Coordinates	35°10′″N33°22′″N
name	Alex Rider
books	StormbreakerPoint BlancSkeleton KeyEagle StrikeScorpiaArk AngelSnakeheadCrocodile TearsScorpia Rising
author	Anthony Horowitz
country	United Kingdom
genre	Spy fiction, thriller
publisher	Walker Books (UK)Puffin (US,CAN)Philomel (US)
pub date	2000-2011
media type	Print (Hardback & Paperback)Nintendo DSGameBoy AdvanceDVD
followed by	}}

''Alex Rider'' is a series of spy novels by British author Anthony Horowitz about a teenage spy named Alex Rider. The series is aimed primarily at young adults. Nine novels have been published to date, as well as three graphic novels, three short stories and a supplementary book. The first novel, ''Stormbreaker'', was first released in the United Kingdom in 2000 and was adapted into a motion picture in 2006. A video game was released in 2006, based on the film. The novels are published by Walker Books in the United Kingdom. They were first published by Puffin in the United States, but have also been published more recently by Philomel, also an imprint of Penguin Books. The graphic novels are published by Walker in the United Kingdom, and by Philomel in the United States.

Novels

''Stormbreaker''

The book begins with Alex Rider learning of the death of his uncle and adopted parent, Ian Rider. Although told that Ian died being hit by a truck in a car accident due to not wearing a seatbelt, which Alex and his housekeeper find strange because he always wears his seatbelt, Alex decides to investigate. He discovers his uncle's car at a wrecking yard, which was not destroyed, but had bullet holes on the windshield. After a near escape from a car crusher, Alex is asked to visit Ian's former employers, a bank called "Royal & General", actually a front for an MI6 spying operation. MI6 head Alan Blunt and his deputy, Tulip Jones, inform him that a successful Lebanese (Egyptian in the US version) business man, Herod Sayle, a computer entrepreneur, who by coincidence attended school with the future Prime Minister, has built a revolutionary new computer, the Stormbreaker, and will give one free to every secondary school in the United Kingdom, accompanied by a grand activation ceremony in the Science Museum (London). MI6, however, were suspicious and had deployed Ian Rider, Alex's uncle, to investigate. When Ian had become alarmed by the activities he witnessed, he tried to report to MI6. He was assassinated by Yassen Gregorovich on the return to London. MI6, now deeply alarmed, forcibly recruit Alex and put him through a gruelling SAS training camp (where he earns the derogatory nickname "Double O Nothing" from initially prejudiced operatives). Shortly afterwards, he is deployed to Herod Sayle's base in Cornwall (using the alias of another boy who won a competition to visit the plant), equipped with no weapons and only three gadgets given to him by an agent named Smithers, disguised as a yo-yo, acne cream, and a Game Boy Color. Sayle shows Alex around his mansion, which houses a large jellyfish aquarium containing a large Portuguese Man o' War jellyfish. Alex also meets Mr. Grin, a henchman who's name derives from his time as a circus performer, catching knives with his teeth. An accident left him without a tongue and two large scars which give him the appearance of constant smiling.

Initially the trip goes well, with Alex finding a cryptic diagram made by his Uncle Ian in the canopy of his bed. However, Sayle grows to dislike Alex. While investigating the base, Alex sees several of Sayle's agents unloading metal cases with great care from a nuclear submarine. When one of the agents drops a metal case, he is promptly shot dead by Gregorovich. Alex decides to head to the local library to do further investigations, but finds himself attacked by several armed guards on quad bikes, one of whom collides with an electric fence while the other falls from a cliff face.

While searching the library, Alex finds a map in a book about tin mining which matches the diagram left by Ian. He also learns that Ian had borrowed several books about viruses, and assumes that Sayle plans to use the Stormbreaker network to release a computer virus. Alex investigates the mine and, following the path left by his uncle, discovers a large computer manufacturing facility, where the Stormbreaker computers are being filled with a strange fluid. Alex realizes that the 'viruses' being investigated by Ian were not computer viruses, but biological weapons. Alex is detected, and nearly escapes but is eventually caught and tranquillized. When he comes to, Herod explains to Alex his plan.

When Sayle attended school, he was bullied because of his accent and skin colour. The worst bully was none other than the future Prime Minister. As a result, Sayle plans to embarrass the PM by his "April Fools Joke"; when the computers are activated by the Prime Minister, the virus, a potent strain of smallpox, will be released into every school in the country, killing the children. Sayle brags that "a spoonful of the stuff would destroy a city!".

