The first book in the alex rider series and absolutely fabulous book filled with continuous action and leaves you waiting for the next book to be released .

The opening book in such an action-packed series constantly held a sense of seriousness and remained close to reality despite Alexd being so young, and the way Horowtiz does magically weave jokes into each and every sentence is amazing. Recommended to anyone who teenagers who enjoy spy stories and also needa laugh!Steve Wiilliams, 15, www.teenreadinggroup.wetpaint.com

Anthony Horowitz taps into the younger James Bond stories in this wonderful series of books. Stormbreaker is the first in the Alex Rider series and captures the adventure and action of a teenager's life as he finds out he has really been trained to be a spy all his life. The film is no match to the book which is filled full of combat, mysteries and villains. Young teenage boys and even girls will find this series engaging and exciting. You will be left wanting to read the rest of the series. A fantastically written book.

Alex Rider’s world is one that I first entered about 20 years ago when my daughter discovered the books while she was in upper KS2. While she really got into them and collected and read quite a few of them before her younger brother then started reading them in turn, I only managed to read a few but I thoroughly enjoyed those that I did so it was with a mix of fond memories and keen anticipation that I picked up this new edition of the opening title to read. As explosive and exciting as it was when it first came out, the story has aged very well and is certain to find a new generation of fans amongst middle grade readers who are in need of something action-packed and fast-paced, with the added bonus of being just the start of a series in which there are plenty more books to relish once this has been consumed. I enjoyed it just as much as I did when I first read it and am now seriously tempted to continue with Point Blanc. After a brief introduction from the author, we meet Alex at the unearthly hour of 3.00 am, when he is woken by the doorbell. Realising instantly that it can only herald bad news, he heads downstairs to join housekeeper Jack to hear the terrible news that his uncle, and guardian, Ian, has been killed in an accident as a result of not wearing his seatbelt – something that strikes Alex as being very unlikely and something he mentions to Alex Blunt, the chairman of the bank for which Ian worked, at the funeral that is held for him. When he watches Blunt get into his Rolls-Royce to leave afterwards, Alex is shocked when he glimpses a pistol strapped under his driver’s jacket – leaving him with more questions than he already had about his uncle’s career. Determined to discover just what has been going on, Alex starts to investigate exactly how Ian was killed and when he receives an invitation to visit the bank where his uncle worked, keeps the appointment in the hopes of learning more about just what his role involved. Learning that Ian was in fact a spy, Alex is blackmailed into continuing his uncle’s work – investigating the actions of tech genius Herod Sayle. After being forced to attend a brutal training course and armed with a range of gadgets, Alex finds himself heading to Sayle’s base but before long finds himself in deadly danger. Out of his depth and with no one to call on to help him, can Alex use his wits and everything he has learned not just to save himself, but to put a stop Sayle’s plans – plans that have the potential to change the country forevermore… Although Alex has been joined by a wealth of other child spies since the original publication of the book, he is probably still the best known. Much has changed in the 25 years since the book was launched – young readers may wonder what a fax machine was – but this doesn’t mean that the story is outdated, far from it. Written before we all became obsessed by social media and smartphones, Alex has to rely entirely on his intelligence, logic skills and a generous helping of old-fashioned good luck to succeed in his mission and those picking this up will love him for it as they watch him overcome the many obstacles that are placed in his way. In addition to the original story, the author has given us a bonus short story too – a prequel to Stormbreaker that is good fun and that I very much enjoyed. With 13 novels following this one, new fans have a wealth of adventures to dive into and I’m sure that many of them will do exactly that.

When the police tell teenage schoolboy Alex Rider his uncle Ian Rider died in a car crash whilst not wearing a seatbelt, Alex does not belive them, as his uncle always wore a seatbelt. So, Alex tries to find out what really happened. Whilst investigating, Alex is recruited by MI6 to act as a spy at the plant of Stormbreaker computers, made by Herod Sayle. Before going MI6 reveal that his uncle was actually a spy and he is given SAS training. But, will this be Alex's first and last mission for MI6.Stormbreaker is packed with action, adventure, mystery and humour it is a great novel for any reader who either dreams of becoming a spy or just loves mystery stories.Matthew - Age 12