Russian Roulette: The Story of an Assassin (Alex Rider Adventure)

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This book was really different because even though this book is set in the same world it follows a different character a main character who is a villain. This novella is focused on Yassen Gregorovich and it follows his life from when he was younger right up until the time he became the assassin that we know from the main series. I don't like spoilers, so won't get too specific, but I assume the reader is familiar with Yassen from Stormbreaker, Eagle Strike, Scorpia, and Snakehead. In this book, Yassen and John Rider's relationship and their time with Scorpia simply isn't in sync with the other books, especially with Snakehead and the story Alex's godfather Ash tells about Malta. The main character in this novel is Yassen Gregorovich. He is characterized physically as a very active, adventurous and fit type of person, however he can be very caring about others. For example he did not want himself to take an antidote (the only one) to a biochemical weapon and instead wanted his parents to take it. His dialogue portrays him as very independent person.

Yes, Yassen does, as I just said, figure out his mentor, Hunter, John Rider, the father of Alex Rider, was sent to infiltrate Scoria. The betrayal scars Yassen, and actually becomes the final domino in his journey as a killer. So, what do you do with this new perspective on Alex Rider’s nemesis? Go and re-read the series from the beginning, obviously. I've been waitin for this book since like....2008! or something like that, ever since Anthony mentioned it.

The Story of an Assassin

But when he finally escapes being a slave, it's only because an assassin made a mistake. And then Yassen finds himself caught up in that world and still, it seems to be the only thing he can do to survive, right? Obviously, once you're in too deep, you can't just 'leave' an organisation like Scorpia... When Ian Rider died at the hands of the assassin Yassen Gregorovich, Alex, ready or not, was thrust into the world of international espionage--the world's only teenage spy. Alex vowed revenge against Yassen and the two have battled ever since. Yet, years ago, it was none other than Alex's own father who trained and mentored Yassen, turning him into the killer he would eventually become.

When Ian Rider died at the hands of the assassin Yassen Gregorovich, Alex, ready or not, was thrust into the world of international espionage—the world’s only teenage spy. Alex vowed revenge against Yassen and the two have battled ever since.Yet, years ago, it was none other than Alex’s own father who trained and mentored Yassen, turning him into the killer he would eventually become. When Ian Rider died at the hands of the assassin Yassen Gregorovich, Alex, ready or not, was thrust into the world of international espionage—the world’s only teenage spy. Alex vowed revenge against Yassen and the two have battled ever since. Yet, years ago, it was none other than Alex’s own father who trained and mentored Yassen, turning him into the killer he would eventually become. We are told the story of his life and how he became the assassin we first meet in Stormbreaker. Starting from his small town life in Russia, through various places around the world we see how different, yet how similar his life was/is to Alex's. This is yet another triumph for the man who must, surely, be our finest living author of children's books.The style is slightly different from the rest of the series as most of it is written in first person instead of third person, but it's still a really enjoyable read! I'm not going to lie, I didn't realise this was a prequel until I actually started reading it. Usually I intensively study a blurb before I read the actual book, but in this case I didn't bother since either way I was going to read it - it's Alex Rider so, obviously. So yeah, I was pretty surprised when it was suddenly in first person from the perspective of Yassen Gregorovich at age 14 - before Alex was even born. The final book in the #1 bestselling Alex Rider series with over 6 million copies sold in the U.S. alone ! The last thing I would like to say is a thank you to Anthony Horowitz for creating this character. Yassen Gregorovich is not perfect by any means, but he is intricate and complicated and compelling. The character I fell the most sympathy for is also Yassen Gregorovich as his friend, parents and grandmother died when he was young. Also he worked as a slave in Russia, Moscow for around 3 years.