Alex is then left handcuffed to a radiator, until Nadia Vole, an assistant of Sayle's, frees him, telling Alex that she is a fellow spy who worked with Ian Rider. However, as they head to find a mobile phone to call MI6 and inform them of Sayle's plan, she triggers a trapdoor which drops Alex into the jellyfish tank. Alex eventually gets free by using the acne cream gadget to damage the tank's supporting iron girders, causing it to burst. Vole is caught in the blast of water, and is killed by the jellyfish. Snatching up a harpoon gun, Alex rushes outside to find that Sayle's private helicopter has already left, leaving only a cargo plane on the tarmac. Using the handle of the harpoon gun, Alex knocks out a guard, taking his jeep and pistol. As he starts the jeep, several other jeeps start to pursue him as the cargo plane starts to take off. Through some fancy driving and good fortune, Alex manages to cause the destruction of the hostile jeeps. Tying the nylon cord of the yo-yo gadget to the harpoon with the yo-yo clipped to his belt, Alex shoots the harpoon which catches on the underbelly of the airborne plane. Using the gadget, he gets himself on to the plane where he confronts the pilot, who is none other than Mr. Grin. Alex instructs Mr. Grin to fly to London by threatening him with the pistol.

When they are finally over London, Alex realizes that there is not much time left before noon. He spots two parachutes and uses one to jump out of the plane. Mr. Grin turns the plane around hoping to ram into Alex. Alex pulls out the Game Boy Color and activates a smoke bomb disguised as a game called "Bomber Boy" inside the cargo plane. Unable to see, Mr. Grin loses control of the plane and fatally crashes into a dock land near the River Thames. Alex crashes through the roof of the Science Museum and dangles from his parachute which had gotten caught on a beam. Alex draws the gun he took from a guard back at Sayle's mansion and fires blindly at the Stormbreaker computer, two shots hitting the Prime Minister and Sayle himself. Mrs. Jones saves Alex's life by ordering security not to open fire on him. MI6 immediately recalls all the computers, citing "safety issues".

Later, after a debriefing by Alan Blunt and Mrs. Jones, Alex enters a taxi. The driver is in fact Herod Sayle, who survived the bullets that Alex fired at him. He leads Alex to the top of a building where he is about to shoot Alex, but is himself shot by Yassen Gregovich, who lands in a helicopter. Alex questions Yassen about why he shot Sayle. Yassen explains that Sayle was 'embarrassing', so he had to be eliminated. Alex tells Yassen he will one day kill him, but Yassen brushes aside the comment and tells Alex to drop the spy business and become a normal schoolboy again. He then leaves in the helicopter. Just before it goes out of sight, Alex sees Yassen and 'salutes' him.

''Point Blanc''

''Point Blanc'' (renamed ''Point Blank'' in North America) was published in 2001. Alex investigates Dr Hugo Grief, a South African scientist who runs Point Blanc, an academy in the French Alps. Dr Grief is replacing the sons of rich, influential people with clones of himself, which have been modified to look like the boys themselves, through plastic surgery, so that he himself will be in these positions of power. It's a matter of life and death for Alex, who must escape from the academy and find a way down the very snowy slope, without getting himself killed.

''Skeleton Key''

''Skeleton Key'' was published in 2002. After foiling a Triad plot to fix the 2001 Wimbledon tennis tournament, Alex is in grave danger of assassination. Forced to leave the country, MI6 sends him on a mission to Cuba with two CIA agents (one of which believes that he is useless), where he is the only one of the three to survive. He encounters a former Soviet general, Alexei Sarov, with plans for a nuclear holocaust, starting at the Russian nuclear submarine base in Murmansk, and world domination.

''Eagle Strike''

''Eagle Strike'' was published in 2003. Damian Cray, a world-famous pop star, hopes to destroy the world's drug-making countries by hijacking the United States' nuclear arsenal. Suspicious of him, Alex takes Cray on without the help of the skeptical MI6. Cray releases a state-of-the-art games console called the 'Gameslayer'. Its first game, 'Feathered Serpent', is much more than it seems. Alex finds the Sloterdijk factory near Amsterdam in Holland and makes a gruesome discovery. He battles the real-life reconstruction of 'Feathered Serpent' at the factory, before being captured by Cray himself. At the end of the novel, whilst refusing to shoot and kill Alex, Yassen Gregorovich is murdered by Cray. However, Cray meets a gruesome end.

