Russian Roulette by Anthony Horowitz

       The final adventure in the epic Alex Rider spy series has finally arrived! However, Alex isn't the main star in THIS new adventure. In the science fiction book Russian Roulette, the main protagonist is Yassen Gregorovich, an assassin introduced during the series who we don't really know much about. Until now, that is! Once you're done reading the main Alex Rider series, pick this book up to learn about Yassen's origins in Russia, a few years after the end of the Soviet Union. Yassen lives in a small, poor village with his parents who work in a factory. After his parents accidentally release a deadly contagion, they give Yassen instructions to go to Moscow and find a friend of theirs before the entire village is wiped out to contain the deadly contagion. This terrible attack leaves Yassen as the sole survivor of his village. From here on out, Yassen goes on a thrilling journey that winds up with him training to become a deadly assassin for Scorpia, a deadly organization which plays a major part in the Alex Rider series as a whole. A powerful reminder of how we still must make our own choices in life, Russian Roulette serves as an exciting prequel to the Alex Rider series;however, since this book winds in with major plot points throughout the series, you should read the rest of the Alex Rider series first, beginning with Stormbreaker and ending with Scorpia Rising.
      Being a big fan of the Alex Rider series, I thought this served as a fantastic origin story for Yassen Gregorovich, who is probably one of my favorite characters from the series. He was a very well developed character throughout the story, and I certainly started to connect with him on things such as traveling to new places, dealing with loss, and deciding what he wants to do in life. I also liked how this book winded in many major plot points from the rest of the Alex Rider series, such as Alex's father, Scorpia, and, of course, MI6. Like the other books in the series, I also like how this book uses real worlds settings;from Russia to Venice to London to Paris and even the Amazon Rainforest! This book has everything that made the Alex Rider series successful, from the wacky gadgets to the incredible characters to the detailed plot! If you've read the Alex Rider series, or if you're a huge fan of Yassen Gregorovich, this book will definitely close out the Alex Rider series for you with a bang!
Lucas H, Spicer 1/2