87-526: This is a list of characters from Anthony Horowitz 's Alex Rider series. This includes characters from the novels , the film , the TV series , the graphic novels , and the short stories . The following is a list of the protagonists recurring, appearing in, or referred to in the Alex Rider series, listed alphabetically. Alan Blunt was the head of MI6 Special Operations until Scorpia Rising . He
174-691: A Los Angeles detective to dissuade him. The novel follows Martin's attempts to solve the ever-growing mystery through a series of rather unusual circumstances and a number of people who seem rather glad that Shakespeare was murdered. The novel has never been published in the UK or even in English , but copies in Spanish and Dutch have been released (retitled as El asesinato de Shakespeare and William S. respectively). As of June 2021, despite Horowitz's recent successes in adult literature, there are no plans to get
261-515: A Day in 2018, and a third and final novel With a Mind to Kill in May 2022. Horowitz has also written for television, contributing scripts to ITV 's Agatha Christie's Poirot and adapting six early episodes of Midsomer Murders from the novels of Caroline Graham , including the first three episodes. He was the creator and writer of the ITV series Foyle's War , Collision and Injustice , and
348-489: A banker. Ian and Alex had a very good relationship. They were very close, and when Ian was home they did practically everything together. Ian often took Alex around the world to educate him about other cultures. He never let Alex call him "uncle". Ian also taught him a lot of things that prepared him for being a spy, such as scuba diving, climbing and driving. He is killed at the beginning of Stormbreaker by Yassen Gregorovich. His death led Alex into working for MI6. Ian Rider
435-425: A bomb planted by Ash under Scorpia's orders; he was subsequently raised by his uncle Ian Rider, until Ian himself was killed when Alex was fourteen years old. After his uncle's death, MI6 allows Alex's best friend and housekeeper, Jack Starbright, to become his legal guardian. He is extremely close to Jack and was shattered by her “death” until he realised her death was faked by Julius and Razim. His close friends, and
522-533: A children's book under the title Robin of Sherwood: The Hooded Man (1986). In addition, he created Crossbow (1987), a half-hour action adventure series loosely based on William Tell . This era in Horowitz's career also saw the release of Adventurer (1987), a thriller about a convict stuck on a prisoner ship with his sworn enemy based on the Richard Carpenter series, and Starting Out (1990),
609-463: A collection of screenplays by the author himself, published. 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 . In 1991, The Diamond Brothers ,
696-537: A composite of different female allies from the book series who have been interested in Alex: her computer skills reflect Shadia Manzour from Never Say Die , her infatuation with Alex evokes Sabina Pleasure, Alex's original love interest in the novels, and her initially aloof demeanour and subsequent collaboration with Alex are reminiscent of undercover CIA agent Tamara Knight from Ark Angel . John Crawley has been described as an "office manager" for MI6 , and often acts as
783-549: A contract killer. Scorpia discovering of his MI6 association would later lend to he and his wife's death. At Oxford University, Rider studied politics and economics, and was an excellent tennis player. He later joined the Parachute Regiment at Aldershot and served for three years, seeing action in both Northern Ireland and Gambia. John was awarded the Military Cross from the queen, as well as being promoted to
870-454: A fictionalised version of himself as a companion and chronicler to private investigator Daniel Hawthorne: The Word Is Murder (2017), The Sentence Is Death (2018), A Line to Kill (2021), The Twist of a Knife (2022), and Close to Death (2024). The estate of James Bond creator Ian Fleming chose Horowitz to write Bond novels utilising unpublished material by Fleming, starting with Trigger Mortis in 2015, followed by Forever and
957-463: A handsome man, with fair, close-cropped hair, blue eyes and a face that managed to be both tough and boyish". He is also mentioned as Tom Turner in the US of Ark Angel . Wolf is a minor character who appears as being initially hostile towards Alex in the novel Stormbreaker , but returns in a more protagonistic role for the novel Point Blanc . He also appears in the film adaption of Stormbreaker . He
