The Rise and Fall of Alex Rider

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  • Опубліковано 20 чер 2024
  • When you think about it, Alex is a Disney Princess.
    Patreon: / jamestullos
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    0:00 - Rise
    19:44 - Peak
    29:31 - The Fall
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КОМЕНТАРІ • 402

  • @JamesTullos
    @JamesTullos  2 роки тому +211

    No I haven't read CHERUB, you can stop asking.

    • @scoobysnax9294
      @scoobysnax9294 2 роки тому +35

      imo cherub has better character arcs and missions. It's a bit more realistic as well, with less gadgets and longer, harsher training. I also like James more than Alex, even though he's more flawed.

    • @sebastianoleary2743
      @sebastianoleary2743 2 роки тому +3

      22:54 SCORPIA has obtained the Deathnote.

    • @EzraTheEpic
      @EzraTheEpic 2 роки тому +20

      @@scoobysnax9294 that’s not an opinion, CHERUB is better written in literally every aspect, but the drugs sex and language made it less marketable.

    • @cryptikkcries
      @cryptikkcries 2 роки тому +23

      as someone who recently read cherub my main takeaways were "wow, everyone in this book should be about 5 years older than they actually are" and "wow, that's a slur"

    • @AndyHoward
      @AndyHoward 2 роки тому +2

      Thanks for turning me on to CHERUB. Pretty cool series so far (read THE RECRUIT -- Book 1 gonna read Book 2: THE DEALER right now). Yeah the agents are like 11-14. Remember that the age of majority is 16

  • @__a_4444
    @__a_4444 2 роки тому +664

    I don't think I noticed this while reading them, but naming Alex's uncle Ian is almost certainly a nod to Ian Fleming, the creator of James Bond.

  • @shahzebhasan9995
    @shahzebhasan9995 2 роки тому +300

    I always found it funny how Alex goes from playing an N64 to a PS3 within the space of less than a year because of the timeline of when the books came out

    • @mechashadow
      @mechashadow 2 роки тому +22

      Imagine how the video game industry would collapse if that was the actual case.

    • @ziyad1809
      @ziyad1809 2 роки тому +5

      I think it was DS to ps3, which makes more sense

    • @chair42
      @chair42 2 роки тому +1

      @@mechashadow Everything would just be pc games. Technology would be so advanced.

    • @TheCrimsonArchivist
      @TheCrimsonArchivist 2 роки тому +3

      actually I only had a N64 until I bought a Xbox 360 when COD: Advanced warfare came out

    • @FormerlyEpicjcat
      @FormerlyEpicjcat 3 місяці тому

      I think theres pokemon Go in one of the latest books despite him being 15 16 if we go from the first books it wouldnt exist

  • @newsystembad
    @newsystembad 2 роки тому +421

    "I can excuse hating the English, but leave the Scots and Irish alone."
    And just like that James became the greatest voice of our generation.

    • @larsnyman2455
      @larsnyman2455 2 роки тому +7

      I can get behind that

    • @marocat4749
      @marocat4749 2 роки тому +11

      And wales?

    • @thrownswordpommel7393
      @thrownswordpommel7393 2 роки тому +15

      @@marocat4749 Trick question, nobody cares about Wales

    • @marocat4749
      @marocat4749 2 роки тому +3

      @@thrownswordpommel7393 I wrote tah before james mat that joke .

    • @sambull2621
      @sambull2621 2 роки тому +2

      What’s going to happen when Americans learn Scots consider themselves Bri’ish?

  • @vaughnh.150
    @vaughnh.150 2 роки тому +243

    I was assigned Stormbreaker in high school. I always thought it was weird how the villain just hates kids because he was bullied. That's just, his entire motivation.

    • @ano_nym
      @ano_nym 2 роки тому +33

      Sounds like school shooter logic to me.

    • @fullmetaltheorist
      @fullmetaltheorist 2 роки тому +7

      @@ano_nym Instead of being a shooter the bullied kid became an author.

    • @ziyad1809
      @ziyad1809 2 роки тому +7

      That wasn't his motivation iirc. It was to kill a load of children to ruin the image of the PM, who he hates. The children were collateral dsmage

    • @Attaxalotl
      @Attaxalotl 2 роки тому +6

      IIRC, it was about getting back at the PM, with an entire country's worth of kids as collateral damage.

  • @TheCowgirlBookworm
    @TheCowgirlBookworm 2 роки тому +395

    “Because drugs are bad…”
    Say it, say it, say it
    “Mmkay?”

  • @Avarn388
    @Avarn388 2 роки тому +193

    Alex RIder; now that's a name I haven't heard in a very long time. I didn't know there was a series. I'll have to check it out. But yeah; these books were James Bond for kids but that's what I liked about them.

  • @timfrank7461
    @timfrank7461 2 роки тому +159

    I liked this series compared to the cherubs series cuz Alex rider didn't glorify spy work he got hurt and injured and had major ptsd and was sometimes left fpr dead and used
    Heck in one book he is assassinated

    • @morokei9394
      @morokei9394 2 роки тому +23

      I think that both series have different aims tbh. Alex Rider is more about the spy plots and action focused stories where as Cherub is more character focused. The missions are usually a lot smaller stakes wise and it's less interested in spectacle compared to watching James and co grow as people over the course of the series.

  • @MagicalGirlFia
    @MagicalGirlFia 2 роки тому +337

    I genuinely think the author just HATES British schoolchildren.

    • @teslashark
      @teslashark 2 роки тому +6

      He is partly responsible for the anti-Polish bigotry in England

    • @katarzynaewa7619
      @katarzynaewa7619 2 роки тому +50

      @@teslashark wait what

    • @Saadramzan315
      @Saadramzan315 2 роки тому +7

      @@teslashark what?