''Scorpia''

''Scorpia'' was published in 2004. Following the advice of the assassin Yassen Gregorovich, Alex tries to find the criminal organization "Scorpia" to find out the truth about his father. Little does Alex know, he is soon whisked into Scorpia where he discovers his dark side. Alex meets one of the leaders of Scorpia, Julia Rothman, who is in charge of a terrible weapon that would instantly kill thousands of innocent London schoolchildren in a matter of seconds. He tries to destroy this weapon high above London, and is shot by a Scorpia sniper outside the MI6 headquarters at the end of the novel, which leads to the beginning of the next book in the series, Ark Angel.

''Ark Angel''

''Ark Angel'', published in 2005, follows Alex's second mission for the C.I.A. He investigates Nikolei Drevin who builds a hotel in outer space called "Ark Angel". He secretly tries to destroy Washington D.C., the capital of the U.S.A. He targets the Pentagon, hoping to destroy files on him that the U.S. have acquired.

'''''Snakehead''

''Snakehead'' was published in 2008. Taking place immediately after ''Ark Angel'', the novel sees Alex recruited by ASIS, Australia's secret service, to infiltrate a Snakehead organisation by posing as an Afghan refugee. Alex meets his godfather, Ash (Anthony Sean Howell), and confronts the organization Scorpia for the second time. At the end of the story, he finds out that his godfather has been working for Scorpia and is responsible for the death of his parents. He find this out as Ash is dying from being shot by Ben Daniels who works for MI6

'''''Crocodile Tears''

''Crocodile Tears'' was published in 2009. While taking a vacation with Sabina Pleasure in Scotland, Alex is rudely interrupted by an assassination attempt that nearly kills Sabina's father. The culprit is soon revealed to be corrupted rescue agency called "First Aid". Alex must now embark on a mission to stop their next money-making scheme, involving a terrible man-made drug epidemic.

''Scorpia Rising''

''Scorpia Rising'', the ninth and final (proper) novel, was published in March 2011. In the book, Scorpia is hired to return the Elgin marbles to Greece. Their plan includes the laying of a false trail to Cairo, killing Alex, and blackmailing London into returning the Marbles. MI6 falls for the trap and Alex is sent to Cairo, where, unbeknownst to Alex, Scorpia is pulling the strings.

Future

Originally, ''Yassen'' was to follow ''Snakehead'' as the eighth book, and would be the final ''Alex Rider'' novel. However, Horowitz rethought this idea, following negative responses during school visits. ''Crocodile Tears'' was instead released as the eighth book, in November 2009. According to the acknowledgements at the end of ''Scorpia Rising'', Horowitz still plans to release ''Yassen''.

Franchise

Novels

#''Stormbreaker'' (4 September 2000) #''Point Blanc'' (3 September 2001) (entitled ''Point Blank'' in the United States) #''Skeleton Key'' (8 July 2002) #''Eagle Strike'' (7 April 2003) #''Scorpia'' (1 April 2004) #''Ark Angel'' (1 April 2005) #''Snakehead'' (31 October 2007) #''Crocodile Tears'' (12 November 2009) #''Scorpia Rising'' (21 March in Australia/22 March 2011 in the US/31 March in the UK)

Graphic novels

''Stormbreaker: The Graphic Novel'' (July 2006)

''Point Blanc: The Graphic Novel'' (September 2007)

''Skeleton Key: The Graphic Novel'' (September 2009)

Supplementary books

''Alex Rider: The Gadgets'' (17 October 2005)

''Alex Rider: The Mission Files'' (6 October 2008)

Short stories

''Alex Rider: Secret Weapon'' (9 February 2003)

''Alex Rider: Christmas at Gunpoint'' (1 January 2007)

''Alex Rider: Incident in Nice'' (9 November 2009)

''Alex Underground''

''Resistance to Interrogation'', an extra chapter in ''Stormbreaker''

Films

''Stormbreaker'' (21 July 2006) (retitled ''Alex Rider: Operation Stormbreaker'' in the United States)

Video games

''Alex Rider: Stormbreaker'' (25 September 2006)

Reception

So far, the series has had 12 million sales worldwide. The third novel, ''Skeleton Key'', was awarded the Red House Children's Book Award.

Influence

In the years following the release of Stormbreaker, many other book series by British authors aimed at young readers and featuring teenage spies as their main characters have been published, notably A. J. Butcher's Spy High, Joe Craig's Jimmy Coates, Charlie Higson's Young Bond, Robert Muchamore's CHERUB & Henderson's Boys, Sam Hutton's Special Agents, Andy McNab & Robert Rigby's Boy Soldier and Chris Ryan's Alpha Force & Code Red. While it is unknown how much Anthony Horowitz's books have influenced the writing and publishing of these books, one can safely speculate that the success of the Alex Rider books contributed to some extent to the commissioning and/or acceptance of some/all of these book series by publishing houses.