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#17327831490611044-410: A hindrance, even after Alex saves Turner from The Salesman. He reveals nothing about his personal life, other than he is a former Marine , and dreams of dying for his country. He and Troy are killed when trying to infiltrate Sarov's headquarters through the "Devil's Chimney", a hidden underwater tunnel. They are killed by the traps which are disguised as stalactites . Turner is described as "about forty,
1131-576: A joke to its source with disastrous consequences. The book was not very successful, and in August 2005, Horowitz returned to young adult fiction by releasing a book called Raven's Gate which began a second successful series entitled The Power of Five ( The Gatekeepers in the United States). Based heavily on one of his earlier novels entitled The Devil's Door-Bell , each of the first four entries of The Power of Five subsequently ended up being
1218-645: A messenger between Alex Rider and Special Operations, such as delivering him to MI6 in Stormbreaker and Point Blanc , informing him of his mission in Skeleton Key , visiting him in hospital in Ark Angel and, most recently, leading the "Invisible Man" operation against Harold Bulman in Crocodile Tears . He is known to have worked with John Rider, Alex's father, on a number of occasions and
1305-398: A minor antagonist of Ark Angel . Alex and Paul first meet in hospital, where Alex is recovering from a bullet wound, and Paul is recovering from appendicitis. When Force Three attempts to kidnap Paul, Alex is kidnapped instead after he pretends he is Paul. When Alex escapes from Force Three, Nikolei invites Alex to stay with them for a few days and view the launch of Ark Angel. Tom Harris
1392-430: A morbid sense of humor and a penchant for gold jewelry, wearing heavy rings on every finger, and takes a mixed approach towards intelligence work in general and Alex in particular – he is firm about operations and implies that he relishes the use of lethal force, but he also appears to have a soft spot for Alex, being alternately stern and doting towards him. Manzour is the first to recognize Alex's psychological trauma after
1479-572: A nearby airport, he is shot and killed by McCain. Anthony Sean Howell , more commonly referred to as Ash (his initials), is a major character in Snakehead . Ash was born in England and worked for MI6 with his best friend John Rider . When John went undercover within Scorpia, Ash was assigned to monitor his progress from a distance in case his friend got into difficulty. Ash was chosen to lead
1566-534: A new life with a foster mother on a Yorkshire farm, but it quickly becomes a nightmare when he ends up having to battle an ancient evil that threatens the whole world. Only three of the four remaining novels in the series were ever released: The Night of the Scorpion (1984), The Silver Citadel (1986) and Day of the Dragon (1986). In 1985, he released Myths and Legends , a collection of retold tales from around
1653-509: A new series of detective novels which includes himself as a novelist enlisted by an out-of-work detective called Hawthorne to write books about the way Hawthorne solves crimes. The fictional Horowitz accompanies Hawthorne as he investigates murders committed in London and other locations. So far, starting with The Word is Murder , five of these books have appeared, with three others commissioned. In 2011, Horowitz tweeted that he had plans to write
1740-605: A new trilogy for the same demographic as his Alex Rider and Power of Five books, but that it's still "a secret". During 2012 and 2013, Horowitz tweeted out some more information regarding the series, where he stated that it will be "a completely new genre" from anything else he'd done so far, and that it will have a contemporary setting in modern-day London with a 15-year-old protagonist. He also revealed that it's tentatively entitled The Machine . However, Horowitz revealed in 2021 that he has yet to begin writing this series and that he has no immediate plans to do so. Horowitz wrote
1827-604: A rewritten and expanded version of their respective counterpart from the Pentagram series. The second book in the series, Evil Star (based on The Night of the Scorpion ) , was released in April 2006. The third in the series is called Nightrise (based on The Silver Citadel ), and was released on 2 April 2007. The fourth book Necropolis (based on Day of the Dragon ) was released in October 2008. The fifth and final book,
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#17327831490611914-446: A six-part television series written and directed by Horowitz himself, was broadcast on ITV . The series is based on the book South by South East , which Horowitz claimed he wrote after he had written the television series, effectively making South by South East a novelisation of the television series rather than the novel acting as the primary source of inspiration. Both McLinden and Dale reprised their respective film roles, which makes