    • @teslashark
      @teslashark 2 роки тому +1

      @Rhia Aurora Old accusation from Somethingawful or somewhere, I can't remember

    • @teslashark
      @teslashark 2 роки тому

      @Rhia Aurora Old accusation from Somethingawful or somewhere, I can't remember

  • @synthiandrakon
    @synthiandrakon 2 роки тому +39

    The smitherd reveal almost redeemed the last book for me tbh. It's the right combination of completely silly and kind of clever. I mean in a weird way it's not a bad plan, wear a fat suit all the time so people think that's what you look like, no one would ever think to look for you after you've taken it off

  • @kcesca
    @kcesca 2 роки тому +127

    Russian Roulette ruined Alex Rider for me because Yassen was just all-round a superior protagonist. After that, I couldn't go back to the normal series, Alex was just so whiney. I still have Russian Roulette on my bookshelf, but got rid of the rest of the series years ago.

    • @watson483
      @watson483 2 роки тому +9

      Man since so many comments are talking about it I think I need to read it.

    • @thaddeus3931
      @thaddeus3931 2 роки тому +26

      I felt like the series got more "mature" as it progressed, as James mentioned Scorpia Rising is arguably the darkest of the lot
      Then Russian Roulette went even further with some of the things Yassen has to go through at a young age - after that, going back to Stormbreaker wasn't the same

    • @ziyad1809
      @ziyad1809 2 роки тому +21

      @@thaddeus3931 man the scene at the end (SPOILERS) where he loads 5 bullets in a revolver and shoots himself, survives, and then shoots the man who made his youth hell?? Fucking insane

    • @jasonshaneyfelt1039
      @jasonshaneyfelt1039 2 роки тому +8

      @@ziyad1809 That might be the single greatest scene in the entire franchise.

    • @fatherted776
      @fatherted776 2 роки тому +12

      I've read the series YEARS ago, and I still remember how awesome Yassen was. His book was the best in the series imo. Mind you I was in middle school when I read this so I might be rose-tinted goggled.

  • @larsnyman2455
    @larsnyman2455 2 роки тому +70

    So
    Alex Rider is just a child soldier, in a book marketed to children
    Ugh this is Animorphs all over again

    • @aperson4287
      @aperson4287 2 роки тому +5

      I mean they basically add a few lines in the first books that say *Child soldier bad* but still didn't age so well.

    • @mindlessmusings1221
      @mindlessmusings1221 2 роки тому +1

      Animorphs but less aliens and more government gaslighting

    • @ElliottR0se
      @ElliottR0se Рік тому +1

      ​@@aperson4287 idk about you but growing up this series always felt like "child soldier bad" the entire plot is Alex being forced to work for MI6. I stopped reading I think around Crocodile Tears as a kid, and that one ends with Alex finally standing his ground and telling MI6 to shove it because Jack died, and they just kinda ditch him. It's always been about a reluctant protagonist suffering as a result of an oppressive abusive system. I will say that I havent read anything new and I think it's being milked at this point tho

    • @michaelmwaura4685
      @michaelmwaura4685 4 місяці тому +1

      @@ElliottR0seUmmm Jack died in Scorpia Rising

  • @nomorok15
    @nomorok15 2 роки тому +188

    I find it fascinating how many series are just adult storys that got remade in a more kids friendly way and thrown onto the market I still remember reading the first of a book series from my local library that was basicly the last Samurai but for Kids
    Edit: a quick Google search suggests it was Samurai by Chris Bradford

    • @brandonontama2415
      @brandonontama2415 2 роки тому +13

      Young Samurai, fun series.

    • @RandomGuy-qo9jf
      @RandomGuy-qo9jf 2 роки тому +2

      Yo I remember reading that. It was a lot of fun. I always wished I read the rest of it

    • @nomorok15
      @nomorok15 2 роки тому

      @@RandomGuy-qo9jf same here but I fear that's one of those series you grow out of one day

    • @RFEM520
      @RFEM520 2 роки тому

      More like Shogun for kids in all honesty.

    • @nomorok15
      @nomorok15 2 роки тому +1

      @@RFEM520 don't know Shogun but I watched the last samurai back than for the first time and I clearly remember the first book hitting many of the same points as the movie did.
      I can't remember what happened later in the series tho

  • @marl3ymarl3y86
    @marl3ymarl3y86 2 роки тому +80

    Doctor: how would you rate your pain on a scale of 1-10?
    Razeem: you’ll live to regret this.

    • @gunnargunnarsson5963
      @gunnargunnarsson5963 2 роки тому +4

      i swear,his death is the most gruesome out of all the villains,guy literally got salted to death

    • @Attaxalotl
      @Attaxalotl 2 роки тому +4

      I honestly forgot Razim even existed
      He's got what might be the single most brutal death in the entire series, including that guy who got melted by radioactive steam.

    • @gunnargunnarsson5963
      @gunnargunnarsson5963 2 роки тому +2

      Attaxalotl who?

    • @Attaxalotl
      @Attaxalotl 2 роки тому +1

      @@gunnargunnarsson5963 The POV character for the start of Croc Tears. The charity fraud guy hired him to plant a bomb on a nuclear reactor to cause steam to escape and thus engineer a disaster he could respond to while also embezzling millions. Thing is the bomb was set to explode as soon as it turned on, causing the steam leak while the hired guy was still right next to it.

