Skeleton Key

An Alex Rider Adventure

By: Anthony Horowitz

Narrated by: Simon Prebble

Alex Rider of Point Blank is back in another hair raising adventure. Although the 14-year-old has escaped great dangers and has twice saved the world, he now faces his most perilous foe. A Russian man with a huge grudge against the free world has a nuclear weapon and is threatening to use it. It’s up to Alex to stop him.

©2003 Anthony Horowitz (P)2003 Recorded Books

Narration needs a modern update

I've been rediscovering this series after not reading it since high school when they were new. The stories hold up but the narrator... he leaves a lot to be desired. He carries most adult characters well, but it's hard to feel like Alex himself is actually a teen sometimes. His foreign accents are atrocious: In "Skeleton Key", for example, I easily forgot what nationality the main villain was supposed to be because the accent was just all over the place. Like he thought Russia was somehow also in South America? Be prepared for some cringeworthy attempts at a Chinese accent as well. Then in "Eagle Strike", he used a French accent but the character says "Paris" and pronounces the hard "-is" at the end. Another problem with the narration is that the recording microphone works a little too well, and picks up every minute noise that comes from his mouth (swallowing, lip-licking, and other wet mouth sounds). I could hold hope for an updated series of audiobooks with a more modern narrator, preferably younger or younger-sounding. But the narration does not detract from the stories themselves, which have been as good as I remembered them. Perhaps my earbuds are the ones that work too well.

My review

I loved the narrator. He made the story more interesting. The book is a really good. I highly recommend it for people who like action. And thriller.

I love the suspension it brought at times

I enjoyed that alex was able to see Sabina at the end of the story

Great book

I absolutely love this series by Anthony Horowitz, and the narration is amazing!! I highly recommend them all.

BEST BOOK IN THE WORLD

You need to get this book its the greatest book of all time must getb

Love Alex Rider

I loved this book! Suspenseful and entertaining!
Can’t wait to read the next one!!!! Good book for teens and young adults.

One of the better Alex Rider Novels. Chills!!! ❤

The first book that I read in the Alex Rider series. The Story and The ending are sublime. love it!!!

Great thriller for Middle School

Some dated language; vague xenophobia and mocking of the disabled. I’m. Sure the author would treat these subjects differently today (12/2023).

Fun and Interesting Alex Rider Novel

I love and enjoyed reading and listening to the Alex Rider Novel Series by reading the books and listening to the audiobooks at the same time. Filled with and Full of Great Story, Action, Adventure, Suspense, Fun, and Excietment. Reading the action-adventure novel series Alex Rider makes me felt like I was watching and enioying an action-adventure films like Fast and Furious, xXx, 007 James Bond, Mission: Impossible, Kingsman, True Lies, and much more fun action-adventure films

Great Book with lots of plot twists

good book and the narrator was excellent, one of my favorite books in the series