References

External links

Official website of the books

Archive of Official website of the film by Internet Archive

Official Penguin website of the books

* Category:Fictional MI6 agents Category:Novel series Category:Juvenile series Category:Fictional secret agents and spies Category:Fictional orphans Category:Fictional English people

cs:Alex Rider de:Alex Rider es:Alex Rider he:אלכס ריידר fr:Alex Rider ms:Alex Rider nl:Alex Rider no:Alex Rider pt:Alex Rider simple:Alex Rider fi:Alex Rider sv:Alex Rider zh:阿里克斯·莱德

Coordinates	35°10′″N33°22′″N
name	Anthony Horowitz
birth date	April 05, 1956
birth place	Stanmore, Middlesex, England
occupation	Novelist, Screenwriter
nationality	''British''
genre	Adventure, Mystery, Thriller, Horror, Fantasy
notableworks	''Alex Rider'', ''The Power of Five'', ''The Diamond Brothers''
spouse	Jill Green (married 1988)
children	Nicholas Mark, Cassian James
influences	Ian Fleming, Charles Dickens, Alfred Hitchcock, H.P. Lovecraft
website	http://www.anthonyhorowitz.com }}

Anthony Craig Horowitz (born 5 April 1956) is an English novelist and screenwriter. He has written many children's novels, including ''The Power of Five'', ''Alex Rider'' and ''The Diamond Brothers'' series and has written over fifty books. He has also written extensively for television, adapting many of Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot novels for the ITV series. He is the creator and writer of the ITV series ''Foyle's War'', ''Midsomer Murders'' and ''Collision''.

He is not to be confused with the American Pulitizer prize winning journalist and writer Tony Horwitz.

Background and personal life

Anthony Horowitz was born in 1955 in Stanmore, Middlesex, into a wealthy Jewish family. He was raised in a wealthy household and lived an upper-class lifestyle. His father acted as a "fixer" for prime minister Harold Wilson. Facing bankruptcy, Horowitz's father removed his wealth from his bank accounts and hid it under a pseudonym. He then died and the family was never able to track down the missing money despite years of trying. As an overweight and unhappy child, Horowitz enjoyed reading books from his father's library. At the age of eight, Horowitz was sent to the boarding school Orley Farm in Harrow, Middlesex. There, he entertained his peers by telling them the stories he had read. Horowitz described his time in the school as "a brutal experience", recalling that he was often whipped by the headmaster. Horowitz adored his mother, who introduced him to ''Frankenstein'' and ''Dracula''. She also gave him a human skull for his 13th birthday. Horowitz said in an interview that it reminds him to get to the end of each story since he will soon look like the skull. From the age of eight, Horowitz knew he wanted to be a writer, realising "the only time when I'm totally happy is when I'm writing". He graduated from the University of York with a BA in English literature in 1977.

In at least one interview, Horowitz claims to believe that H.P lovecraft based his fictional ''Necronomicon'' on a real text, and to have read some of that text.

Horowitz now lives in Central London with his wife Jill Green, whom he married in Hong Kong on 15 April 1988. Green produces ''Foyle's War'', the series Horowitz writes for ITV. They have two sons, Nicholas Mark Horowitz (born 1989) and Cassian James Horowitz (born 1991). He credits his family with much of his success in writing, as he says they help him with ideas and research. Horowitz is a patron of child protection charity Kidscape.

Writing career

1979–1993

Anthony Horowitz's first book, ''The Sinister Secret of Frederick K Bower'', was a humorous adventure for children, published in 1979 and later reissued as ''Enter Frederick K Bower''. In 1981 his second novel, ''Misha, the Magician and the Mysterious Amulet'' was published and he moved to Paris to write his third book. In 1983 the first of the Pentagram series, ''The Devil's Door-bell'' was released. This story saw Martin Hopkins battling an ancient evil that threatened the whole world. Only three of four remaining stories in the series were ever written: ''The Night of the Scorpion'' (1984), ''The Silver Citadel'' (1986) and ''Day of the Dragon'' (1986).

In between writing these novels, Horowitz turned his attention to legendary characters, working with Richard Carpenter on the Robin of Sherwood television series, writing five episodes of the third season. He also novelized three of Carpenter's episodes as a children's book under the title ''Robin Sherwood: The Hooded Man'' (1986). In addition, he created Crossbow (TV series) (1987), a half-hour action adventure series loosely based on William Tell.

