Editorial Review
What goes up must come down, and when we last saw Alex Rider, he was as up as can be—in outer space. When he crash lands off the coast of Australia, the Australian Secret Service recruits him to infiltrate one of the ruthless gangs operating across South East Asia. Known as snakeheads, the gangs smuggle drugs, weapons, and worst of all, people. Alex accepts the assignment, in part for the chance to work with his godfather and learn more about his parents. What he uncovers, however, is a secret that will make this his darkest and most dangerous mission yet . . . and that his old nemesis, Scorpia, is anything but out of his life.
From the slums of Bangkok to the Australian Outback to the middle of the Timor Sea, Snakehead is Alex Rider’s most action-packed adventure yet.
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Customer Reviews
Simply Amazing! 
2008-04-25
I have not read Snakehead in its entirety for several months, but I loved it the first time around and loved it even more the second time around!
Awesome action and suspense, yet Horowitz develops Alex's character in this seventh adventure. Alex is beginning to find his own feet-not that he can't stand on his own-but he is beginning to become closer to fifteen than before. Great job. Scorpia is a hard one to pass up, but I think Snakehead is its equal. A few of the...suspenseful parts Horowitz purposefully passes up the obvious solution, as always. Many surprises, some of the old friends, of course, and fantastic new ones.
As to the accusation that this book is unrealistic...we are talking about Alex Rider, the fourteen year-old spy on his seventh mission in a year. This is fiction! Horowitz is excellent at making the unbelievable believable. And-SPOILER???-I love how he explains why the villains love monologues.
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Over all, I found my high expectations met. Very soon, I shall read Snakehead for the third time...
I am looking forward to it.
For pure escapism, this is all too true-to-life! 2008-04-24
My title says it all. I wasn't sure that I wanted my next reading (after STORMBREAKER: THE GRAPHIC NOVEL and the corresponding movie) to be this book. It wouldn't surprise me if this is the grittiest and most true-to-life of the Alex Rider series of novels. (Drawn in, I read it through in two nights.)
Author Anthony Horowitz certainly does his homework. There is absolutely no reason to think that every basic element of what happens in SNAKEHEAD doesn't or couldn't happen in real life, somewhere. In fact, a good many things one reads about here I knew about already. I'm not sure that the event around which the plot revolves could be done in reality, but then I don't comprehend the scope of the adapted real-life weapon invoked as a trigger.
Make no mistake: some of the things Alex faces are absolutely horrific, and yet there are people out there who really do these things to other people. The reader needs to be PREPARED for this. No wonder Alex uses every curse word he knows on one of the perpetrators (even if we're only told of one of those words). Good on Alex that he "bites back" more than once, and most effectively.
A fast, exciting read 
2008-03-15
I bought Snakehead with high expectations, as all the rating it got on amazon was 5 stars. However, I soon realized that Snakehead was a regular, Alex Rider saves-the-day adventure, similar to the other books in the series like Stormbreaker and Point Blank. The whole plot was predictable and expected, and the characters the average evil and good. Alex did come through as usual, and the mysteries about his parents solved. I had hoped for a little more detail on Alex's foggy past to finally finish the long series with a bang, but I guess suspense writers like Anthony Horowitz like to keep writing books about the same main character.
All in all, Snakehead was an average suspense book that I'm sure I won't read again in a long while. As most action books go, they're only really good the first time you read it... So, I recommend borrowing this book from the library or from a friend.
"Snakehead" book review 2008-03-12
Do you like adventure and spy books? Do you want to read a book that will always make you want to read more? Then this is the book for you. Snakehead is just one of the many great books in the Alex rider series, written by Anthony Horowitz.
In Alex Riders' most recent adventure the Australian Secret Intelligence Service partnered him with Ash, his godfather. His mission is to penetrate the evil organization called Snakehead. Snakehead is involved with the illegal immigration of people into different countries. Along the way Alex runs into a group of old friends who call themselves "MI6." They ask him to investigate something called "royal blue." What Alex doesn't realize at the time is that these two missions will intertwine. During his missions Alex finds himself captured and taken to a private island. Here he is scheduled to have his organs surgically removed to be sold to rich people that have a need for them. You will have to read this book to find out if Alex makes it out for one more adventure.