2001-523: A strong respect for Alex when they worked together. During Scorpia Rising , he even trusted Alex despite Scorpia having attempted to frame Alex for an assassination attempt, even though Alex's story involved the existence of a boy who was basically Alex's clone (Julius Grief, given plastic surgery to resemble Alex back in Point Break ). In the Alex Rider TV series , Joe Byrne is reimagined as
2088-554: A woman and the Deputy CIA Jo Bryne, played by Rakie Ayola . Kyra Vashenko-Chao is an original character from the Alex Rider TV series , portrayed by Marli Siu . She is introduced as a student at Point Blanc, a secretive, reclusive, and introverted but eager computer hacker who suspects something is wrong with the school even before Alex gets there, and works with Alex to discover the truth and undermine Dr Greif's efforts. Alongside Jack Starbright and Tom Harris, Kyra
2175-400: Is Alex's best friend at Brookland High School. He first appeared in the novel Scorpia , and has since appeared in Crocodile Tears , Scorpia Rising , Nightshade and Nightshade Revenge . He is portrayed by Brenock O'Connor in the Alex Rider TV series , where he is shown to be an avid gamer and an aspiring filmmaker, and serves as a sort of team-mate to Alex. Lâle "Tulip" Jones
2262-477: Is a minor protagonist in Skeleton Key . She was a CIA agent partnered with Tom Turner (Glen Carver in the US version) and Alex Rider on a mission to Cuba to investigate General Alexei Sarov. She and Turner do not take to Alex, because he is a minor, and believe he is unnecessary and could put their mission in danger. When Turner is kidnapped on the Salesman's boat, it is hinted that she has feelings for him. She
2349-723: Is an English novelist and screenwriter specialising in mystery and suspense. His works for children and young adult readers include the Alex Rider series featuring a 14-year-old British boy who spies for MI6 , The Power of Five series (known as The Gatekeepers in the USA ), and The Diamond Brothers series. Horowitz's works for adults include: the play Mindgame (2001); two Sherlock Holmes novels, The House of Silk (2011) and Moriarty (2014); two novels featuring his own detective Susan Ryeland, Magpie Murders (2016) and Moonflower Murders (2020); five novels featuring
2436-524: Is an Indian RAW agent who had been sent to kill Desmond McCain both at his Scottish castle and in Africa to avenge the destruction of the Jowada Power Station. Rahim finds Alex, Sabina and her father when their SUV falls into Loch Arkaig and drives them to the hospital, saving them from hypothermia. Alex later meets the agent again when Rahim kills Myra Beckett and saves Alex from falling into
2523-603: Is an aloof, impassive , and ruthless man. Throughout the series he is known for wearing a grey suit and grey glasses and being driven around in a Rolls-Royce . From the book Point Blanc , it is said that he had graduated with a First-Class Honours degree in mathematics from Cambridge University . Blunt is dedicated to his job and has a very analytical mind. After the events of the book Scorpia Rising and Scorpia's demise, Alan Blunt retires from his role at MI6, supposedly forced to by pressure from higher-ups. His assistant Lâle "Tulip" Jones, known better as Mrs. Jones, takes over from
2610-539: Is an early teenage spy recruited by MI6. Known for his intelligence, athletic and fighting skills, all of which were trained by his uncle and the SAS, Alex is seen demonstrating karate, pickpocketing, climbing, surfing, swimming and more throughout the series. His skills have helped him escape death multiple times. He also speaks several languages, English, French, German and Spanish. Alex's parents were killed when their private plane crashed – later revealed to have been caused by
2697-634: Is an unnamed minor character in the novel Scorpia Rising . She is described by Joe Byrne as a "hardliner," and is central to Scorpia agent Abdul Aziz al-Rahim's plan to have the Elgin Marbles returned to Greece (and is apparently of Greek extract herself). A potential rival to the US president, the Secretary of State is in Egypt to make a speech denouncing Britain as a world power – a speech guaranteed to give her international attention. Belinda Troy
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2784-536: Is cold towards Alex and she doesn't seem to like him at all. However, it was later revealed that she was working for the CIA when she saved Alex's life from drowning when he went scuba diving. Tamara softened towards him and they joined forces to stop Drevin's plans to destroy his Ark Angel space hotel. They were captured by Magnus Payne and the Force Three "freedom fighters", in fact mercenaries working for Drevin. Tamara