    • @gunnargunnarsson5963
      @gunnargunnarsson5963 2 роки тому +2

      @@Attaxalotl oh yeah, that poor guy

  • @rowclaw2734
    @rowclaw2734 2 роки тому +138

    This was a series I read for fun and loved it. Look back at it with nostalgia even if it wasn’t the best written.

    • @V2ULTRAKill
      @V2ULTRAKill 2 роки тому +1

      It did what it wanted to, the problem is books that try to be well written but arent
      Not books that know theyre poorly written and ride the wave

  • @limbobilbo8743
    @limbobilbo8743 2 роки тому +151

    “The rangers apprentice”
    Holy shit james should talk about that series, my cousin used to fucking love that series

    • @dudelamak
      @dudelamak 2 роки тому +2

      Timestamp for that. I missed it.

    • @prcervi
      @prcervi 2 роки тому +6

      i used to love that series, until i couldn't find out what the next book was going to be and autism brain found new interest

    • @watson483
      @watson483 2 роки тому +9

      I’ve been reading the books since the first run of the first book. I still have it. Written by an Aussie too.
      I was travelling outside of Canberra and found out Araluen (crap can’t remember how to spell it atm) is a real place and that’s where he got the name.

    • @TheAussieNinja84
      @TheAussieNinja84 2 роки тому +3

      He's been teasing that for ages iirc. It'll happen one day

    • @jackrabbit5212
      @jackrabbit5212 2 роки тому +2

      @@dudelamak you didn't miss anything, he just listed it as an example of series that introduce a new villain at the last minute

  • @T-Jex
    @T-Jex 2 роки тому +142

    "Complete with dyeing their skin to appear darker".
    The 2000s were wild

    • @ano_nym
      @ano_nym 2 роки тому +13

      More like the 2000's were normal, these days are insane.

    • @MerkhVision
      @MerkhVision 2 роки тому +26

      Which would’ve been totally unnecessary since the majority of Afghans aren’t much darker than a lot of Europeans!

    • @ano_nym
      @ano_nym 2 роки тому +9

      @@MerkhVision Alex Rider is English though, they are a lot darker than that.

    • @fullmetaltheorist
      @fullmetaltheorist 2 роки тому +2

      @@ano_nym Still kinda racist though.

    • @ano_nym
      @ano_nym 2 роки тому +1

      @@fullmetaltheorist No, not at all. How would they otherwise disguise as Afghans?

  • @telepathicfish1489
    @telepathicfish1489 2 роки тому +28

    The last one I read was Russian Roulette. I remember it being pretty good. It also has a very satisfying ending.

    • @CQchaos7474
      @CQchaos7474 2 роки тому

      The ending is the same ending as stormbreaker

  • @finn-if8oq
    @finn-if8oq 9 місяців тому +6

    The new books, scorpia rising, never say die, are some of the darkest and best in the series in my opinion

  • @utubecop11
    @utubecop11 2 роки тому +60

    There are a few moments in this series that I will still remember, for whatever reason even as I grow old. I remember one moment where Alex pretends to be impaled with a spear and fake dies to fool some guards, and I remember another scene in skeleton key where his companions are implied to have been horribly speared to death by an underwater death trap.
    I don't know why those two moments in particular stand out in such detail to me, and why I still remember them all this time later.

    • @thaddeus3931
      @thaddeus3931 2 роки тому +8

      The ones that stood out to me were the darker scenes :
      when Alex gets shot and hallucinates his parents,
      his interactions with Ash later on, leading up to Ash's confession and death,
      him having to kill Julius in the end

    • @n00dle69
      @n00dle69 2 роки тому +6

      the one where he fucking is DRUGGED AND PULLED THROUGH AN AIRPORT AS A SPECIAL NEEDS KID??

    • @frisater96
      @frisater96 2 роки тому +4

      I just remember the scene where he’s weightless in space and beats the bad guy by throwing his shoe in the opposite direction so he can float to the thing he needs. I always though that was pretty cool

    • @Attaxalotl
      @Attaxalotl 2 роки тому +3

      Skeleton Key was my favorite

    • @Attaxalotl
      @Attaxalotl 2 роки тому +1

      @@n00dle69 Oh yeah! Crocodile Tears, right?
      The one where the charity fraud guy has Alex push the big red "evil plan finishes here" button for no reason, then blow up a dam after abandoning an Indian Intelligence officer?

  • @limbobilbo8743
    @limbobilbo8743 2 роки тому +56

    “To hit the west coat of Australia”
    Good, no one will miss western Australia

    • @Weezerand...
      @Weezerand... 2 роки тому +6

      I dont think most people know wa exists

    • @TheRealLeewon
      @TheRealLeewon 2 роки тому +3

      East coast makes more sense 😆

    • @zenzenulous2243
      @zenzenulous2243 2 роки тому +9

      @@Weezerand... that's actually mentioned, the villain goes 'bro who's gonna miss western australia, it's just caught in the crossfire'

    • @SorowFame
      @SorowFame 2 роки тому +8

      I don’t think even people living in Western Australia will miss Western Australia.

  • @justanotherotakuanimeweeb6189
    @justanotherotakuanimeweeb6189 2 роки тому +18

    There’s actually a reason why the author gave Mrs Jones that first name. In the books, she herself hates the name tulip, her parents were gardeners so they named her after a flower.

  • @jakerockznoodles
    @jakerockznoodles 2 роки тому +18

    I finished reading at Scorpia, as I was growing out of the books around then, and I actually thought that made for a good satisfying conclusion. Him being gunned down by a stray agent of the organisation he thwarted felt somehow thematically appropriate. I didn't need any more.
    Sure it would have been a dark note to end on, but the series wasn't a "love conquers all" story like Harry Potter. Alex was doing thankless tasks for an organisation happy to exploit him - - and then ignore him when he asks for help - - doing a job that had already claimed other close family members.

