would have allowed a lot of character development on Alex's part.
But otherwise. Ohmygod so many plot twists.