Book Sixteen

Title: Point Blanc
Author: Anthony Horowitz
Summary: Alex Rider, teenage superspy, is back. Fourteen-year-old Alex is back at school trying to adapt to his new double life ... and double homework. But MI6 have other plans for him. Armed only with a false ID and a new collection of brilliantly disguised gadgets, Alex must infiltrate the mysterious Point Blanc Academy and establish the truth about what is really happening there. Can he alert the world to what he finds before it is too late?
Genre: Adventure/Action
Time Started: 11th April, 10:15pm
Time Ended: 14th April, 11:30am
Page Count: 281
Age Rating: 11+
Warning: Violence
Appeal Rating: 9/10



I read the majority of this book last night; over half of it, in fact. And then I finished it this morning. So I have just about the entire plot at the front of my mind. Horowitz is so amazingly intelligent and logical. Not only can he delve into the mind of a fourteen-year-old boy, but he can form a deep, clever mystery for Alex to solve - in the Alps, no less. I would love to write a spy book, but I would never be able to come up with a decent mystery for the spy to solve. So much thought has to go into it - why does the villain want this? Does he know he's doing wrong? How strongly does he believe in what he's doing? Who will need to be involved in this - on both the good and bad sides? Who needs to be manipulated? Where is a good location, and what needs to be there? How does he plan to carry out his tasks? It's never-ending!

And then, of course, you have to write it like you don't know what's going to happen, dropping off subtle hints that don't mean anything until the readers find out what's going on, little subplots that all tie together in the end, tiny phrases that make the reader ponder - and then go "Oh, I get it! That's what they were on about." only when the truth has been revealed. I'd never be able to do that; it's so fantastic. Even people who aren't into action/adventure/spy books still have to respect Anthony Horowitz and the depth in which he thinks up these plots. It must take him ages.

So, naturally, the plot gets a thumbs up from me.

The characters are great, too. They're all so original and different, and yet there's similarities where it's needed. Like Alex says a lot in this book, different but the same. Of course, it was essential to the plot that all the boys looked different but acted the same. It needed to happen. But it intrigued me. Naturally, I loved James; he was great. Oddly enough, I liked Fiona, too, even though she's a royal bitch. I guess it's just that her behaviour makes me laugh out loud because it's so ridiculous but it's so typically rich daddy's girl. I love how she thinks everyone's in love her, and I laughed so hard I thought I was going to wake up everyone in the house when Alex rejected her. Although honestly, if a fourteen-year-old boy was left in the same house as a gorgeous fifteen-year-old girl, regardless of how snobby she was, you'd think he'd have ... thoughts, wouldn't you? (Then again, it IS a kids' book xD) Yet Alex would rather kiss the horse. Oh, Alex, you're great ^.^

As you can tell, I really enjoyed this. It was excellent. Recommended. Obviously.