  • @SuperCrazy902
    @SuperCrazy902 2 роки тому +10

    Fun fact, Herod Sayle is meant to reference King Herod of the bible, wanting to massacre a bunch of children and such.

    • @ChristieBrewster
      @ChristieBrewster 2 роки тому +1

      That makes me wonder why someone would be called Herod. Then again, there's a surprising amount of people called Delilah, considering her role in The Bible.

  • @hippyhair899
    @hippyhair899 2 роки тому +58

    Has anyone else read Yassen's prequel book? I really enjoyed it and wonder what James would think.

    • @ziyad1809
      @ziyad1809 2 роки тому +4

      Yes, it's amazing

    • @petermaguire4825
      @petermaguire4825 2 роки тому +5

      read it years ago and still think about it sometimes. Liked it way more than the originaĺ series

    • @PwG_
      @PwG_ Рік тому +1

      I'd say it's the best out of the lot

  • @User-dz2jv
    @User-dz2jv 2 роки тому +22

    I was fucking obsessed with this book series in middle school, but I have no idea what book I stopped reading at. I only remember reading the first book and that’s it.

  • @rowclaw2734
    @rowclaw2734 2 роки тому +71

    Can you do ranger’s apprentice? It’s a fantastic series and I haven’t seen many people, if any, talk about it. 👀

    • @mizanulhaque8476
      @mizanulhaque8476 2 роки тому +7

      I read all the way up to the fifth book. As a teen I loved the mongol vs Viking battle they had

    • @fireyros3349
      @fireyros3349 2 роки тому

      @@mizanulhaque8476 the sequel series is good too it’s from the perspective of some Vikings

    • @mizanulhaque8476
      @mizanulhaque8476 2 роки тому +1

      @@fireyros3349 Erik Starseeker right? Now that I look back at his character the Vikings or sea wolves weren’t good people lol.

    • @shazam2826
      @shazam2826 2 роки тому +4

      @@fireyros3349 ehhhh they dont hold up well for me at least if you read them past the age of like 14

  • @mahrinui18
    @mahrinui18 2 роки тому +102

    My guess on the Lebanon/Egypt thing is that Lebanon has a large Christian population and the American publishing industry wanted to cash in on that sweet sweet Islamophobia for profit.

    • @ewptyewpewp
      @ewptyewpewp 2 роки тому +3

      Back in the post-9/11 years of the 2000s. Society has improved so much since then

    • @aperson4287
      @aperson4287 2 роки тому +3

      Fuckin hell that's wild

    • @joonapukarinen1153
      @joonapukarinen1153 2 роки тому

      @@SuperDamiano1997 I feel like henry was making a joke

  • @eagleeye5189
    @eagleeye5189 2 роки тому +26

    Man, I read the hell out of these books as a kid but I'm just now realizing that I don't remember *any* characters' names except for Alex.

    • @Attaxalotl
      @Attaxalotl 2 роки тому +1

      I remember Alex, Yassin Gregorovitch, Jack, and of course, the only actually pretty good YA villain I've read, General Alexei Sarov

  • @kirbydude385
    @kirbydude385 2 роки тому +93

    I'd be curious to hear your thoughts on Anthony Horowitz's Gatekeepers/Power of Five series.

    • @FraenkischeRep
      @FraenkischeRep 2 роки тому +4

      Absolutely

    • @benl2140
      @benl2140 2 роки тому +9

      Oh shit, I'd forgotten that that was written by the same guy. Yeah, I remeber that series being pretty dark for kids books.

    • @ziyad1809
      @ziyad1809 2 роки тому +4

      Anthony Horowitz also has a detective series called the Diamond Brothers or something. They were very good. Don't know if they'd hold up tho, haven't read them in ages

    • @rickiespinoza6913
      @rickiespinoza6913 2 роки тому +1

      I had completely forgotten about these

    • @endernightblade1958
      @endernightblade1958 2 роки тому +4

      power of five and diamond brothers were my absolute Jam

  • @doctornocturne539
    @doctornocturne539 2 роки тому +12

    As a Scottish person, I thank you for your mercy, my friend.

  • @winterflan
    @winterflan 2 роки тому +218

    "The only thing missing is the gratuitous amount of sex" - and on top of that, the misogyny. Ian Fleming was *not okay,* man. The way he thought about women and depicted them in his books is insane, and kind of horrific at times.

    • @benalker3061
      @benalker3061 2 роки тому +75

      Don’t forget the racism. You can never forget the racism

    • @thaddeus3931
      @thaddeus3931 2 роки тому +18

      Not to mention the alcohol and cigarettes

    • @sunriseparrabellum5505
      @sunriseparrabellum5505 2 роки тому +39

      @@thaddeus3931 alcohol and cigarettes are cool and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise

    • @edvinsebastian1290
      @edvinsebastian1290 2 роки тому +23

      @@sunriseparrabellum5505 they're no good for you, but they're cool as hell.

    • @sunriseparrabellum5505
      @sunriseparrabellum5505 2 роки тому +12

      @@edvinsebastian1290 as most cool things are unfortunately

  • @chowyee5049
    @chowyee5049 2 роки тому +33

    Alex Rider, Artemis Fowl, Percy Jackson. All my childhood book franchises have basically deteriorated. I'm sad now.

    • @testaccount4191
      @testaccount4191 2 роки тому +5

      mortal engines?