In 1988, ''Groosham Grange'' was published. This book went on to win the 1989 Lancashire Children's Book of the Year Award. It was partially based on the years Horowitz spent at boarding school. Its central character is a thirteen-year-old "witch", David Eliot (based on the myth of the seventh child of a seventh child). Like Horowitz's, Eliot's childhood is unhappy. The Groosham Grange books are aimed at a slightly younger audience than Horowitz's previous books.

This era in Horowitz's career also saw ''Adventurer'' (1987) and ''Starting Out'' (1990) published. However, the most major release of Horowitz's early career was ''The Falcon's Malteser'' (1986). This book was the first in the successful ''Diamond Brothers'' series, and was filmed for television in 1989 as ''Just Ask For Diamond'', with an all star cast that included Bill Paterson, Jimmy Nail, Roy Kinnear, Susannah York, Michael Robbins and Patricia Hodge, and featured Colin Dale and Dursley McLinden as Nick and Tim Diamond. It was followed in 1987 with ''Public Enemy Number Two'', and by ''South by South East'' in 1991 followed by ''The French Confection'', ''I Know What You Did Last Wednesday'' and ''The Blurred Man'' and most recently "The Greek who stole Christmas". Horowitz also released a collection of rewritten ''Myths and Legends'' in 1991.

1994–2000

He wrote many stand-alone novels in the 1990s. 1994's '[Granny]' was Horowitz's first book in three years, and it was the first of three books for an audience similar to that of ''Groosham Grange''. The second of these was ''The Switch'', first published in 1996. The third was 1997's ''The Devil and His Boy'', which is set in the Elizabethan era, and explores the rumour of Elizabeth I's secret son. In 1999, ''The Unholy Grail'' was published as a sequel to ''Groosham Grange''.

''The Unholy Grail'' was renamed as ''Return to Groosham Grange'' in 2003, possibly to help readers understand the connection between the books. ''Horowitz Horror'' (1999) and ''More Horowitz Horror'' (2000) saw Horowitz exploring a darker side of his writing. Each book contains several short horror stories. Many of these stories were repackaged in twos or threes as the ''Pocket Horowitz'' series.

2000–present

Horowitz began his most famous and successful series in the new millennium with the Alex Rider novels. These books are about a 14-year-old boy becoming a spy. He is a member of MI6. Currently, there are nine Alex Rider books: ''Stormbreaker'' (2000), ''Point Blanc'' (2001), ''Skeleton Key'' (2002), ''Eagle Strike'' (2003), ''Scorpia'' (2004) ''Ark Angel'' (2005) , ''Snakehead'' (2007) , ''Crocodile Tears'' (2009) and ''Scorpia Rising'' (2011). The seventh Alex Rider novel, ''Snakehead'', was released on 31 October 2007, and the eighth, ''Crocodile Tears'', was released in the UK on 12 November 2009. The final Alex Rider book, ''Scorpia Rising'', was released on 31 March 2011. It is uncertain when ''Yassen'', the book detailing the adventures of assassin Yassen Gregorovitch, Alex Rider's old nemesis, will be released, if at all.

In 2003 Horowitz also wrote three novels featuring the Diamond Brothers: ''The Blurred Man'', ''The French Confection'' and ''I Know What You Did Last Wednesday'', which were republished together as ''Three of Diamonds'' in 2004. The author information page in early editions of ''Scorpia'' and the introduction to ''Three of Diamonds'' claimed that Horowitz had travelled to Australia to research a new Diamond Brothers book, entitled ''Radius of the Lost Shark''. However, this book has not been mentioned since, so it is doubtful it is still planned. A new Diamond Brothers "short" book entitled ''The Greek who Stole Christmas'' was later released. It is hinted at the end of ''The Greek who Stole Christmas'' that ''Radius of the Lost Shark'' may turn out to be the eighth book in the series.

In 2004 Horowitz branched out to an adult audience with ''The Killing Joke'', a comedy about a man who tries to track a joke to its source with disastrous consequences. Horowitz's second adult novel, ''The Magpie Murders'', was due out on 18 October 2006. However, that date passed with no further news on the book; all that is known about it is that it will be about "a whodunit writer who is murdered while he's writing his latest whodunit" and "it has an ending which I hope will come as a very nasty surprise". As the initial release date was not met, it is not currently known if or when ''The Magpie Murders'' will be released.

In August 2005, Horowitz released a book called ''Raven's Gate'' which began another series entitled ''The Power of Five'' (''The Gatekeepers'' in the United States). He describes it as "Alex Rider with witches and devils". The second book in the series, ''Evil Star'', was released in April 2006. The third in the series is called ''Nightrise'', and was released on 2 April 2007. The fourth book ''Necropolis'' was released in October 2008.