If you have to read a book or you want a really good book to read, then I highly recommend Snakehead. However, I would suggest you begin with the first book in the series Stormbreaker. There are seven books in the Alex Rider series and I have read all of them. If you read the first book then you will want to read the rest of the series. As you read, you will follow Alex on his wild adventures. You will be kept on the edge of your seat to the very end. I am very much looking forward to Anthony Hrorwitz's next Alex Rider novel.
Snakehead-Amazing Alex Rider Adventure 2008-03-04
Could you believe that a fourteen-year-old boy could be a spy? Alex Rider is the fourteen-year-old spy in Snakehead, Anthony Horowitz's latest Alex Rider adventure.
The Australian secret service wants to recruit Alex. They want to get some agents into the snakeheads, which are ruthless gangs in Southeast Asia. Alex would normally decline, but he found out that he would work with a man named Ash. Ash is Alex's godfather and he could tell Alex so much about his parents. The mission takes them from Bangkok to the Australian Outback.
Alex has been hurt before, but never like this. His body is more strained, he needs to think quickly, and stop a tsunami that will kill thousands. Alex can only hope to solve his own problems before saving others. After reading this book, I can tell the author wanted to show how dangerous spy work is. The snakeheads don't show mercy to anyone, not even a teenager. The book was entertaining. Tons of action was packed into 385 pages. Anthony Horowitz is a fantastic author. I would recommend this book to anybody who enjoys reading about someone against unbelievable odds. I could not put this book down.
A Good Read 2008-06-28
I am an avid fan of all of the Alex Rider adventures, and I must say that this book did not disappoint.
In this adventure, Alex joins forces with the Austrailian secret service. . . and a surprise character that knew his father. Simply serving the ASIS to work with this mysterious man, Alex learns much about his parents, specifically his father.
Snakehead takes you on a fascinating journey that I thoroughly enjoyed. I was curious to see how this measured up to the other Alex Rider adventures, and once I picked up the book, I was simply unable to put it down. Definetely a worthwhile read!
Action-Packed till the end 2008-06-24
This seventh book in series ( i think). I was expecting more adventure as was seen in the rest of the Alex Rider Adventure and i wasnt dissapointed. Still with fresh ideas that jsut keep you turning the pages until you finish it. Good book thats all. I read that there might be an eight book
Action Packed as Always 2008-06-10
Alex Rider is back on another mission even though he swore he was finished with the spy business. Right after literally dropping out of the sky, he is picked up and sent to the Australian Secret Service, who wants to enlist his help. At first he refuses, but when he finds out he could be working with his godfather, he realizes he wants to find more out about his dead parents.
The mission is to infiltrate a dangerous snakehead, or gang, in Indonesia to find out how they smuggle people into Australia. They are disguised as Afghan refugees. Things go wrong almost from the start. Because what Alex doesn't know is that the head of the organization, Major Yu, also a member of Scorpia, already knows that the young Afghan refugee named Abdul is actually Alex. And Yu's just biding his time until he can end Alex's life.
Through the mission, Alex meets unexpected allies, more enemies, and discovers a horrible secret about his godfather Ash. I thought that Snakehead was the most exciting out of all the Alex Rider books yet. It was jam packed with action throughout the entire novel. Alex is constantly using his ingenuity to get out of sticky situations, and there are so many unexpected turns that make the story even more suspenseful and thrilling to read. My only complaint is that sometimes the story crosses over the line between credible and incredible, but other than that, this series is amazing.
I highly recommend this book to all action and adventure story fans. It might seem like more of a guy book on the surface, but girls will get into this series too. If you have read and like this book, then I also recommend the Gallagher Girl series by Ally Carter.
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Amazing Book 2008-06-01
Scorpia is a great addition to the Alex Rider series. It will answer many questions that the previous books bring up.
The best Alex Rider book yet! 2008-05-13
This was the best book in the series. If you have read the other books in the series, do not hesitate to pick this up. It answers a lot of questions you may have about his family. This book has suspence and danger. A great read.
