Ark Angel
Encyclopedia
Ark Angel is the sixth book in the Alex Rider series
written by British
author Anthony Horowitz
. The book was released in the United Kingdom
on April 1, 2005 and in the United States
on April 20, 2006.
is in a hospital recovering from an assassination attempt. Four masked men come to the hospital attempting to kidnap Paul Drevin, the son of Russian billionaire Nikolei Drevin, who is financing a revolutionary space hotel named "Ark Angel". Alex fights the men, in an attempt to save Paul, he pretends to be Paul. He knocks all four of them out, but then a fifth man comes in to the hospital and overpowers Alex. Still weak, Alex faints and is kidnapped.
Alex is taken to a flat in a building site, where he finds out the men belong to Force Three, an eco-terrorist group led by a man named Kaspar. Despite proving he is not Paul Drevin, Force Three lock Alex up and set fire to the apartment, but Alex escapes and Nikolei Drevin invites him to come and stay for two weeks in the lap of luxury for saving his son and see an Ark Angel rocket take off. While at Drevin's home, Alex starts to befriend Paul, but decides to leave him and his father once they arrive in New York en route to Flamingo Bay, mainly due to the fact that Nikolei Drevin nearly killed him in a go-kart
race.
On route to Flamingo Bay, Alex is taken with Paul and Nikolei Drevin to New York
. At the airport, he is held up at customs and taken to the CIA. He is told that Nikolei Drevin could be "the biggest criminal in the world", and the CIA recruits him to gain information on Drevin. Upon his arrival at Flamingo Bay, Drevin learns of Alex's CIA connections and decides to have him killed while scuba diving. Alex becomes trapped in a sunken ship named the Mary Belle. With the help of Tamara Knight, an undercover CIA agent and who is Drevin's secretary, Alex escapes.
Alex and Tamara hide on the island, but are both captured. Drevin then tells Alex that his rocket Gabriel 7 contains a bomb that will destroy Ark Angel, causing it to fall to Earth and destroy Washington, D.C. This will eradicate the evidence against him the CIA have accumulated in the Pentagon
. Alex escapes using a CIA gadget from Tamara, and sails away from the island. Drevin tries to get away in a seaplane
, but Alex causes Drevin to crash by tying two canoes to the plane, and Drevin is killed.
Drevin's rocket takes off before the CIA can stop it. Alex is then chosen to board a second rocket to move the bomb before it explodes, since he is the only one small enough to fit inside. When Alex arrives, he sees Kaspar and must fight him. Alex gains the upper hand when Kaspar is blinded by the sun's light, and then Kaspar is killed when he falls back on his own knife. Alex moves the bomb into the station's toilet and escapes. His escape capsule splashes down in the sea near Australia
. The bomb explodes and the satellite falls harmlessly into the sea.
gave Ark Angel a positive review, stating "It's perfectly pitched at its readership. Ark Angel reads the way a children's thriller should read" and "This is a welcome new addition [to the series]." However, Joe Queenan of The New York Times
gave the book a more negative review. Comparing it to Charlie Higson
's Blood Fever
, the reviewer criticised Ark Angel for having "zero intellectual content", calling Horowitz's prose style "clunky, uninspiring". He also described Alex as "oddly bland" and "humorless".
Alex Rider
Alex Rider is a series of spy novels by British author Anthony Horowitz about a 14-15 year old 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...
written by British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
author Anthony Horowitz
Anthony Horowitz
Anthony Craig Horowitz 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...
. The book was released in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
on April 1, 2005 and in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
on April 20, 2006.
Plot summary
Following events of Scorpia, Alex RiderAlex Rider (character)
Alex Rider is a fictional character, and the protagonist and title character of the popular Alex Rider novel series by British author Anthony Horowitz...
is in a hospital recovering from an assassination attempt. Four masked men come to the hospital attempting to kidnap Paul Drevin, the son of Russian billionaire Nikolei Drevin, who is financing a revolutionary space hotel named "Ark Angel". Alex fights the men, in an attempt to save Paul, he pretends to be Paul. He knocks all four of them out, but then a fifth man comes in to the hospital and overpowers Alex. Still weak, Alex faints and is kidnapped.
