Book Review - Crocodile Tears

Hi, folks, the Writer here! Been a long time, hasn't it? Well, I've been busy. Anyway, welcome to my first blog review. Today's book I shall be reviewing is the latest book in the Alex Rider series by Anthony Horowitz (best author ever) and you may remember me doing a video review about the rest of the series which can be seen here:

http://www.youtube.com/user/WriterfromNowhere

Now onto the review. I just finished reading this book last night and when I put it down, I was speechless. I mean wow. Best... book... EVER! I am not joking; it was so brilliant that I am having a very hard time right now putting it into words. Crocodile Tears is the 8th instalment in the Alex Rider series and Mr Horowitz most definitely gave it his all. I shall explain why in a minute.

The Story: Crocodile Tears has just come out so I won't be revealing much about the story. All I will say is that Alex is taken to completely new heights and levels here, starting at a New Year's Eve party in Scotland, going to a research centre in Wiltshire then finally to a dam in Kenya. Action packed and thrilling, the plot will always keep you entertained. Plus the author raises a very alarming issue to do with GM Crops (genetically modified food like strawberries the size of watermelons and such) which really does raise the question: can I has more food, please? :3

Characters: Alex returns as the main character once again, equipped with a new set of gadgets. No, this time he hasn't been drinking Red Bull. He's got off that addict now. All the others are in it too: Blunt and his moustache, Mrs Jones, Jack Starbright and Sabina, who adopts quite a role in this one. The main baddie is Desmond McCain, a converted reverend who has an annoying habit of quoting Bible verses at the most inappropriate moment.

Pros: I liked almost everything in Crocodile Tears! All of it was simply perfect. The plot was fast-paced, full of action, the research gone into it was outstanding, making every realistic detail plausible and the suspense nearly killed me. I mean, I lost sleep because I was so stuck into reading this late into the night.

Cons: What cons? There were no weak bits in Crocodile Tears at all. It is literally flawless. The amount of effort gone into it was startling. Mr Horowitz certainly did his homework. Everything, from how GM crops are grown, to the tiniest details of a Crocodile's eye had been researched. This is what real authors have to do people!

So, is Crocodile Tears unputdownable? Are you joking? The book was literally magnetised to my hand. That extremely creepy black and red eye on the cover was staring right at me, as if hypnotising me to keep on reading (or else...). I really, absolutely, positively recommend this book to ALL. I don't know how you do it, Mr Horowitz, but your works never fail to impress me. I cannot wait until Book Nine in the Alex Rider series nor till Book Five in The Power of Five series - that review will be up on YouTube soon. ;)

Overall, I give Crocodile Tears a well-deserved grade of:

A*

Check out my YouTube page to find out what these grades mean. I wish I could've given you higher, Mr Horowitz! And here is my question for the day: if you won a million pounds (or dollars if you're from the US) in the lottery, what would you spend it on? If I could, I would use it to bribe the publishers into publishing my book. Mwhuahahaha!>=D

That's all for now, see you in the next blog! =)

~The Writer