    • @chowyee5049
      @chowyee5049 2 роки тому +1

      @@testaccount4191 sorry, never read it. I don't think it's been rebooted though.

    • @AetherKirin
      @AetherKirin 2 роки тому +6

      Percy Jackson deteriorated? Wat?
      Last I checked, Magnus Chase & Heroes of Olympus was pretty good.

    • @chowyee5049
      @chowyee5049 2 роки тому

      @@AetherKirin Trials of Apollo was just meh. Didn't really like Magnus Chase either.

    • @testaccount4191
      @testaccount4191 2 роки тому

      @@chowyee5049 well they pulled a Artemis fowl with its movie.

  • @Meiliina
    @Meiliina 2 роки тому +12

    This is so weird, I knew Alex Rider was a thing but never read them, and didn't know Anthony Horowitz wrote them. The name looked familiar, and what the heck, he wrote Midsummer Murders and Foyle's War (plus other British crime dramas)! He really gets around doing stuff...

    • @nemene
      @nemene 2 роки тому +2

      Holy crap, I never made that connection! I guess I always thought it was an Eren Hunter(s) Warrior Cats situation.

  • @stevesamuals2651
    @stevesamuals2651 2 роки тому +8

    The ending of this series still has me emotionally satisfied

  • @greg_mca
    @greg_mca 2 роки тому +29

    I thought these were good books at first but by the time I'd read about 5 of them and realised how repetitive they were structurally I just couldn't pay attention to them anymore. And since the CHERUB series and its spinoffs exist I'd never recommend Alex Rider over them, and just tell people to read CHERUB instead. I was exactly the target audience and Alex Rider still couldn't keep me invested

    • @danelisslow3269
      @danelisslow3269 2 роки тому +5

      Cherub is what alex rider wishes it could be

    • @eliL123
      @eliL123 2 роки тому +3

      Cherub was so much better in every way

    • @darkpixel1128
      @darkpixel1128 2 роки тому +1

      god, cherub was so good, even the reboot with a new main character.

    • @greg_mca
      @greg_mca 2 роки тому +1

      @@darkpixel1128 I just wish it could have gone on for longer, but it seems the new sequel format didn't have much steam

    • @danelisslow3269
      @danelisslow3269 2 роки тому

      @@greg_mca apparently a tv show is in the works

  • @mranon_101
    @mranon_101 2 роки тому +3

    One thing that I found interesting about the books was how Horowitz wrote criticisms of government into the stories. They definitely weren’t very complex, but for children’s books they did encourage me to think about more complex moral & political issues

  • @TheRealLeewon
    @TheRealLeewon 2 роки тому +2

    Yes!!! I’ve been wanting someone to talk about one of my favourite series

  • @realmsofreading
    @realmsofreading 2 роки тому +6

    I was obsessed with this series as a kid, and actually got me and a friend suspended from school for acting it out during recess. 🤣 First book I ever read was Scorpia. I have the newest book but I haven’t touched it yet. 💀

  • @hollow11111
    @hollow11111 5 місяців тому

    awesome video. thx for the trip down memory lane

  • @vainpiers
    @vainpiers 2 роки тому +56

    I find it interesting how action gets a pass for having weak characters but YA romance that is meant to be shallow self inserty doesn't.

    • @katatat2030
      @katatat2030 2 роки тому +10

      Imo it's the sexism

    • @justcuz2105
      @justcuz2105 2 роки тому +42

      Romance requires well rounded characters to be good
      Action just needs to be cool

    • @vedantthapar3666
      @vedantthapar3666 2 роки тому +50

      Nah, this is really not a fair comparison. Action thrives on its own merits. A well-thrown punch or gunshot is good regardless of who’s throwing it or shooting. But in romance, the entire point is character. You need to like the people who are self-inserts and they need to be at least slightly well-rounded. In a self-insert spy thriller you just need to be able to pretend like you’re the one shooting. In a romance you need to believe that the people you’re reading about are good enough to be projected onto. In the same way that action doesn’t need deep characters, romance doesn’t (necessarily) need great plots. A romance can thrive on the merits of its characters alone, but those characters need to be good. In the same vein, action can thrive on its plot alone, but that plot needs to be good.

  • @mentallyderangeddoggirl
    @mentallyderangeddoggirl 2 роки тому +2

    My favorite youtuber right now. Love your videos!

  • @MarcusLeese
    @MarcusLeese 2 роки тому +13

    I was waiting for Alex Rider to get covered on this channel, it was a pretty big chunk of my childhood and I remember being very excited for the release of the final book (at the time). I remember most of them being pretty good, although that could have been my 13 year old brain finding everything enjoyable.

  • @Madrid1234apa
    @Madrid1234apa 2 роки тому +12

    MI6 would get involved because the target is a foreigner. There would be minor involvement of Mi5

    • @thaddeus3931
      @thaddeus3931 2 роки тому

      How does the MI5/MI6 distinction work these days ? I'd imagine most security concerns would involve both citizens and foreign ties no?

    • @Madrid1234apa
      @Madrid1234apa 2 роки тому +3

      @@thaddeus3931 MI5 Is equivalent to the FBI and MI6 is equivalent to the CIA.

  • @avixarashi
    @avixarashi Рік тому

    I’m going to finish this video eventually but I loved it because it got me the summaries that I wanted for each of the books so I could continue where I left off. Thank youuuu

  • @haloguy579
    @haloguy579 2 роки тому

    This was an absolute nostalgia trip. Haven’t read these books since I was a kid but I absolutely loved them. Great video!

