Anthony Horowitz
Anthony Horowitz is probably best known for the Alex Rider series of books about the James Bond like adventures of a teenager recruited by MI6, the British Secret Service. These books have sparked a recent explosion in spy writing for young people but still remain at the top of the genre. There are now seven books in the Alex Rider series. Scorpia, the fifth book ended with a real cliffhanger following a fight to the death with an evil criminal organisation. Many readers thought Alex had died but he recovered again to star in Ark Angel and the latest Rider adventure Snakehead. Horowitz is also writing the Power of Five books, a series of supernatural thrillers, and has written the Diamond Brothers series which are the hilarious misadventures of the Diamond brothers detective agency. Several other titles including horror books for teenagers, the script of the film Stormbreaker and scriptwriting for TV mean that Anthony is one of the busiest writers for young people we have.
An unhappy childhood saw Anthony watch lots of James Bond films which provided the inspiration for a lot of his writing. He writes in his shed and is apparently planning more titles in the Alex Rider series. His latest book, Necropolis which is number four in the Power of Five series is due for publication in October 2008. For more information visit his website (link below)
Title:Raven's Gate
Category:Fiction
ISBN No.:9781844286195
Published:2005
By the time Matt is 14, when this story starts, his life has spiralled out of control to the point where he is involved in a robbery during which a security guard is stabbed. As a last chance he is put on a rehabilitation project called LEAF and taken to a remote Yorkshire village to live with a Mrs. Deverill. There are some very sinister happenings in the village and when Matt investigates, he uncovers a terrible secret. Eight guardians are protecting the world from the Evil Ones, beings banished long ago by five children. But devil worshippers of whom Mrs Deverill is one, want to let the Evil Ones return. Matt discovers he has special powers and is one of the Five who can hold the Evil Ones back.
This is the first Power of Five book in a tense and exciting supernatural series.
Title:Night Rise
Category:Fiction
ISBN No.:9781844286218
Published:2006
This is the third book in the Power of Five series. It is set in Nevada, USA where fourteen-year-old twins Jamie and Scott Tyler are living with cruel adoptive parents and performing a mind-reading act in a dingy theatre. But one night Scott is kidnapped and as Jamie has been framed for his murder he is forced on the run. Scott has been kidnapped by the sinister Nightrise company, but with the help of a friend and a US presidential candidate, Jamie manages to get into the prison where Scott is being held only to find he is no longer there. Jamie is injured during a raid on the prison and wakes up to find he has been propelled ten thousand years into the past, where he encounters the other Gatekeepers and witnesses the creation of Raven's Gate - and the first fateful battle against the Old Ones.
This is a fast paced adventure which is very hard to put down and and helps explain some of the happenings in the first two books in the series.
Title:Stormbreaker
Category:Fiction
ISBN No.:9781844280926
Published:2004
This is the first novel in the Alex Ryder series about a “teenage James Bond”. Alex’s parents are dead and he lives with his uncle Ian. When Ian dies under suspicious circumstances, Alex decides to investigate and discovers that his uncle was an M16 agent not a banker as Alex was led to believe. Alex is then recruited much against his will by M16 to investigate a multi millionaire who is offering Stormbreaker computers to all schools in England. Fearing the computers constitute a danger, only Alex can investigate and prevent a catastrophe. Following SAS training, Alex is sets off into fray armed with a series of James Bond gadgets….
This is a fast paced adventure story which I would definitely recommend and it is bound to make you want to read the other books in the series. It is also available as a graphic novel, ISBN: 9781844281114
Title:South by South East
Category:Fiction
ISBN No.:9780744590371
Published:2007
Horowitz has also written a series of books starring the Diamond Brothers, Nick and Tim. They run a detective agency which amongst other things produces identikit pictures of suspects with 3 eyes, so needless to say, they are not very successful! The stories are all spoofs on famous films. In South by South East, a stranger arrives at the brothers’ office and offers Tim money for his overcoat. When the stranger is then killed Tim ends up with his overcoat and they begin to investigate the mystery, hotly pursued by the stranger’s killers.
As with all the Diamond Brothers stories, full of puns, good and bad jokes and hilarious twists and turns to keep you laughing and guessing right to the very end.