Never Say Die (Alex Rider)

Reader thoughts: 11 books might be a bit too long, but these are still fun. For Alex, it has only been about a year, year and a half since he became a spy. A helicopter lifted a bus? A train ran down a car? Explosions, poison, gold statues, mass kidnappings, and Alex thrown in the sea with heavy chains! This was just as good as the other books. Writer thoughts: Some of the timing is fictionalized. MI6 says, "Alex, we have a mission for you. It's urgent. So, go train for 2 weeks" (book 1) or "So, we're going to let you recover from your wounds for a couple days before we give you any details" (this book). Authors need to find that balance between a fast-paced story and one that is believable

Another exciting adventure with Alex and Jack. It’s as if you are right there with him in all the action. Happy to see he is still keeping us on the edge of our seats.

Despite being an adult, I love the Alex Rider series--a teenage James Bond! After Russian Roulette, I thought the series had come to its conclusion. I was pleasantly surprised to learn of a new book! Exciting, fun and a good conclusion. I have several other works by Mr. Horowitz, and am always entertained.

Okay, I must admit that I promised myself I would never read this, as Scorpia Rising was such a great final installment to the Alex Rider series, but I couldn't contain my curiosity and decided to buy it on my iPad. But the question still remains... is 'Never Say Die' any good? And the answer is, 'yes, yes it is'. Despite being the official 10th installment to the Alex Rider saga (yeah, I know there was that Yassen book, but that was a spin-off), Never Say Die captured my attention through the first page alone. It felt fresh and different, while still retaining the Alex Rider feel that I'm used to. And the best part is that it gets started with Alex's next adventure. My biggest worry was how long before we would see the story progress, but the book doesn't let anything get in the way of that. It just jumps right on in and keeps going until the very end. I love how Horowitz handles Alex's PTSD in a post-Scorpia Rising world. You definitely feel that he has changed and that what he has been through will never allow for him to return to normal. And when he gets a message that gives him hope, you feel that hope along with him because of the experience we felt with him in Scorpia Rising. For the first time in so long, we see actual development with his character. But with that said, there are some negatives. For one, there are a few continuity errors that are very noticeable. At the end of the Scorpia Rising, it's said that no one knows about Alex's final mission against Scorpia or what actually happened to Jack. However, this story implies that the Pleasure family knows about this. And for another, the author mistakes two characters for the same person, Wolf and Ben Daniels. There is a final negative, but I'll need to go into SPOILERS for that. For a return back to literature, Never Say Die earns its place among the Alex Rider series and doesn't disappoint. Give it a read and decided for yourself. Warning: SPOILER TERRITORY AHEAD!!! Alright, now I'm going to go into spoilers in this section. So if you don't want to know anything, stop right here. You've been warned. I talked about a final negative I had with this book and that's the fact that the ending undoes certain developments from the last novel. Jack is alive, both her and Alex are living in London again, Mrs. Jones is thinking of using Alex again for another mission (leading into the next book), and Alex is beginning to feel that things are beginning to get better. However, I think that undoes most of the development Alex has gone through. I like seeing him having to go through the pain of losing Jack and what that means for his new life. I liked seeing that some realism is introduced into the series. But by bringing Jack back, it makes everything in the last book just feel pointless now. There's no emotion to be had anymore, no complexity. And it took away the lesson that the life of a spy is one filled with ugliness, one that Alex learned big time. I also disliked that Alex and Sabina are no longer in a relationship together, or at least for not given a reason why they broke up. The last book definitely confirmed they were dating, but now they're suddenly back to being friends again, without any explanation as to why. Sure, we could put the pieces together, as the two are adopted siblings now and how Alex has been distant from her, but its the way how they act that feels off. It's almost as if the relationship never happened between them. Maybe the author will pair them back together in the future ahead, as they are no longer adopted siblings anymore. My biggest worry is whether or not Horowitz has a plan in what he's going to do with this series, now that it's back. I don't want it to just be the 'run-of-the-mill'. I don't want it to just mission after mission, another big bad/organization to take down. I want a direction and end-game for this series. The only thing that comes to mind that is interesting to see happen, is Alex's life as a spy being exposed to the public. That is something that I want to see happen in this series. But, for what its worth, Never Say Die is a fine installment and will make any Alex Rider fan happy. Enjoy reading!

Love it

I loved the story, and jumping back into a series I'd ignorantly thought had ended years ago made me very happy. Alex Rider is the coolest 😎 teen spy ever. I'd recommend horowitzs series to anyone of any age and hence the 5 star rating. Great writer, smart and thought provoking story telling. Its no overstatement to say that Horowitz has a gift of putting the reader in his protagonists shoes in what always turns out to be a fun action fueled helluva ride. Thanks for everything and more Mr. A.H

I can't explain. The book was just so good. Who knew that Alex was going to be on a flying bus, going to this broken down abandoned mine. Also, for the Nightshade, I can't wait for that. It'll be like Scorpia all over again. Pop Quiz 1. Which brother died first? A. The Brother that has a G for a first one B. The other brother ( Sorry. Don't rmember their names) C. Died at the same time 2. How old is Alex? A. 13 B. 14 C. 15 3. What is the next book going to be about? A. Nightshade B. Scorpia C. Yassen Answers: 1=B 2=C 3=A Dvorak_1818 Signing out. Btw, check out a book made by me. I was inspired by all the different authors I read books about. First one called, The Epic Start Second called, The Epic Challenge. Both on kindle Ulimited. And to buy, 0.99$ Peace Out!!

A very interesting book for my 10 year old son. He reads it at the speed of 1 book in 2 days!

Ok

"Never say die" is a great comeback of the Alex Rider series. I didn't expect the series to continue after book 9 - everything seemed finished. Mr. Horowitz proved me wrong. Obviously there are a lot of things Alex Rider can still explore, many more missions he can acomplish - and his future is still not at all decided. As always, the books are well researched and easy to read. It's a book for children - no question. Still, I wouldn't recommend it for young children (8-10). There's violence and deaths, though the violence isn't the main point of the book: It's the catchy story that makes this book special. At times I hardly dared breathing. So on the other hand I can highly recommend these series for adults, too.

My son has loved reading the Alex Rider books and this was bought to carry on the series.

Anthony Horowitz never disappoints with adventure, tension and suspense. Never Say Die is another great story in the Alex Rider series. It is non-stop action right up to the end. Another ‘must read’!

O livro em si é maravilhoso! Sou suspeita em falar, já que a cada aventura nova do Alex eu me empolgo e fico presa na escrita do Anthony. É muito legal ver o Alex amadurecendo ao longo das suas “missões” e o quanto ele é determinado a fazer as coisas darem certo. Recomendo muito, leio a saga desde os 16 anos e oito anos depois ainda amo lê-la. Quanto ao livro fisicamente, veio na edição mais recente, gostei bastante. Entretanto tinha alguns amassados na capa devido ao transporte. Seria interessante uma embalagem que cuidasse melhor dos itens enviados. No geral eu amei!