  • @xthesaxophoneastronaut644
    @xthesaxophoneastronaut644 2 роки тому +18

    ...When you haven't read the book series, yet can't resist watching a book series review :')

  • @TheAwkwardSacOfDucks
    @TheAwkwardSacOfDucks 2 роки тому +13

    Never read these, I was a die hard warrior cats kid lol.

  • @taptiotrevizo9415
    @taptiotrevizo9415 2 роки тому +14

    I got confused with your "maximum ride" vid due to the "ride" bit

  • @StickWithTrigger
    @StickWithTrigger 2 роки тому +23

    "Complete with dyeing their skin to appear darker" they did what now

  • @firemaker1258
    @firemaker1258 2 роки тому +7

    The most recent four books (Russian Roulette, Never Say Die, Secret Weapon and Nightshade) are pretty good, although Secret Weapon is a collection of short stories and Never Say Die basically makes Scorpia Rising pointless. Nightshade is pretty good, though. It feels like the author had a far more original idea (the book features MI6 being shut down, leaving Alex on his own). Russian Roulette is about Yassen.

  • @kinnelyuwu5771
    @kinnelyuwu5771 2 роки тому +17

    "And asks him to finish his uncle's work" what kind of backwards ass logic is that?

  • @icarussarts
    @icarussarts 2 роки тому +17

    James Bond for children meets Harry Potter meets nostalgia. That's it.
    -------
    *CHANGE MY MIND*

  • @TH3F4LC0Nx
    @TH3F4LC0Nx 2 роки тому +12

    I remember reading these books in middle school. Ridiculous yes, but they were hella entertaining.

  • @christopherscott1336
    @christopherscott1336 2 роки тому +2

    Oh yeah, this is the review I was looking for

  • @Scend
    @Scend 2 роки тому +10

    I really like your videos but I think they would greatly benefit from some visuals, maybe animations, text etc to engage us more when watching. Right now it feels like this could be a podcast, so some more visual elements would be cool. Just a suggestion, I still really like your content and the points you bring up in these types of videos.

  • @NearlyH3adlessNick
    @NearlyH3adlessNick Рік тому +2

    "Alex detonates the bomb early so it doesn't do any damage, it does kill you, though."
    Hmm... I didn't know I was in this book til I was dead...
    Sorry, terrible dad joke haha 😅

  • @Sels222
    @Sels222 2 роки тому +4

    Never clicked so fast on a video!!! You made my day! 😆

  • @STOTTINMAD
    @STOTTINMAD 2 роки тому +5

    I loved this series and Groosham Grange. Horowitz got me into writing.

  • @brandonontama2415
    @brandonontama2415 2 роки тому +5

    I used to love these books as an kid, but it's fun to look back at the series flaws.

  • @harrystyles705
    @harrystyles705 2 роки тому +1

    I feel like an important thing to mention is that at the end of Snakehead, Yu dies because the shockwaves literally shatter all his bones. No joke.

  • @terakyuu4671
    @terakyuu4671 2 роки тому +15

    Great video so far, such a blast to the past. Would love to know if you read any of the Cherub series and your opinions on them. They were some of my favourite books as a kid

  • @adamr9420
    @adamr9420 2 роки тому +7

    My main memory of this series is thinking that "SCorpIA" is one of the worst acronyms I'd ever heard

  • @epicmarschmallow5049
    @epicmarschmallow5049 2 роки тому +5

    Never really got into Alex Rider, but I do remember reading and enjoying Horowitz's other series, the Power of Five. It was a while ago so I have no clue whether it stands up, but I have good memories of it
    Also did a double take when you said AR books are still being released. Wow

  • @Tbm998
    @Tbm998 2 роки тому +5

    Oi! Don’t lump us welsh people in with the English!

  • @mabliwatson3866
    @mabliwatson3866 2 роки тому +5

    What did the Welsh do to hurt you :')

  • @damaskusseraph6046
    @damaskusseraph6046 2 роки тому +2

    oh dam i didn’t even remember i read these books till i saw the youtube video thumbnail.

  • @cggoaly
    @cggoaly 2 роки тому +7

    If you like british teenage spies might I suggest looking at CHERUB, it's like Alex Rider except scaled way the fuck up. I always enjoyed it a little more as the characters felt somewhat more interesting and far more believable.

    • @thaddeus3931
      @thaddeus3931 2 роки тому

      Funnily, I'd say it's scaled way up in some ways but way down in others, the villains are far less James Bond-esque if I remember correctly, more grounded in reality

  • @nicholasleclerc1583
    @nicholasleclerc1583 2 роки тому

    One of the rare books and series I’ve read completely and that I can use in comment sections of videos discussing them like all the other ones I see

  • @sheilwood
    @sheilwood 2 роки тому +12

    11:40 I'm surprised you even remembered the Welsh

  • @CrystalDragen
    @CrystalDragen 2 роки тому +6

    Skeleton key was my absolute favorite, it was more psychological more hard hitting. Alex for once has adults with him, and they want to do the bulk of danger parts, eventually they warm up to him, And then they die. The bad guy General Alexei Sarov takes in(captues) Alex inteding on adopting him , as this is his own twisted way of getting back his dead son. The Moment that Absolutely shook me, was when he had the scanner that could detect hearbeats on it. Sarov puts it near Alexs head after his escape attempt, and Alex is Scared he knows that theres a really high chance Sarov will kill him, and Alex hears his heartbeat echoing from the scanner. And then Sarov removes the scanner, and the silence leads Alex to his knees.And the end? Jfc did thAT hit hard. Like they made the villain personal, personal to Alex. Eagle Strike was my second fav because of Yassen and Scorpia my 3rd fav because it goes into Alex history, also his friend Tom was cool. Like don't bring back the stupid clone, bring back Yassen!! Keep the action and over the top villains, but bring in that human element.

