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, before shooting the receptionist. Alex takes out the men 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. At home, Nikolei Drevin calls to express his gratitude for Alex. He invites Alex to stay at his house, and to watch a construction stage of Ark Angel being launched. Alex accepts. He gets to know Paul, who is a disappointment in his father's eyes.
Alex participates in a go-kart race with Drevin, who puts Alex's life at risk to win. Drevin is bitter after losing, but forgets the race when he takes Alex to see a soccer match, where Alex's team wins. Alex notices one of the members of Force Three in the crowd. He then rushes down to the locker room, where members of Force Three are presenting player Adam Wright with a medallion. A Force Three member points a gun at Alex's neck, before Alex manages to escape. 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.
When Alex passes through U.S. customs, he is told his passport has expired, forcing him to stay at the aiport.Passport officer Ed Shulsky takes Alex to a secret CIA base. Joe Byrne, deputy director of the CIA, tells Alex that Drevin is considered to be the biggest criminal in the world. The CIA plans to arrest Drevin, but need Alex to make sure doesn't does not escape. MI6's Smithers gives Alex an listener iPod, an inhaler-grenade, and a bottle of "bug repellant," which attracts insects. Alex reluctantly agrees to go to Flamingo Bay. However, Alex's 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, after distracting the guards, he and Tamara try to alert Byrne's backup team. The pair are caught by Drevin. Tamara is placed in a jail, and Drevin takes Alex to a hangar.
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 Force Three, 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. Drevin tells Alex his and Tamara's bodies will appear to have been hit in crossfire before placing him in prison with Tamara.
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. He shoots at Alex, but instead hits Paul, allowing Alex to escape. Drevin heads for his seaplane to leave. Alex, however, attached two canoes to the seaplane's floats, which weigh the seaplane down, causing it to crash. Shulsky tells Alex that Drevin was the only one capable of pressing the self-destruct button.
The only way to stop the bomb is to move it from its designated spot, letting Ark Angel explode without consequence. Alex is the only one able to fit into the capsule, and is told to go into space and move the bomb. Alex is sent into space. He floats into the observation module, but finds Kaspar there, holding a knife. 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 blinding him with the Sun. Alex kicks him into the 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.