Ark Angel
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| First edition cover First edition cover | |
| Author | Anthony Horowitz |
|---|---|
| Original title | Spacecraft |
| Language | English |
| Series | Alex Rider series |
| Genre | Adventure, Spy novel |
| Publisher | Walker Books (UK) |
Publication date | 1 April 2005 |
| Publication place | United Kingdom |
| Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
| Pages | 326 |
| ISBN | ISBN 0-7445-8324-1 (first edition, paperback) Parameter error in {{ISBNT}}: invalid character |
| Preceded by | Scorpia |
| Followed by | Snakehead |
Ark Angel is the sixth book in the Alex Rider series written by British author Anthony Horowitz. The book was released in the United Kingdom on April 1, 2005 and in the United States on April 20, 2006.
Plot summary
At a security conference in London, lecturer Max Webber is telling the audience of a dangerous eco-terrorist group named Force Three. After leaving, he receives a call, and it is revealed he has been paid a large amount of money to give this lecture. Webber is warned to be careful, as he is now an enemy of Force Three. The phone explodes, killing him.
Alex Rider is in a hospital, recovering from his bullet wound. He is told that SCORPIA is no longer a threat to him. That night, he goes to the reception for a walk and sees four Force Three members walk in, who demand to see Paul Drevin, the boy in the room next to Alex. Alex takes them out strategically before being knocked out by another. When he comes to, he is being held hostage by Force Three, who think he is Paul. He meets Kaspar, the leader, whose head is tattooed with the world map. Kaspar explains that Nikolei Drevin, Paul's billionaire father, is an enemy of Force Three. Drevin is funding the construction of a space hotel, Ark Angel, a threat to the environment. Alex manages to convince Kaspar he is not Paul. Kaspar decides to kill him anyway, setting fire to the building. Alex manages to escape off the roof. He debriefs MI6, and is released from the hospital. Nikolei Drevin calls to express his gratitude for Alex, inviting him to stay at his house, and to watch Ark Angel being launched.
At a soccer match, Alex notices a Force Three member in the crowd. He rushes down to the locker room, where Force Three members are presenting player Adam Wright with a medallion. A Force Three member points a gun at Alex's neck, but Alex escapes. Wright is killed, as the medallion was an explosive. Drevin takes Alex to an island near Barbados called Flamingo Bay to watch the rocket launch.
In New York, CIA officer Ed Shulsky discreetly takes Alex to a secret CIA base. Joe Byrne, deputy director of the CIA, tells Alex that Drevin is a large scale criminal. The CIA plans to arrest Drevin, but need Alex to make sure he doesn't escape. Smithers gives Alex a listener iPod, an inhaler-grenade, and a bottle of "bug repellant," which attracts insects. Alex reluctantly goes to Flamingo Bay. His cover is blown when head of security Magnus Payne tells Drevin that he is from MI6. Drevin tells Magnus to kill him. The next day, Alex goes wreck diving. The guard he swims with locks Alex in an old wreck to die. Tamara Knight, Drevin's employee, shows up with Alex's fake inhaler which Alex uses to free himself, and finds out Tamara is a mole. That night, the pair try to alert the CIA, but are caught by Drevin.
There, Drevin tells Alex everything. He knows of the CIA's investigation, but cannot destroy it, as the investigation is based in the Pentagon. He tells Alex that he is placing a bomb on Ark Angel, which will make it fall on the Pentagon, destroying any evidence against Drevin along with Washington, D.C.. He then tells Alex that he created Force Three to create an enemy. He was going to blame the destruction of Washington on them, conclusively proving it by having them attempt to ambush Flamingo Bay, showing their bodies as proof. When asked how he will fake it, he reveals he doesn't intend to. He has Magnus kill them, who reveals himeself to be Kaspar.
Alex tells Tamara of Drevin's plan, and she helps him escape. Alex goes down to the house, where he sees Paul, who was told Alex was an enemy. Unable to convince him of Drevin's identity, he knocks him out. Alex steals a power kite and tries to fly to Barbados. CIA men arrive on a boat, and Alex tells them about Drevin's plan as the rocket is launched. Alex is told to stay put and let them handle it, but goes to Drevin's house. Drevin finds him there, about to leave. Drevin heads for his seaplane to leave. Alex, however, attached two canoes to the seaplane's floats, which cause it to crash. Shulsky tells Alex that Drevin was the only one capable of pressing the self-destruct button.
Alex is the only one able to fit into the capsule, and is told to go into space and move the bomb to let it explode without harm. Alex is sent into space. He enters the observation module, but finds Kaspar there. Alex realizes that sending the bomb into space armed would have caused it to go off before it reached Ark Angel, so Kaspar had been sent up with it to arm it when he got there. Alex disarms him before kicking him into a knife. He places the bomb in a toilet and goes back in the Soyuz module. Ark Angel explodes just as Alex returns to Earth. He lands off the east coast of Australia.