Skeleton Key

I loved Alex Rider as a kid. I must have read the first five books like fifty million times. Since I'm in the middle of a Cherub reread I thought I'd come back to Alex. It's kind of funny reading them now - I don't quite remember them being so depressing. Alex is a lot more jaded than I ever remember him being. It's also warranted but yeah. MI6 and Alan Blunt and Mrs Jones make me so angry. Poor Alex gets screwed way too often. I also remember Alex being a lot more talented than he is. But to my adult eyes, it seems like he's getting by more on luck than pure ability. Still they're great books with lots of action. I probably would only rate it 4 stars these days, but I'm going to stick with my original rating for posterity.


Alex always show more gets the short end of the stick. I agree with him - I think he was outmaneuvered by M16 - Crawley planned it all. It all happened too neatly. But he gets to meet Sabina so that's cool. Maybe not worth it - but cool nonetheless. It sucks that they're willing to send him into danger but never tell him what he's going to be up against. But Alex has a lucky streak when it comes to missions, danger and bad guys. Hence the shark.
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I think the author must be spoofing James Bond on purpose. Every book in this series has had a misshapen villian with a bizarre manner of doling out death. Alex continues to have one traumatic experience after another which does not make for a healthy person...

Another story fitting the James Bond formula but with a spy in his early teens. Still, within the limitations of that formula, the story was good enough. The villain is probably the best so far in the series, since, despite the required megalomania and craziness, his motivation is more relatable.

One of the most interesting elements of the series, character-wise, is that Alex is not happy about his role as a secret agent, and he suffers the emotional trauma that one would expect when a teenager gets involved in such violent events. This continues to be explored in this third installment of the series.

This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader as part of a quick takes post to catch up--emphasizing pithiness, not thoroughness.
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So for two books now, we get this outline: Alex does something gusty and dangerous, which transitions into him taking on a case for MI-6 that's as risky as you could want.

This time he runs afoul of a Chinese criminal organization at Wimbledon before he's loaned out to the CIA who really needs a teen to sell a couple of agents as a family unit, out for vacation near the Caribbean. They're actually hunting for a nuclear weapon and some ex-Soviets wishing for a comeback for the USSR.

I honestly found his antics around Wimbledon and that more interesting than the main story, but it wasn't bad. Silly fun show more stuff that undoubtedly works better for the target audience (MG readers of a decade ago) than me, but it's good enough for me to keep going. show less

Alex finds himself impersonating a ball boy during the Wimbledon Tennis Tournament. His participation in this investigation brings him to the attention of a Chinese crime syndicate, so he must leave England for awhile. The CIA uses this to their advantage as they recruit Alex to portray the son of a couple of agents posing as a family on vacation in Cuba where a Russian general has been building a nuclear bomb with stolen uranium. As usual, Alex finds himself in the middle of the action.

Skeleton Key is the third entry in the Alex Rider series and definitely falls on the side of implausible. An evil former general in the Russian army is the antagonist. The general is more than a one dimensional character as he does give his reasons for show more his actions and actually considers Alex as a possible substitute for his dead son, but the plot and characters in this story are over the top, while some of the dialogue is stilted and unbelievable. Overall, Skeleton Key delivers action and adventure, but doesn't add much to the Alex Rider series. show less

Skeleton Key (2002) (Alex Rider #3) by Anthony Horowitz. This third outing for the boy who would not be a spy has a nifty plot, nuclear weapons, a semi-retired general from Russia, a Cuban island that sort of resembles an old skeleton key (ask your grandfather to explain that item), MI6 and the CIA. Needless to say Alex doesn’t want to get involved but he gets suckered in with the chance to be a Wimbledon ball boy. Of course there is a scheme afoot at courtside and Alex is the only one who can see the obvious.
Like the first two books in the series, this one doesn’t stop the pressure until the end. The CIA gets Alex on loan so he can act the role of the son to two agents. They are supposed to be on vacation but that falls to the show more wayside. Alex is a soon prisoner to the general, the prison being the vast compound that claims a desolate portion of the key as its own. The only exits are either a deadly drop off the side or through the sole entry/exit which is well guarded. Trapped, Alex must rely on his wits to save himself as well as the entire world.
As per the regulations for writing a teen hero book, the teen must get into trouble and, because adults don’t believe most of the things that the teen will say to them, it is left up to the teen to get out of trouble.
Sounds like every action/adventure book ever written, only difference is the age of our hero. show less

A highly entertaining Young Adult spy thriller with several interesting twists and turns. For young readers who are too old to read children books, but too young to read more action-loaded novels, this series is the perfect choice.

I have especially positive memories about the well-developed antagonist in this story. A lot of political stuff was included without ever sounding boring or overloaded to the ten-year-old me who read (and reread) this book a long time ago.