Annika Bengtzon
nordic noir
Series · thriller
Alex Rider
The Alex Rider series by Anthony Horowitz has 14 known books (14 published). It is best read in publication order, starting with Stormbreaker (2000). Nightshade Revenge is the latest book with a fully recorded publication date.
- Books
- 14 known books (13 novels + 1 collection)
- Published
- 14
- First published
- 2000
- Status
- ongoing
- Shelved under
- Thriller
Start here: Stormbreaker (2000)
— then read straight through in publication order.
Reading order
The date order of published books and any announced future entries — the default way to read the series.
- Book 1:
Stormbreaker
Stormbreaker is the novel that opens Anthony Horowitz's Alex Rider series, published in September 2000. It's followed here by Point Blanc. It's the natural place to begin the series, which has continued since 2000. Alternative text for cover: Cover of Stormbreaker - Book 2:
Point Blanc
Point Blanc is by Anthony Horowitz, the second novel in the Alex Rider series, published in September 2001. In the reading order it follows Stormbreaker and precedes Skeleton Key. Alternative text for cover: Cover of Point Blanc - Book 3:
Skeleton Key
Skeleton Key is the Alex Rider series' third entry, a novel by Anthony Horowitz, published in July 2002, at 327 pages. In the reading order it follows Point Blanc and precedes Eagle Strike. Alternative text for cover: Cover of Skeleton Key - Book 4:
Eagle Strike
Eagle Strike is the fourth book in Alex Rider, by Anthony Horowitz, published in April 2003. It sits between Skeleton Key and Scorpia in the reading order. Alternative text for cover: Cover of Eagle Strike - Book 5:
Scorpia
Scorpia is by Anthony Horowitz, the fifth novel in the Alex Rider series, published in April 2004. In the reading order it follows Eagle Strike and precedes Ark Angel. Alternative text for cover: Cover of Scorpia - Book 6:
Ark Angel
Ark Angel is the Alex Rider series' sixth entry, a novel by Anthony Horowitz, published in April 2005, at 331 pages. In the reading order it follows Scorpia and precedes Snakehead. Alternative text for cover: Cover of Ark Angel - Book 7:
Snakehead
Snakehead is the seventh book in Alex Rider, by Anthony Horowitz, published in October 2007. It sits between Ark Angel and Crocodile Tears in the reading order. Alternative text for cover: Cover of Snakehead - Book 8:
Crocodile Tears
Crocodile Tears is by Anthony Horowitz, the eighth novel in the Alex Rider series, published in November 2008. In the reading order it follows Snakehead and precedes Scorpia Rising. Alternative text for cover: Cover of Crocodile Tears - Book 9:
Scorpia Rising
Scorpia Rising is the Alex Rider series' ninth entry, a novel by Anthony Horowitz, published in March 2009, at 417 pages. In the reading order it follows Crocodile Tears and precedes Russian Roulette. Alternative text for cover: Cover of Scorpia Rising - Book 10:
Russian Roulette
Russian Roulette is the tenth book in Alex Rider, by Anthony Horowitz, published in September 2013. It sits between Scorpia Rising and Never Say Die in the reading order. Although published after nine earlier entries, it's a prequel telling assassin Yassen Gregorovich's backstory and is set chronologically before Stormbreaker. Alternative text for cover: Cover of Russian Roulette - Book 11:
Never Say Die
Never Say Die is by Anthony Horowitz, the eleventh novel in the Alex Rider series, published in October 2017. In the reading order it follows Russian Roulette and precedes Secret Weapon. Alternative text for cover: Cover of Never Say Die - Book 12:
Secret Weapon
Secret Weapon is the Alex Rider series' twelfth entry, a story collection by Anthony Horowitz, published in April 2019, at 336 pages. In the reading order it follows Never Say Die and precedes Nightshade. Alternative text for cover: Cover of Secret Weapon - Book 13:
Nightshade
Nightshade is the thirteenth book in Alex Rider, by Anthony Horowitz, published in April 2020. It sits between Secret Weapon and Nightshade Revenge in the reading order. Alternative text for cover: Cover of Nightshade - Book 14:
Nightshade Revenge
Nightshade Revenge is by Anthony Horowitz, the fourteenth novel in the Alex Rider series, published in January 2024. It follows Nightshade as the most recent entry in the series so far. Alternative text for cover: Cover of Nightshade Revenge
The order the story's events happen in, novellas slotted where they belong.
