Russian Roulette

I was surprised to find this book. I enjoyed the Alex Rider series and thought like many others that it was finished which was the cause of much sadness for many of my students.
In a way it is a prequel to the Alex Rider series. It was fascinating to discover how the Alex Rider's biggest enemy, the Scorpia assassin Yassen Gregorovich, came to be the man we encounted in the Stormbreaker. It was fascinating to see this character as a boy. We learn how brutally Yassen's (born Yasha) family and childhood was ripped away. We see how he is forced into one difficult situation after another. He has to make many decisions that eventually lead him to be that character in the Alex Rider series. It is interesting to compare Alex and Yasha as boys. show more The characters are very similar but their circumstances drive them in completely opposite directions. It does however make the reader see Yassen in a different light and we fell some empathy this contract killer. In Russian Roulette the connection between Yassen and the Rider family is explained and why Yassen does not kill Alex when he had the chance at the end of Stormbreaker.
This was a good book and a must-read for all the Alex Rider fans. show less

WARNING: SPOILER ALERT!

I was so excited when i first heard that Anthony Horowitz will write a prequel to the Alex Rider series, and i can say that he did not disappoint.
Russian Roulette tells the origin story of Yassen Gregorovitch, an antagonist in Horowitz's original series, ranging from where he was a normal child in a small village to a homeless child stealing and cheating in the streets of moscow, to a slave working in the house of a ruthless Russian criminal, and finally, to becoming an international hit man.

The story during the end of the first book in the original series, Yassen Gregorovitch is in a hotel room when he gets an email that simply says "Kill Alex Rider" the protagonist of the original series who was black mailed by show more the British secret service into working undercover for them. Before he gets the job done Yassen reads through an old journal he wrote about his life:

He remembers when he is just a normal boy living in a small village in russia he dreams of becoming a helicopter pilot when he grows up, little did he know that the inhabitants of the village, including his parents, all work for a government facility that makes biochemical weapons. When something goes wrong the government sends military task forces to kill all inhabitants in the village. Yassen manages to escape to Moscow, where he has no home, no family, and no money. He first resorts to begging but then he meets a group of other homeless boys who take him under their wings. They taught Yassen how to cheat and steal to survive and soon become a family to him. However one day he is snatched by a ruthless mafia boss who he tried to steal from. The mafia boss gives Yassen a revolver with one bullet and forces him to play Russian roulette (Hence the title name). Yassen manages to survive and he is taken as a slave for the mafia boss. A couple of years later he encounters an assassin who is sent to kill the mafia boss and persuades him into taking Yassen with him when the job is done. The assassin agrees and takes him to meet his boss in venice. It turns out that he works for a woman named Julia Rothman who is one of the founders of terrorist organisation named S.C.O.R.P.I.A (featured in the original series). The woman reveals that the mafia boss actually survived the assasination attempt and she kills the asassin for his failure, she then offers Yassen a chance to replace the assasin. He agrees and he is sent to an island of the coast of italy named Malagosto, where there is a school that teaches many things related to killing, he graduates 4 years later and is sent on his first job along with John Rider, a master hitman and also Alex Rider's father, Yassen and John now refer to themselves as Hunter and Cossack, they move from country to country killing druglords, priests, corrupt police officers and rich business men. Yassen himself could not bring himself to killing anyone of their targets and John suggested that he leaves the killing bussines and flee to moscow. Yassen agrees but then he overhears John talking on the phone with a member of British intelligence. Which means he is a double agent, angered by the betrayal does go to moscow but only to find the mafia boss who enslaved him. He forces the boss into a game of russain roulette and the mafia boss lost, Yassen then killed the son of the mafia boss for good measure. He returned to Julia Rothman and started working as an international hit man, however he did not tell anybody about John Rider.

We return to the scene of the beginning of the book, Yassen closes his journal and leaves the hotel. he gets on a helicopter and heads over to where Alex Rider is being held at gunpoint by the antagonist of the the first book of the Alex rider series (note this scene occurs on the epilogue of said book). Yassen kills the antagonist instead of Alex rider and leaves him alone.

I really enjoyed this book because it has a more dark and serious setting then the other books, I also noticed the impressive character development involved with all the characters. I highly recommend this book to all teenagers and young adults. show less

Not the best book in the series, but a very good look at the bigger picture surrounding the Alex Rider story. I truly enjoyed the parallels between Alex and Yassen in this book

Enjoyable. The tragic backstory of the villain. We learn of his relationship with John Rider (Alex's father). Alex Rider only comes in at the end.

The 10th Alex Rider novel, I think not. This book is about the Russian, Yassen Gregorovich, and how he became Scorpio's most successful assassin, including having his life saved by John Rider, Alex's father. A good backstory, behind Yassen's decision to spare Alex's life at the end of the last novel.

Very interesting to hear Yassan's story, which has become a story in its own right. It helps to show some of the shades of grey that exist in this world

Yassen Gregorovich was left orphaned when his parents were killed in an accident at an anthrax factory in Russia. They lived just long enough to make it home and inject him with a serum that made him the sole survivor of the village and sent him off to Moscow in haste. The village is totally destroyed and Yassen is pursued by the Russian government. He falls in with pickpockets and then is kidnapped and kept as a slave for a wealthy businessman for 4 years. Yassen escapes with the man sent to kill his enslaver, and becomes Scorpia's poster child during training. Will he be able to pass the final test of killing and enter the field of assassins? Will he kill Alex Rider? This 400 page book is the 10th book and conclusion of the Alex Rider show more Adventure series and a great read for grades 6 & up. show less