    • @Attaxalotl
      @Attaxalotl 2 роки тому +1

      Sarov is most definitely my favorite YA villain, which would be kind of like being the tallest dwarf, if Sarov wasn't written amazingly well.

  • @Guilherme-dz3fs
    @Guilherme-dz3fs 2 роки тому +11

    I howled at "I can excuse hating the english"

  • @oonmm
    @oonmm 2 роки тому +2

    I remember reading Skeleton Key as a child, I never read that much otherwise. Got totally stuck, then read the first two books followed by book #4, #5 and maybe #6. James Bond was, aside from all the films with Arnold Schwarzenegger in it, my favorite movies as a child. Then the movie came out and I was so hyped. The movie wasn't any great though, and I hated the color palette of that movie (mostly yellow and grey). I believe I stopped reading shortly after the movie came out (it had nothing to do with the movie though). Wish you had talked more about Skeleton Key in this video, since I don't remember what happened in it.
    Great video by the way! Thank you!

    • @Attaxalotl
      @Attaxalotl 2 роки тому

      Skeleton Key was the BEST book in the series.

  • @AvengerAtIlipa
    @AvengerAtIlipa 2 роки тому +2

    Thanks for reviewing my childhood. And yes, I'm still completely pissed about what happened in Crocodile Tears.
    Edit: Woopse, it happened in "Scorpia Rising". I guess I was just so pissed I completely blocked that entire book out of my mind.

  • @nizam5568
    @nizam5568 2 роки тому +3

    You missed Russian Roulette, which was a spinoff about Yassen

  • @NearlyH3adlessNick
    @NearlyH3adlessNick Рік тому +2

    Hearing that an evil villain wants to send a tsunami to the west coast of Australia, as an Australian on the east coast, is bloody hilarious to me!
    There's nothing there to destroy?!? Haha I mean there is _technically..._ but, if u wanted a coast to hit that would cripple the country, they picked the wrong one!!

    • @BananaSundae82
      @BananaSundae82 Рік тому +1

      I’m not Australian but I still thought the east coast would be better because Sydney is there lol

  • @imaginareality
    @imaginareality 2 роки тому

    Just watched (and enjoyed) the TV show and then remembered that I had this video in my bookmarks, so here I am :D

  • @valviform
    @valviform 6 місяців тому +2

    "Always edge your audience to satisfaction multiple times"
    James what the fuck are you saying

  • @johnnymillar9056
    @johnnymillar9056 Рік тому +3

    I remember reading the one where Alex gets shot when I was like 9 and it was the first time I remember being genuinely distraught at a character death. Mostly because I thought the book series was over and that isn't how book series are supposed to end! But then the next one came and then I read other stuff

  • @irishempire9811
    @irishempire9811 2 роки тому +3

    11:39 James has earned my respect

  • @mingxungoh5630
    @mingxungoh5630 2 роки тому +2

    This was a great video on my fav book series, would love to see your toughts on russian roulette tho, since it was my fav book of the series

  • @bubbadean0920
    @bubbadean0920 2 роки тому +2

    I still love the books if though it is very formulaic still very interesting to read

  • @maxgolub558
    @maxgolub558 2 роки тому +6

    Also review Rangers appreciate that would be epic I think

  • @Xander_P.G.K
    @Xander_P.G.K 2 роки тому +4

    Hey, James. I had a recommendation for a children's books series to cover. It's called "Conspiracy 365" and is written by Gabrielle Lord. I really enjoyed it after re-reading the series this year, and thought you might enjoy it. It has a decent plot, well rounded characters, and some actually good suspense and emotion.

  • @emilsinclair4190
    @emilsinclair4190 2 роки тому +27

    Alex rider was at its peak in scorpion and than it was just always the same boring stuff. This became obvious to me when Alex was caught in snakehead. Unlike you I realy disliked snakehead. The beginning of snakehead was okayish but it dropped directly after that.Than the series ended but the author wanted to make money again and wrote another book that changed something very important in a stupid way.

  • @thechroniclegamer4285
    @thechroniclegamer4285 2 роки тому +1

    These are literally the books that introduced me to YAF novels

  • @moonbug5640
    @moonbug5640 Рік тому +1

    Rereading this as an adult is insane. Like the series is for ten year olds and so dark! Remember when voldemort threatened to harvest Harry's organs alive and sell them!! Or when Harry killed like thirty people? NO!! Because that would be so weird.

  • @rosedonnapur
    @rosedonnapur 8 місяців тому

    thanks so so mush for this vido as the next book is finly out i desided to look on youtube for a recap of all books found your vido. naw the hard chose reed next alix book or percy jacksoin book..... PS I LOVE YOUR VIDO IT MADE ME LATH SO MUSH AND I AGRD WITH YOUR APINONS...

  • @sunnytokas3339
    @sunnytokas3339 2 роки тому +6

    Do you plan to do a video on skulduggery pleasant?

    • @aperson4287
      @aperson4287 2 роки тому

      Man Skullduggery was the shit for the first few books. Then he just milked it for all it was worth. Shame since it was just Harry Potter but way darker.

  • @JustDuckiest
    @JustDuckiest 5 місяців тому

    I was obsessed with these books in grade 7 lol. Now I feel like id have trouble taking them seriously but they do have a charm to them.

  • @Circurose
    @Circurose 2 роки тому +2

    Never finished the books. Will try to now.