''The Power of Five'' is a rewritten, modern version of the Pentagram series from the 1980s. Although Pentagram required five books for story development, Horowitz completed only four: The Devil's Door-bell (Raven's Gate), The Night of the Scorpion (Evil Star), The Silver Citadel (Nightrise) and Day of the Dragon (Necropolis). Horowitz was clearly aiming for the same audience that read the ''Alex Rider'' novels with these rewrites, and ''The Power of Five'' has gained more public recognition than his earlier works, earning number 1 in the top 10 book chart.

In October 2008, Anthony Horowitz's play ''Mindgame'' opened Off Broadway at the Soho Playhouse in New York City. ''Mindgame'' starred Keith Carradine, Lee Godart, and Kathleen McNenny. The production was the New York stage directorial debut for Ken Russell. Recently he got into a joke dispute with Darren Shan over the author using a character that had a similar name and a description that fitted his. Although Horowitz considered suing, he decided not to.

In March 2009 he was a guest on ''Private Passions'', the biographical music discussion programme on BBC Radio 3.

On 19 January 2011, he was announced by the estate of Arthur Conan Doyle to be the official writer for a new Sherlock Holmes book, to be published by Orion Books.

Writing for television and film

Horowitz began writing for television in the 1980s, contributing to the children's anthology series ''Dramarama'', and also writing for the popular fantasy series ''Robin of Sherwood''. His association with murder mysteries began with the adaptation of several Hercule Poirot stories for ITV's popular ''Agatha Christie's Poirot'' series during the 1990s.

Often his work has a comic edge, such as with the comic murder anthology ''Murder Most Horrid'' (BBC Two, 1991) and the comedy-drama ''The Last Englishman'' (1995), starring Jim Broadbent. From 1997, he wrote the majority of the episodes in the early series of ''Midsomer Murders''. In 2001, he created a drama anthology series of his own for the BBC, ''Murder in Mind'', an occasional series which deals with a different set of characters and a different murder every one-hour episode.

He is also less-favourably known for the creation of two short-lived and sometimes derided science-fiction shows, ''Crime Traveller'' (1997) for BBC One and ''The Vanishing Man'' (pilot 1996, series 1998) for ITV. While ''Crime Traveller'' received favourable viewing figures it was not renewed for a second season, which Horowitz accounts to temporary personnel transitioning within the BBC. It has, however, attracted somewhat of a cult following. The successful 2002 launch of the detective series ''Foyle's War'', set during the Second World War, helped to restore his reputation as one of Britain's foremost writers of popular drama.

He devised the 2009 ITV crime drama ''Collision'' and co-wrote the screenplay with Michael A. Walker.

Horowitz is the writer of a feature film screenplay, ''The Gathering'', which was released in 2002 and starred Christina Ricci. He wrote the screenplay for Alex Rider's first major motion picture, ''Stormbreaker''.

In an interview with BBC Radio 5 on 6 April 2011, Horowitz announced that he was writing the sequel to Steven Spielberg's Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn. The sequel will be based on the Tintin graphic album ''Prisoners of the Sun'' and directed by Peter Jackson.

Bibliography

Groosham Grange

''Groosham Grange'' (1988)

''The Unholy Grail '' republished as ''Return to Groosham Grange'' (1999)

Alex Rider

''Stormbreaker'' (2000)

''Point Blanc'' (U.S. title: ''Point Blank'') (2001)

''Skeleton Key'' (2002)

''Eagle Strike'' (novel, 2003)

''Alex Rider: Secret Weapon'' (short story, 2003)

''Scorpia'' (2004)

''Ark Angel'' (2005)

''Snakehead'' (2007)

''Crocodile Tears'' (2009)

''Scorpia Rising'' (novel, 2011)

"Yassen' to be published in 2012 - ''Last Novel''

The Diamond Brothers

''The Falcon's Malteser'' (1986/96)

''Public Enemy Number Two'' (1987)

''South By South East'' (1991/2001)

''The Blurred Man'' (2003)

''The French Confection'' (2003)

''I Know What You Did Last Wednesday'' (2003)

''The Greek Who Stole Christmas'' (2008)

''The Radius of the Lost Shark'' (Unknown)

Pentagram

''The Devil's Door-Bell'' (1983)

''The Night of the Scorpion'' (1983)

''The Silver Citadel'' (1986)

''Day of the Dragon'' (1989)

The Power of Five ''(The Gatekeepers)''