2871-537: Is described as having "the kind of face you forget while you're still looking at it". In the film adaption of Stormbreaker , he was portrayed by Jimmy Carr , with the character's name changed (by an unusual request from the real MI6) to "John Crawford". In the TV series , he is played by Ace Bhatti , once again under the name "John Crawley". Ben Daniels is a minor protagonist who has appeared in Stormbreaker , Snakehead , Never Say Die and Nightshade Revenge . He first meets Alex at an SAS training camp in
2958-466: Is described as slim, with tangled red hair, and a boyish, round face that "is always cheerful, even when in a bad mood". She has a crooked smile, and is described to look more like a big sister than a housekeeper. In the Stormbreaker film adaptation, Jack is played by Alicia Silverstone , and in the Alex Rider TV series, she is played by Ronkẹ Adékoluẹjo . The American Secretary of State
3045-564: Is eventually freed by Alex and the SAS, along with the other real boys, when the school is raided. In the series , his nationality is changed to Australian, and is portrayed by Earl Cave . Jack Starbright is Alex Rider's closest and best friend, a 28-year-old American woman, originally Ian Rider's housekeeper and after his death Alex's legal guardian. She has appeared in every novel so far, with her most prominent roles being in Eagle Strike , Scorpia Rising and Never Say Die . She
3132-488: Is first encountered by Alex while training with the SAS. He is part of "K Unit" along with Alex (Cub), and three other men, codenamed, Fox, Eagle, and Snake/Bear (Snake in the novel and TV series, Bear in the film). He is portrayed by Ashley Walters in the Stormbreaker film adaptation , and by Howard Charles in the Television series . Rahim is a minor character who appears in the novel Crocodile Tears . Rahim
3219-568: Is formerly second-in-command at MI6 and was Alan Blunt 's closest associate, before succeeding him in becoming head of MI6 following the events of Scorpia Rising . Blunt insists their personal and professional lives remain separate; consequently, Mrs. Jones has never even been inside of his house, despite knowing him better than anyone else in Special Operations. Unlike Alan Blunt, who openly forces and blackmails Alex into many of his missions, Mrs. Jones had always opposed using Alex and
3306-557: Is killed in the same manner as Turner while attempting to infiltrate Sarov's headquarters. She is described as being "a couple of years older than he is (Turner), slim, with brown frizzy hair tumbling down to her shoulders". Tom Turner (named Glen Carver in the US version of Skeleton Key ) is a minor protagonist in Skeleton Key . Like Belinda Troy, he is a CIA agent, sent to Cuba with Troy and Alex, to investigate General Alexei Sarov . Turner and Troy object to Alex being sent with them. They often ignore his opinions and treat him as
3393-592: Is often implied that Smithers is one of Alex's two only genuine friends at MI6 (the other probably being Ben Daniels). For instance, in Eagle Strike , when Alex attempted to convince MI6 to investigate Damian Cray, he was ignored by Blunt and Mrs. Jones, but Smithers nevertheless supplied him with a high-tech bicycle that played a crucial role in Alex's investigations, and in Ark Angel Smithers took time out from his holiday to provide Alex with new gadgets when
3480-424: Is one of the few who knows about Alex's double life, and she finds herself crossing paths with Alex during every one of the situations he finds himself in, serving as Alex's " tech support " or a deus ex machina to retcon certain aspects of the books. Although somber and secretive by nature, Kyra develops an attraction to Alex, pulling him into a kiss before he leaves to take down SCORPIA. Kyra can be considered
3567-479: Is played by Ewan McGregor in the film adaptation of Stormbreaker and Andrew Buchan in the Alex Rider TV series . John Rider was Alex Rider's father and an agent of MI6. It is revealed in the book Russian Roulette that John became double agent for MI6 and criminal organization Scorpia, and sought to infiltrate and destroy the latter. He briefly met and worked with a young Yassen Gregorovich in Scorpia, and managed to initially dissuade Yassen from becoming
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3654-458: Is reluctant of sending him on missions once she takes over from Blunt. Mrs. Jones has two children, both of whom have been taken by her undercover Russian spy husband, Hans Meyer, to Nightshade at a young age. In the Stormbreaker film, she is played by Sophie Okonedo , and in the Alex Rider TV series she is played by Vicky McClure . Tamara Knight is introduced in the novel Ark Angel as Nikolei Drevin's personal assistant. At first, she