Alex is taken to a flat in a building site, where he finds out the men belong to Force Three, an eco-terrorist group led by a man named Kaspar. Despite proving he is not Paul Drevin, Force Three lock Alex up and set fire to the apartment, but Alex escapes and Nikolei Drevin invites him to come and stay for two weeks in the lap of luxury for saving his son and see an Ark Angel rocket take off. While at Drevin's home, Alex starts to befriend Paul, but decides to leave him and his father once they arrive in New York en route to Flamingo Bay, mainly due to the fact that Nikolei Drevin nearly killed him in a go-kart
Go-kart
thumb|A [[Kart racing|racing kart]] at the [[Commission Internationale de Karting|CIK-FIA]] European Championship 2008A go-kart is a small four-wheeled vehicle...
race.
On route to Flamingo Bay, Alex is taken with Paul and Nikolei Drevin to New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. At the airport, he is held up at customs and taken to the CIA. He is told that Nikolei Drevin could be "the biggest criminal in the world", and the CIA recruits him to gain information on Drevin. Upon his arrival at Flamingo Bay, Drevin learns of Alex's CIA connections and decides to have him killed while scuba diving. Alex becomes trapped in a sunken ship named the Mary Belle. With the help of Tamara Knight, an undercover CIA agent and who is Drevin's secretary, Alex escapes.
Alex and Tamara hide on the island, but are both captured. Drevin then tells Alex that his rocket Gabriel 7 contains a bomb that will destroy Ark Angel, causing it to fall to Earth and destroy Washington, D.C. This will eradicate the evidence against him the CIA have accumulated in the Pentagon
The Pentagon
The Pentagon is the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, located in Arlington County, Virginia. As a symbol of the U.S. military, "the Pentagon" is often used metonymically to refer to the Department of Defense rather than the building itself.Designed by the American architect...
. Alex escapes using a CIA gadget from Tamara, and sails away from the island. Drevin tries to get away in a seaplane
Seaplane
A seaplane is a fixed-wing aircraft capable of taking off and landing on water. Seaplanes that can also take off and land on airfields are a subclass called amphibian aircraft...
, but Alex causes Drevin to crash by tying two canoes to the plane, and Drevin is killed.
Drevin's rocket takes off before the CIA can stop it. Alex is then chosen to board a second rocket to move the bomb before it explodes, since he is the only one small enough to fit inside. When Alex arrives, he sees Kaspar and must fight him. Alex gains the upper hand when Kaspar is blinded by the sun's light, and then Kaspar is killed when he falls back on his own knife. Alex moves the bomb into the station's toilet and escapes. His escape capsule splashes down in the sea near Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. The bomb explodes and the satellite falls harmlessly into the sea.
Reception
Philip Ardagh at The GuardianThe Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
gave Ark Angel a positive review, stating "It's perfectly pitched at its readership. Ark Angel reads the way a children's thriller should read" and "This is a welcome new addition [to the series]." However, Joe Queenan of The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
gave the book a more negative review. Comparing it to Charlie Higson
Charlie Higson
Charles Murray Higson , more commonly known as Charlie Higson - also Switch - is an English actor, comedian, author and former singer...
's Blood Fever
Blood Fever
Blood Fever is the second novel in the Young Bond series depicting Ian Fleming's superspy James Bond as a teenager in the 1930s. The novel, written by Charlie Higson, was released in the UK on January 5, 2006 by Puffin Books and in the U.S. by Miramax Books/Hyperion on June 1, 2006.Unlike the...
, the reviewer criticised Ark Angel for having "zero intellectual content", calling Horowitz's prose style "clunky, uninspiring". He also described Alex as "oddly bland" and "humorless".