Snakehead (novel)
| File:Snakehead cover.JPG | |
| Author | Anthony Horowitz |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Series | Alex Rider series |
| Genre | Adventure, Spy novel |
| Publisher | Walker Books |
Publication date | October 31 in United Kingdom, November 13 in US, September 28 in Australia (2007) |
| Publication place | England |
| Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
| Pages | 398 (400 with acknowledgments) |
| ISBN | ISBN 978-1406309355 (first edition, hardback) Parameter error in {{ISBNT}}: invalid character |
| Preceded by | Ark Angel |
| Followed by | Yassen |
Snakehead will be the seventh novel in the Alex Rider series written by British author Anthony Horowitz. It will be released in the U.S. on November 13 and the United Kingdom on Hallowe'en, 2007. The book has already been released in Australia.
Plot summary
Alex lands in Australia after falling from space and is eventually picked up by the ASIS (Australian Secret Intelligence Service). Ethan, a blind "Alan Blunt" of the ASIS asks Alex to work for them. He refuses, but Alex meets three new friends that work for ASIS, X-Ray, Scooter and Texas. Alex and the three visit the beach to attend a barbecue. Alex is abandoned and makes his way through a forest and finds himself on a training facility, and is asked again to join. The twist is revealed; he will be working with Ash, his father's best man and Alex's godfather. Scorpia, with Major Yu as leader of the operation, plans to simulate a tsunami that will wipe out the entire western shore of Australia; including the "Reef Conference" who aims to "make poverty history". Eventually, Alex finds Wolf, from the first book, and he fnds out that his name is Ben Daniels. He is taken to a MI6 base and sees Smithers. He gives Alex a watch, that when the hands make 11 o'clock, a tracking device is activated. The second one is a belt with a knife hidden in it, and the third are exploding coins. Later, Alex mentions the first two gadgets to Ash but forgets to mention the coins. Ash gives Alex his number, just in case anything happened. Alex then 'smuggles himself' to Australia and calls Ash. He activates the watch, but unluckily, Major Wu finds him. After Major Wu explains his dreaded plan, he sends Alex to a hospital where he will remove his body parts and sell them. On the first day, Alex refuses his steak and the whole week becomes dreadful, when he finds out that his watch wasn't working. But when all hope seems lost, Alex is given a sleeping pill for him to sleep well for the next day when a part of his body is removed. Alex stuffs the first night's steak with the sleeping pill and feeds it to the guard dog, and uses his only gadget left: the coins. He manages to escape setting the whole hospital on fire. The next day he finds that the watch is missing bateries. He takes the batteries from the tracking device that is stuck in from ASIS secretly from his shoes and uses it for his watch. Hours later, Ben Daniels arives in a helicopter to rescue Alex. Alex, Wolf, X-ray, Texas and Scooter, along more men are sent to stop Major Wu. Alex leads Wolf to Major Wu's command room and Wolf shoots dead Wu's assistant. Mayjor Wu reveals that his asistant is Ash. Alex was not surprised. Ash removed the batteries, and told Wu about the belt. But because Alex didn't tell Ash about the coins, Alex kept them. It turns out after a mission that went horribly wrong, Ash lost half of his stomach and his job. Snakehead offered to help Ash. After Ash recovered, he decided to join Scorpia and Snakehead. He had to do one test to be trusted: kill Alex's parents. Ash dies, Wu is blown up, and the story ends with him, Jack and Sabina Pleasure, eating dinner.