3741-476: Is romantically interested in Alex and has been supportive of his work as a teenage spy. Her parents are Edward Pleasure and Elizabeth “Liz” Pleasure. In the film Stormbreaker , the character of Pleasure was portrayed by Sarah Bolger . In the Amazon Prime TV series , Pleasure is renamed Sabina Pleasance and is portrayed by Charithra Chandran . Alex Rider is the main character of the series. Alex
3828-530: The 2010 United Kingdom general election , Horowitz stated he would vote for the Conservative Party in response to the policies of the governing Labour Party , but "with little enthusiasm." In 2017, Horowitz expressed criticism of the notion of cultural appropriation after a publisher had allegedly tried to dissuade him from creating a black character as a central figure in one of his novels, and supported fellow author Lionel Shriver 's critiques on
3915-572: The Alex Rider TV series . James Sprintz is a minor character in Point Blanc . When Alex arrives at Point Blanc Academy, James is the only boy who had not yet been imprisoned and replaced by a Dr. Grief clone. He becomes Alex's only friend at the academy. He often comments on the other boys' strange behaviour (who are, in reality, clones of Dr. Grief), and the day before he was captured and replaced, he had planned to escape Point Blanc. He
4002-607: The BBC series Crime Traveller and New Blood . Horowitz was born in Stanmore , Middlesex , into a Jewish family, and in his early years lived an upper middle class lifestyle. As a child, Horowitz used to go to Instow , where his nanny took him boating on the River Torridge . He also had a stuffed monkey named Benjamin (which was later eaten by his dog). Horowitz attended Orley Farm School . He started writing at
4089-522: The Brecon Beacons , where Alex was sent by MI6 for training. In Snakehead , Ben secretly kills Anan Sukit , who was attempting to shoot Alex after he had beaten Sukit's fighter "Sunthorn" in an arena fight. Alex later meets Ben again, where he takes him to an MI6 outpost in Bangkok. In Snakehead , it is revealed from his accent that he comes from Liverpool . His codename, depending on whenever
4176-536: The University of York with a lower second class degree in English literature and art history in 1977, where he was in Vanbrugh College . Horowitz's mother introduced him to Frankenstein and Dracula . She 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. Horowitz's father
4263-467: The new millennium , Horowitz attempted to reach out to an adult audience with a novel called Poisoned Pen. The novel is based around Martin Holland, who is a childhood friend of a 21st century incarnation of William Shakespeare . In the novel, William Shakespeare is reimagined as a Hollywood screenwriter who is murdered in a set of circumstances that Martin Holland finds rather odd, despite attempts from
4350-862: The 2009 ITV crime drama Collision and co-wrote the screenplay with Michael A. Walker . Horowitz adapted his novel Magpie Murders into a television miniseries, which aired on BritBox and later BBC One in the UK and on the PBS series Masterpiece Mystery! in the US. Filming commenced on the Canary Islands in the spring of 2024 on his television series Nine Bodies in a Mexican Morgue . Horowitz lives in Central London ( Clerkenwell ) with his wife Jill Green; they eloped to be married in Hong Kong on 15 April 1988. Green produced Foyle's War ,
4437-521: The CIA requested Alex's assistance in investigating the father of a new friend. In Scorpia Rising , Smithers reveals that in reality, he was always privately opposed to involving Alex in MI6 in the first place; he believes that the world of spying is dangerous and dirty, and people like Ian Rider, who saw it as one big adventure, could easily get themselves killed. He, in the same instance, further reveals that his obese identity that Alex knew him all along for
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#17327831490614524-506: The age of eight or nine and he instantly knew he would be a professional writer. This was because he was an underachiever in school and was not physically fit, and found his escape in books and telling stories. In a 2006 interview, Horowitz stated "I was quite certain, from my earliest memory, that I would be a professional writer and nothing but." At age 13 he went to Rugby School , a public school , in Rugby, Warwickshire . He graduated from
4611-576: The book, Skeleton Key , part of Alex Rider , whilst getting a nomination in 2007. He has also won Lancashire Book of the Year in 2006. For Foyle's War , there was a BAFTA Lew Grade Award in 2003 with an additional two nominations for Best Drama Series and Best Production Design won, and he got nominated for the Edgar Allan Poe Award in 2016 for the episode: Elise, The Final Mystery. In 2005, Anthony Horowitz, for Stormbreaker , received