''Raven's Gate'' (1 August 2005)

''Evil Star'' (2 April 2006)

''Nightrise'' (3 April 2007)

''Necropolis'' (30 October 2008)

Other novels

''Enter Frederick K Bower'' (1978)

''The Sinister Secret of Frederick K Bower'' (1979)

''Misha, the Magician and the Mysterious Amulet'' (1981)

''Robin of Sherwood: The Hooded Man'' (1986) (with Richard Carpenter)

''Adventurer'' (1987)

''New Adventures of William Tell'' (1987)

''Starting Out'' (1990)

''Granny'' (1994)

''The Switch'' (1996)

''The Devil And His Boy'' (1998)

''Half-Life'' (2001)

''The House of Silk'' [new Sherlock Holmes novel] (November 2011)

Adult novels

''William S.'' (1999)

''Mindgame'' (2001) (adapted later as a play)

''The Killing Joke'' (2004)

''The Magpie Murders'' (2006)

Collections

''Myths and Legends'' (1991)

''Horowitz Horror'' (1999)

''More Horowitz Horror'' (2001)

''The Kingfisher Book of Myths and Legends'' (2003)

''Three of Diamonds'' (2004)

''More Bloody Horowitz'' (2009)

Short stories

''The Old Man of N3'' (2009)

Graphic novels

''The Power Of Five 1: Raven's Gate'' (2010)

References

External links

Official website

Author profile

Booklist

Audio interview regarding Snakehead novel

Category:English children's writers Category:Alumni of the University of York Category:English Jews Category:Jewish writers Category:People from Stanmore Category:1956 births Category:Living people

zh-min-nan:Anthony Horowitz cs:Anthony Horowitz de:Anthony Horowitz eo:Anthony Horowitz fa:آنتونی هوروویتس fr:Anthony Horowitz ga:Anthony Horowitz it:Anthony Horowitz he:אנטוני הורוביץ hu:Anthony Horowitz nl:Anthony Horowitz no:Anthony Horowitz pl:Anthony Horowitz pt:Anthony Horowitz ru:Горовиц, Энтони sl:Anthony Horowitz fi:Anthony Horowitz sv:Anthony Horowitz

Coordinates	35°10′″N33°22′″N
name	Alex Pettyfer
birth name	Alexander Richard Pettyfer
birth date	April 10, 1990
birth place	Stevenage, Hertfordshire, England
occupation
yearsactive	2005–present
website	Official site }}

Alexander Richard "Alex" Pettyfer (born 10 April 1990) is an English actor and model. He appeared in school plays and on television before being cast as Alex Rider, the main character in the 2006 film version of ''Stormbreaker''. Pettyfer was nominated for a Young Artist Award and an Empire Award for his role. He has been seen as a model in several advertising campaigns for Burberry. His next two starring roles were in the 2011 films ''I Am Number Four'', a science fiction action adventure, and ''Beastly'', a modernised retelling of ''Beauty and the Beast''.

Early life

Pettyfer was born in Stevenage, Hertfordshire, the son of Lee Ireland (née Robinson), an interior decorator, and Richard Pettyfer, an actor. He has a younger half-brother, James Ireland, a junior tennis player, from his mother's re-marriage to Michael Ireland, a property developer.

Pettyfer was raised in Windsor, and began his career as a child fashion model at the age of seven, for Gap, after meeting Ralph Lauren in a toy store in New York City. He also did advertisements for some yogurt brands. His first commercial was at age six.

As a schoolboy, he performed in plays, including in the role of Willy Wonka in a production ''Charlie and the Chocolate Factory''. Pettyfer was educated at two junior independent schools: The Mall School, a small school in Twickenham, followed by the Lambrook Haileybury school in Berkshire.. He subsequently attended two other independent boarding schools: Millfield School in Street in Somerset and Shiplake College near Henley-on-Thames in Oxfordshire. After his GCSEs, he left Shiplake College to attend the independent Sylvia Young Theatre School.

Career

In 2005, after a modelling career, Pettyfer made his professional acting début in the British television production of ''Tom Brown's Schooldays'', playing the lead character, Tom Brown; he received positive reviews for the role. In June 2005, he was cast in his most prominent role so far, that of teenage MI6 spy Alex Rider in the film ''Stormbreaker'', based on the novel by Anthony Horowitz. He was one of 500 who auditioned for the role. Pettyfer chose to appear in the film over a role in the film ''Eragon'', noting that he preferred ''Stormbreaker'' because it would be filmed in Britain, in the Isle of Man, while ''Eragon'' would film in the Czech Republic; Pettyfer is afraid of flying, and he liked the looks of the cast for ''Stormbreaker''. ''Stormbreaker'' was released on 21 July 2006 in the United Kingdom, on 6 October 2006 in the United States and on 21 September 2006 in Australia.