  • @hybrignargeotor6785
    @hybrignargeotor6785 2 роки тому +3

    It would be cool if there was a trilogy of books focusing on a larger arc

  • @dana_____
    @dana_____ 2 роки тому +8

    Have you read the Gallagher Girls series? I loved it way more than Alex Rider, because AR was so predictable that it was hard to read the books back to back without a long break in between books. GG though has a weird scene in book 1 though so it’s a good thing I started with book 3. Also GG grew with its audience so that was nice.

    • @dabisbadbegim4680
      @dabisbadbegim4680 2 роки тому

      What was the weird scene?

    • @dana_____
      @dana_____ 2 роки тому +2

      @@dabisbadbegim4680 The girls stalked Cammie's boyfriend because they thought he might have been planted there as part of the covert-operations class (but that seemed like a flimsy reason because the class session ended that day so why would they think that? She could have just not dated him, seemed like that would have been less risky).

  • @footpath21
    @footpath21 2 роки тому +1

    As someone who still lurks in the AR fandom (and was active up until a little while ago) I'm very interested to see what this video has in store! I only read the books very recently compared to most (two years ago, iirc) because my teacher recommended them to me. The books are trash, the fanfic is golden, the fandom (from what I've seen) is at least a little deranged, and I wouldn't have it any other way.
    Edit: After watching, I pretty much agree with mostly everything you said. I think the books got a _little_ darker at some points than you mentioned, like how Sarov shoots himself in front of Alex in Skeleton Key and how, when Alex shoots Julius in the head, it's described as him loosing a part of himself as well because of how similar they look + the whole Jack ordeal. Although those moments don't have too much of an impact on the series, which. weird. but it's a spy thriller for kids and Horowitz probably wasn't allowed to write his main character with horrific PTSD from all of the child-soldiering. (That's what the fanfic's for! /hj)
    (Then again, he spent the entire third book of the PO5 series torturing one of the main cast and he's _definitely_ not a-okay in the next book, so that's...strange. Maybe PO5 was darker from the get-go and that's why he did it? I mean, Matt was nearly sacrificed by a cult in the first book, and Pedro lost his entire family because of a flash flood, so the series definitely wasn't set up to be a fun light action series like Alex Rider was.)
    And while characters other than Alex aren't all that important, I still think Jack was likeable enough for me to be saddened by her death, even if it's just because Alex cares about her. And Yassen and Russian Roulette are a whole other can of worms that is...admittedly very fun to play around with in fanfic but cause a whole truckload of problems in the actual series (as much as I love RR and Yassen, it...definitely didn't do the series that many favors. I mean, if Yassen knew John was a double-agent, why in the world did he send Alex to Scorpia? Maybe it was in the haze of dying, but Yassen seemed rather clear-headed despite the, uh, everything.)
    (And that "I loved your father, Alex, and in a way I love you too" line - paraphrasing here but I think that's how it went - definitely puts some VERY gay vibes onto Yassen if we look at him and John but puts into question a *lot* of his interactions with Alex if the love Yassen is talking about is the same for both of them, which is VERY EW but y'know. Though the "in a way" part seems to say that no it's definitely not the same, which is much better. But this is a completely different topic, my bad.)
    Though I definitely agree the entire series went downhill after Snakehead (minus Ark Angel that one was terrible) and I think that's the general consensus of the fandom? And learning at least a tiny bit more about Ben in Snakehead was fun. (And then Horowitz went and confused Fox and Wolf's code names in NSD but anything after SR we don't talk about 💀.) I'd say if I had to choose a favorite in the series I'd probably say Point Blanc or Snakehead, to be honest.
    I still loved the series (and, in a way, still love it in the present) when I read it though, mostly because the whole "a single kid against the entire world" feeling was...definitely relatable at the time (would be lying if I said it wasn't now.) Honestly, even despite all of it's frankly very very obvious flaws, it's still such a fun thing to go back to every once in a while. And if I want serious Alex Rider content, I can just go and read Devil and the Deep Blue Sea or Madness and Mammals again. (Speaking of, I really need to catch up to that last one.)
    Wish we could've gotten more about Tom in the books. Or any fo the other kids, really. Great video though, I loved it!

  • @spookyghostwriter3110
    @spookyghostwriter3110 2 роки тому +11

    I honestly thought Alex Rider was over after Russian Roulette. This video makes me very sad.

  • @dami5154
    @dami5154 2 роки тому

    i used to listen to the books in my dads car as an audiobook and this video made me so nostalgic😭😭 also could u cover the sisters of the sword book i was obsessed w it and i want to see if it’s still as good as i remember

  • @hamos4744
    @hamos4744 2 роки тому +4

    This series was the shit when I was 13.

  • @Terestrasz
    @Terestrasz 2 роки тому +1

    I think the problem with these series is more the industry. The author wants to end it, but the publisher wants them to keep going because it's popular. So the author has to keep contriving situations for them to get in or create a new villain, and they've already basically hit the limits of the world.
    even if they left some things vague and open to exploration, how're you going to match the stakes? Like we go from having to stop something in space to talking about a pipe being sabotaged in Azerbaijan

  • @Rammkommando
    @Rammkommando 2 роки тому +1

    i only ever read eagle strike, i was expecting a book about f 15 pilots considering my copy had a F15 on the cover. wasnt bad still disappointed i think my dog ate it one day

  • @aconcernedcommissar6261
    @aconcernedcommissar6261 2 роки тому +5

    I actually started re reading these recently, and I still liked them with some small bad writing issues. As for dip in quality I think there was kind of one especially in the last 2 as I'm discounting Crocodile tears
    Snakehead even now I found boring despite the villain being one of my favourites and Scopia rising was saved by Razim