4698-531: The death of Jack Starbright (explicitly mentioning it to Joe Byrne) and is skeptical when Alex begins his own investigation into it. His daughter Shadia is a computer hacker working under him: it is implied that Manzour's soft spot towards Alex is because he has no sons of his own. Sabina Pleasure is a protagonist who made her first appearance in the novel Skeleton Key and has gone on to appear in Eagle Strike , Snakehead , Crocodile Tears , Scorpia Rising , Never Say Die and Nightshade Revenge . She
4785-425: The different editions of the books were published, is either "Fox" or "Wolf": in post-2010 editions of the novels, he is "Wolf", while in pre-2010 editions he is "Fox". In Nightshade Revenge , Alex assists Ben on his mission to first Nice and later San Francisco , Ben saving his life both times. He is portrayed by Ben Peel in the series . Paul Drevin is the son of Russian multibillionaire Nikolei Drevin ,
4872-643: The end of Scorpia Rising onwards. It is stated in the same book that he receives knighthood following his retirement. In the film Stormbreaker , Blunt was portrayed by Bill Nighy , and in the TV series he is portrayed by Stephen Dillane . Joe Byrne is the head of the CIA , who has worked with Alex on three separate occasions. Unlike the more cold and manipulative Blunt, who was not above blackmailing Alex to accept missions for him, Byrne generally appeared more willing to simply ask Alex for help rather than forcing him to do something he didn't want to do, and displayed
4959-461: 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 . This claim was further backed up when a new Diamond Brothers novella entitled The Greek who Stole Christmas! was released in 2007, where it is hinted at the end that Radius of the Lost Shark may turn out to be the eighth entry in
5046-474: The mission to "capture" John, when he and Yassen Gregorovich were sent to kill a target in Malta. However, the mission was a near total disaster; due to confusion with two clocks that were out of sync, John and Yassen's arrival took Ash by surprise. When Yassen shot Ash, his body armour meant that he was back on his feet in seconds, but this prompted Yassen to fatally shoot four other agents. Ash pursued Yassen, but
5133-789: The novel republished. 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 , a member of the British Secret Service branch MI6. As of 2024, there are eleven books where Alex Rider is the protagonist, and another connected to the Alex Rider series: Stormbreaker (2000), Point Blanc (2001), Skeleton Key (2002), Eagle Strike (2003), Scorpia (2004) Ark Angel (2005), Snakehead (2007), Crocodile Tears (2009), Scorpia Rising (2011), plus Russian Roulette (2013). Horowitz had stated that Scorpia Rising
5220-652: The only one not based on an earlier Pentagram novel, was released in October 2012 and is called Oblivion . Horowitz describes this series as "Alex Rider with devils and witches". 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 . In March 2009 he
5307-471: The only ones who know about his secret job as a spy, are Tom Harris and Sabina Pleasure. Alex is described as strikingly good looking with an athletic build, dark brown eyes said to be “too serious for his face” and fair hair. He is portrayed by Alex Pettyfer in the film Stormbreaker and Otto Farrant in the Amazon Prime TV series. Helen Rider (née Beckett ) was Alex Rider's mother. She
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#17327831490615394-475: The pack of crocodiles. He had injured his leg when he parachuted into a thornbush, and cannot help Alex destroy the dam that will flood the crops and stop McCain's virus. Alex takes Rahim's plastic explosive that was given to the agent to destroy McCain's aeroplane. Rahim returns to save Alex a third time in McCain's crop duster, after Alex is caught in the raging waters of the destroyed dam. As Rahim and Alex land at
5481-472: The pair had gotten into a joke dispute over O'Shaughnessy's use of Horowitz's name for an objectionable character (Antoine Horwitzer) in Wolf Island . In retaliation, Horowitz chose to plot a gruesome literary revenge in the short story The Man Who Killed Darren Shan. In 2004, Horowitz again attempted to branch out to an adult audience with The Killing Joke , a comedy about a man who tries to track
5568-540: The rank of Captain for carrying a wounded soldier to safety under fire during the attack on Goose Green , in the Falklands War . Derek Smithers is a protagonist who has appeared in almost all of the novels, as well as in the film adaption. He creates the various gadgets for MI6 agents, a role similar to that of Q's in the James Bond films. Portrayed as jolly and enthusiastic from his overweight appearance, it