One review of Pettyfer's performance described him as playing the role with an "earnest intensity", although another noted that he "isn't quite at ease as an actor". Media reports specified that the film was expected to make Pettyfer a "teen idol". Pettyfer will not reprise the role if there is another Alex Rider film because he is now too mature for the role.

He next appeared in ''Wild Child'', a film set in California, Kent and Yorkshire part of which took place at Cobham Hall Girl's School in Kent. He played school boy Freddie Kingsley and he co-starred with Emma Roberts. In 2009, he played the callous ringleader of a group of cool but cruel teenagers who are picked off one by one by the ghost of one of their former victims, in the horror-comedy, ''Tormented''.

He starred in the film ''Beastly'', based on the novel by Alex Flinn, alongside Mary-Kate Olsen, Vanessa Hudgens, and Neil Patrick Harris. He finished filming on 13 August 2009, and the film was released on 4 March 2011. Pettyfer portrayed the main character in ''I Am Number Four'', released in February, 2011. The film co-starred Timothy Olyphant, Dianna Agron, and Teresa Palmer, and was directed by D. J. Caruso, produced by Michael Bay, and executive produced by Steven Spielberg.

It has also been announced that he will portray racing car driver James Hunt in the formula 1 biopic ''Shunt''. He will also serve as producer on the movie.

Sources also say that he has been offered the part of Jace Wayland in the upcoming portrayal of Cassandra Clare's best selling book, City of Bones. Jamie Campbell Bower was later cast as Jace Wayland.

He has also been offered a part in an upcoming film adaption of Joseph Delaney's The Wardstone Chronicles. He has declined the role.

He has also been offered a role in a future movie entitled 'The Paperboy' based on the Pete Dexter novel of the same name.

Personal life

On 14 June 2009, Pettyfer was voted No.35 on the Britain's top 50 most eligible bachelors by UK women's magazine ''Company''. In August 2009 the UK magazine ''Glamour'' ranked him at No.21 on their list of the sexiest men on the planet, as determined by a poll of 2000 British women.

After Pettyfer completed filming ''Stormbreaker'', he did not discuss the film with anyone at his school, citing the advice of his ''Stormbreaker'' co-star, Ewan McGregor, who told him to keep his personal and professional life separate. Pettyfer has since decided to leave school and concentrate on his film career, whilst studying drama at college, saying that "When you have already experienced going out and working in the real world, and you come back to school, you just see it as a playground and you don't want to be there any more".

Pettyfer has seven tattoos, including a Celtic cross on his chest, Tibetian script on the inside of his right arm, the words, "What Goes Around Comes Around" on his right shoulder, a Katakana script on his lower waist, and the letters "ER," the initials of his now ex-girlfriend Emma Roberts inside interlinking hearts on his right wrist. When Contactmusic asked him about the "ER" tattoo he said "I don't know how to say it, she's a lovely, lovely girl, we had a spell of something that is over now, but we're on good terms. She's beautiful, she's great; we're really good friends." The actor had gotten Roberts' name tattooed on his wrist while the two were dating. "I'm going to get asked about this, aren't I? I thought it was just between me and her," he said when asked about the tattoo.

Filmography

Year	! Title	! Role
2005		Tom Brown (character)>Tom Brown
2006		Alex Rider (character)>Alex Rider
2008		Freddie Kingsley
2009		Bradley White
2011		John Smith/Number Four/Daniel Jones
2011		Kyle Kingson/Hunter
2011		Fortis

Modelling

2008: Burberry – Spring/Summer

2008: Burberry – The Beat For Men eau du cologne

2009: Burberry – Spring/Summer

Awards and nominations

! Year	! Award	! Category	! Nominated work	! Result
	Young Artist Awards	Best Performance in an International Feature Film Leading Young Actor or Actress	rowspan="2"
Empire Award	Best Male Newcomer
2010	ShoWest Award
	MTV Movie Awards
	"Choice Movie: Liplock" (shared with Vanessa Hudgens)
"Choice Movie: Breakout Male"	''Beastly'' and ''I Am Number Four''

References

External links

Official site

Category:English child actors Category:English film actors Category:English male models Category:English television actors Category:Old Millfieldians Category:People from Stevenage Category:1990 births Category:Living people Category:People educated at Shiplake College Category:People educated at The Mall School

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