- Book 1:
Russian Roulette
Russian Roulette is the tenth book in Alex Rider, by Anthony Horowitz, published in September 2013. It sits between Scorpia Rising and Never Say Die in the reading order. Although published after nine earlier entries, it's a prequel telling assassin Yassen Gregorovich's backstory and is set chronologically before Stormbreaker. Alternative text for cover: Cover of Russian Roulette - Book 2:
Stormbreaker
Stormbreaker is the novel that opens Anthony Horowitz's Alex Rider series, published in September 2000. It's followed here by Point Blanc. It's the natural place to begin the series, which has continued since 2000. Alternative text for cover: Cover of Stormbreaker - Book 3:
Point Blanc
Point Blanc is by Anthony Horowitz, the second novel in the Alex Rider series, published in September 2001. In the reading order it follows Stormbreaker and precedes Skeleton Key. Alternative text for cover: Cover of Point Blanc - Book 4:
Skeleton Key
Skeleton Key is the Alex Rider series' third entry, a novel by Anthony Horowitz, published in July 2002, at 327 pages. In the reading order it follows Point Blanc and precedes Eagle Strike. Alternative text for cover: Cover of Skeleton Key - Book 5:
Eagle Strike
Eagle Strike is the fourth book in Alex Rider, by Anthony Horowitz, published in April 2003. It sits between Skeleton Key and Scorpia in the reading order. Alternative text for cover: Cover of Eagle Strike - Book 6:
Scorpia
Scorpia is by Anthony Horowitz, the fifth novel in the Alex Rider series, published in April 2004. In the reading order it follows Eagle Strike and precedes Ark Angel. Alternative text for cover: Cover of Scorpia - Book 7:
Ark Angel
Ark Angel is the Alex Rider series' sixth entry, a novel by Anthony Horowitz, published in April 2005, at 331 pages. In the reading order it follows Scorpia and precedes Snakehead. Alternative text for cover: Cover of Ark Angel - Book 8:
Snakehead
Snakehead is the seventh book in Alex Rider, by Anthony Horowitz, published in October 2007. It sits between Ark Angel and Crocodile Tears in the reading order. Alternative text for cover: Cover of Snakehead - Book 9:
Crocodile Tears
Crocodile Tears is by Anthony Horowitz, the eighth novel in the Alex Rider series, published in November 2008. In the reading order it follows Snakehead and precedes Scorpia Rising. Alternative text for cover: Cover of Crocodile Tears - Book 10:
Scorpia Rising
Scorpia Rising is the Alex Rider series' ninth entry, a novel by Anthony Horowitz, published in March 2009, at 417 pages. In the reading order it follows Crocodile Tears and precedes Russian Roulette. Alternative text for cover: Cover of Scorpia Rising - Book 11:
Never Say Die
Never Say Die is by Anthony Horowitz, the eleventh novel in the Alex Rider series, published in October 2017. In the reading order it follows Russian Roulette and precedes Secret Weapon. Alternative text for cover: Cover of Never Say Die - Book 12:
Secret Weapon
Secret Weapon is the Alex Rider series' twelfth entry, a story collection by Anthony Horowitz, published in April 2019, at 336 pages. In the reading order it follows Never Say Die and precedes Nightshade. Alternative text for cover: Cover of Secret Weapon - Book 13:
Nightshade
Nightshade is the thirteenth book in Alex Rider, by Anthony Horowitz, published in April 2020. It sits between Secret Weapon and Nightshade Revenge in the reading order. Alternative text for cover: Cover of Nightshade - Book 14:
Nightshade Revenge
Nightshade Revenge is by Anthony Horowitz, the fourteenth novel in the Alex Rider series, published in January 2024. It follows Nightshade as the most recent entry in the series so far. Alternative text for cover: Cover of Nightshade Revenge
Key facts about the Alex Rider series
The Alex Rider series has 14 books on our list. Since all 14 are out now, you can read the whole list today. 13 are novels, while the rest is a collection.
Start with Stormbreaker, since it opens the publication order in 2000. Point Blanc is book 2, from 2001. Skeleton Key is book 3, from 2002.
Eagle Strike is book 4, from 2003. Scorpia is book 5, from 2004. Ark Angel is book 6, from 2005.
Snakehead is book 7, from 2007, while Crocodile Tears is book 8, from 2008. Scorpia Rising is book 9, from 2009.
Russian Roulette is book 10, from 2013, while Never Say Die is book 11, from 2017. Secret Weapon is book 12, from 2019. Since the list above shows all 14, you can find the rest there.
However, the story's own timeline begins with Russian Roulette. Use the order switch above to see that timeline.
Nightshade Revenge is the latest book with a full release date, out on 16 January 2024. The catalogue marks it as ongoing, yet no next book has a date so far.
The books came out between 2000 and 2024, while their length runs from 234 to 421 pages. That is a run of 24 years.
Anthony Horowitz has 43 books on our list. Additionally, they write The Diamond Brothers, Groosham Grange and The Power of Five, plus 3 more series. We shelve the books under thriller.
About the Alex Rider series
Fourteen-year-old Alex Rider's uncle Ian raised him alone and, Alex discovers after Ian's sudden death, secretly worked for MI6 -- and the agency wants Alex, trained without his knowledge his entire childhood, to finish his uncle's last mission. From Stormbreaker onward, Alex is repeatedly blackmailed and coerced into deniable teenage espionage: infiltrating a billionaire's private school, a cloning facility, a Caribbean crime syndicate, and increasingly personal confrontations with the organization SCORPIA, all while trying to hold onto something like a normal adolescence in between missions.
Anthony Horowitz writes real Bond-movie-grade spy plots -- gadgets, set-piece action, globe-spanning stakes -- but keeps the emotional core grounded in a kid who never asked for any of this and resents being used as a disposable asset by adults who are supposed to protect him. That tension between thrilling action and Alex's genuine trauma and reluctance gives the series more weight than its pulpy premise might suggest, and it only deepens as the sequence goes on and the human cost piles up.
With 14 books, a prequel, a short-story collection, feature film and multiple TV adaptations, Alex Rider is the reigning YA spy series, popular with readers who've outgrown middle-grade adventure but aren't ready for adult thrillers.
Frequently asked questions
How many Alex Rider books are there?
14 books as of Nightshade Revenge (2024), including the prequel Russian Roulette and the short-story collection Secret Weapon.
What order should I read Alex Rider in?
Publication order, starting with Stormbreaker. Readers who want strict story chronology can read the prequel Russian Roulette first instead of in its 2013 publication slot.
Is Alex Rider finished?
Not definitively -- the most recent novel, Nightshade Revenge, came out in 2024, and Anthony Horowitz has not announced the series is over, but no new title is currently scheduled.
Do I need to read Secret Weapon?
It's a collection of short stories that fill in gaps between the novels -- optional, but best enjoyed after you already know the cast.
Is Alex Rider connected to the Amazon TV series?
Yes, the show adapts the novels loosely, generally one book (or storyline) per season, starting with Stormbreaker.
If you like the Alex Rider series
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