5655-463: The same issue. He also criticised the social phenomenon of cancel culture and "mobbing" of figures for expressing diverse opinions, stating "There is a rigidity in the way we have begun to think and speak. If we step outside certain lines on certain issues, we find not just people disagreeing, but disagreeing to the extent of death threats. When somebody says something untoward in the press, and I am not saying this about myself, people don't just say that
5742-483: The screenplay for Just Ask for Diamond , a 1989 film adaptation of his Diamond Brothers novel The Falcon's Malteser that had an all-star cast which 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 respectively. Horowitz is the writer of a feature film screenplay, The Gathering , which
5829-466: The series Horowitz wrote for ITV , and other television shows he has written. They have two sons. Horowitz credits his family with much of his success in writing, as he says they help him with ideas and research. He is a patron of family support charity Home-Start in Suffolk and child protection charity Kidscape . Politically, Horowitz has described himself to be "vaguely conservative ". Ahead of
5916-619: The series. However, the next novel in the series was instead called Where Seagulls Dare , and is unrelated to the Australian-based adventure that was previously announced. Horowitz published the first six chapters unedited on his website throughout 2020, and the full, edited novel was published in 2022, with all profits going to support the NHS . Horowitz also published two sequels to his short horror story collection; More Horowitz Horror (2000) and More Bloody Horowitz (2009). Many of
6003-601: The stories in Horowitz Horror and More Horowitz Horror were later repackaged in twos or threes as the Pocket Horowitz series, while More Bloody Horowitz was later reissued as Scared to Death . One of the short stories in More Bloody Horowitz is notable for serving as Horowitz's opportunity to get even with fellow author Darren O'Shaughnessy , more commonly known as Darren Shan. In 2008,
6090-684: The television series act as a sequel to Just Ask for Diamond . 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 also created two short-lived 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
6177-496: The two books. In 2021, Horowitz revealed to a fan on Twitter that he had plans to write a third book, but was dissuaded after the success of the Harry Potter series . In the same year, Horowitz publishing a collection of several short horror stories aimed for children and young adults, entitled Horowitz Horror (1999). This was an opportunity for Horowitz to further explore a darker side of his writing. Some time before
6264-650: The world. He was also involved in writing scripts for the cult 1980s television series Robin of Sherwood and the spin-off novel. In 1988, Groosham Grange was published. Its central character is a thirteen-year-old "witch", David Eliot, gifted as the seventh son of a seventh son . This book went on to win the 1989 Lancashire Children's Book of the Year Award . Some similarities have been noted between this book and J K Rowling's later Harry Potter series, but Horowitz did not choose to take action because of this. The most important release of Horowitz's early career
6351-478: Was The Falcon's Malteser (1986). This book was the first in the successful Diamond Brothers series, and was followed in 1987 by Public Enemy Number Two , and by South by South East in 1991. Horowitz wrote many stand-alone novels in the 1990s. His 1994 novel Granny, a comedy thriller about an evil grandmother, 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
6438-464: Was The Switch , a body swap story, 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 . It was later renamed Return to Groosham Grange in 2003, possibly to help young readers understand the connection between
6525-507: Was a guest on Private Passions , the biographical music discussion programme on BBC Radio 3 . On 19 January 2011, the estate of Arthur Conan Doyle announced that Horowitz was to be the writer of a new Sherlock Holmes novel, the first such effort to receive an official endorsement from them and to be entitled The House of Silk . It was both published, in November of 2011 and broadcast on BBC Radio 4. A follow-up novel, Moriarty ,
6612-660: Was a humorous adventure for children that was published in 1979 and later reissued as Enter Frederick K Bower in 1985. 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 novel in the Pentagram series was released. Entitled The Devil's Door-Bell , the story saw thirteen-year-old Martin Hopkins trying to adjust to
