• Read an Excerpt

Force Three is a terrorist organization whose mission is to
protect the earth from the evils of pollution. They protest against
climate change, the destruction of rain forests, the use of nuclear
power, genetic engineering, and the growth of multinational
business. Members of Force Three will kill anyone who gets in their
way, and therein lies the irony --- they claim to love the planet
yet they have no respect whatsoever for human life.


One of Force Three's main targets is Nikolai Drevin, a
multibillionaire who has his own island in the Caribbean where
launches of Ark Angel --- the first luxury hotel in outer space ---
take place. This innovative breakthrough is being put together
piece by piece, and rockets must be sent up every now and then with
the next component. Force Three maintains that Drevin's colossal
project is a danger to the environment and is determined to destroy
Ark Angel at any cost.


Little does teen spy Alex Rider know that he will soon become a
major player in this heated conflict. Recovering from a gunshot
wound at an exclusive private hospital, Alex is looking forward to
resuming a normal childhood and going back to school. However,
these plans must be put on hold when members of Force Three attempt
to kidnap Nikolai Drevin's son Paul, who is being treated for
appendicitis in the room next to Alex's. A quick-thinking (and
big-hearted) Alex can't bear to see his new friend harmed in any
way, so he assumes Paul's identity and is soon taken prisoner,
despite putting up one heck of a fight.


Still, Alex manages to escape and avoid having his finger chopped
off by Kaspar, the commanding officer of Force Three. He learns
that the men kidnapped who they thought was Paul as a way of
forcing Drevin to give them a million dollars, which they would
have used in their continuing struggle to protect the planet.


Naturally, Drevin is immensely grateful to Alex for putting his
life on the line in order to save Paul's. As a reward, he invites
Alex to spend two weeks at his lavish estate where he would be
pampered to no end and have the opportunity to see a rocket launch
that will carry the observation module for Ark Angel. Despite the
generosity of this once-in-a-lifetime offer, which he reluctantly
accepts, Alex feels quite uncomfortable in his new surroundings.
There's a great deal of tension between Drevin and his son, and
Alex senses almost immediately that their relationship is anything
but close. Furthermore, Alex is taken aback by Drevin's fierce
competitiveness and how big of a sore loser he proves himself to be
when a go-kart competition between him and Alex yield surprising
results.


Ultimately, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in the United
States reveals to Alex the truth about Force Three, Nikolai Drevin,
and what the wealthy land developer really hopes to accomplish with
the construction of Ark Angel. Once again, it's up to our
14-year-old secret agent to save the day.


Anthony Horowitz's sixth Alex Rider adventure may be the most
action-packed yet in the series. You'll be rooting for Alex to
outwit and outmaneuver the mastermind behind Force Three and the
men who are helping to keep this disgraceful organization alive.
ARK ANGEL also contains a number of shocking twists that will leave
you shaking your head in disbelief and saying to yourself, "How can
this be???" It's important to keep one thing in mind as you're
racing through the pages of this pulse-pounding book: Appearances
can be deceiving.


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