6699-605: Was a stupid thing to say. They say, Lose your job. They want you to never ever have an income again." Horowitz was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2014 New Year Honours and Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2022 New Year Honours , both for services to literature. He won an Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Television Episode Teleplay from Episode 1 of Magpie Murders . In 2003, he won Hampshire Book Award for
6786-511: Was actually an MI6 disguise, a fatsuit . His true identity ends up being a slender young adult, supposedly of Irish nationality. After he returns from Egypt, he semi-retires from working for MI6, becoming a private detective, although he does turn up in Nightshade Revenge , still in his fatsuit, to help Alex in his mission against Nightshade. Smithers was portrayed by Stephen Fry in the film Stormbreaker , and Nyasha Hatendi in
6873-482: Was associated with some of the politicians in the "circle" of prime minister Harold Wilson , including Eric Miller . Facing bankruptcy, he moved his assets into Swiss numbered bank accounts . He died from cancer when Horowitz was 22, and the family was never able to track down the missing money despite years of trying. This left the family bankrupt, requiring the sale of the large family home. Anthony Horowitz's first book, The Sinister Secret of Frederick K Bower ,
6960-524: Was injured and was imprisoned. She was later rescued by Ed Shulsky and a CIA task force. She was the one who convinced Alex to go into space and stop Payne from setting off the bomb that would destroy Ark Angel. Colonel Ali Manzour appears in Scorpia Rising and Never Say Die as the head of the Egyptian secret service . He is described as an overweight and stern but amiable and jocular man with
7047-408: Was killed, along with her husband, John Rider, when their best friend Ash, who was working for Scorpia, set a bomb on their private aeroplane. This happened while Alex was still an infant (he had a minor ear infection, so stayed behind), and his uncle, Ian Rider, became his legal guardian. Ian Rider is Alex's uncle and became his guardian after his parents died. He worked for MI6, undercover of being
7134-569: Was left for dead when he was stabbed by the Russian. Ash only survived this injury when John Rider risked his life to provide emergency first aid. Ash was left with half his stomach gone, and was demoted for his failure. He eventually quit his job because he thought his demotion was unfair and was not satisfied with desk duty. He then went to work for ASIS in Australia. Anthony Horowitz Anthony John Horowitz CBE (born 5 April 1955)
7221-493: Was not renewed for a second season, which Horowitz accounts to temporary personnel transitioning within the BBC. In 2002, Horowitz created the series Foyle's War , a historically-themed detective series set during and after the Second World War . The series became the longest-running among Horowitz's television projects, with a total of 28 episodes broadcast over eight series between 2002 and 2015. Horowitz devised
7308-535: Was published in 2014. In October 2014, the estate of Ian Fleming commissioned Horowitz to write a James Bond novel, Trigger Mortis , which was released in 2015. It was followed by a second novel, Forever and A Day , which came out on 31 May 2018. A third novel entitled With a Mind to Kill was released on 17 May 2022. Horowitz is the only author in recent years to have been invited by Ian Fleming Publications to write successive, official James Bond novels. In 2016, Horowitz's adult novel Magpie Murders
7395-508: Was published. Having previously spoken about the book in 2005, it was initially described as being about "a whodunit writer who is murdered while he's writing his latest whodunit". Horowitz finally finished it in late 2015, and it was published in October 2016. A follow-up novel, Moonflower Murders , was released in 2020. A third and final novel in the series is expected to be released as well, with Horowitz expressing hope that he'll start writing it sometime in 2023. In 2017, Horowitz began
7482-413: Was released in 2003 and starred Christina Ricci . He wrote the screenplay for Alex Rider's first major motion picture, Stormbreaker . Horowitz began writing for television in the 1980s, contributing to the children's anthology series Dramarama , and also writing five episodes of the third season for the popular fantasy series Robin of Sherwood . He also novelised three of Carpenter's episodes as
7569-628: Was to be the last book in the Alex Rider series prior to writing Russian Roulette about the life of Yassen Gregorovich , but he has returned to the series with Never Say Die (2017), Nightshade (2020) and Nightshade Revenge (2023). In 2003, Horowitz also wrote three novellas 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
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