Russian Roulette: The Story of an Assassin

langston_p - I thought this book was really good and I was very amazed how Anthony Horowitz still managed to make it good even though it was in a completely different perspective. I also thought that it was cool how Yassen was the hero and once actually had emotion. What happens is that his hometown, Estrov gets destroyed. He escapes to Moscow where he begins a life of crime with some new friends but quickly came to an end when he got kidnapped by a man named Vladimir Sharkovsky. He managed to escape and found Scorpia and Julia Rothman and gets trained in Malagasto. I thought that Anthony developed Yassen super well and we got to learn a lot about him. It makes me like Yassen more than before because I use to dislike him. It made me appreciate him and it also made me realize why he became such an emotionless killer. I felt that he is a good man inside or at least he was once a good man. But this was an action packed awesome novel that I loved and finished very quickly.

Starred review from January 6, 2014
Horowitz’s final novel in the popular Alex Rider series relates the story of Rider’s sworn enemy, Yassen Gregorovich. It was Yassen who killed Alex’s uncle Ian Rider and launched the 14-year-old’s career as a super spy—and this installment examines Yassen’s life and the choices he made along the way to becoming a contract killer. Narrator Prebble offers an absolutely gripping performance in this audio edition. His delivery is hard not to love: wise, commanding, and endlessly entertaining. Additionally, Prebble’s pacing is flawless; the narrator understands how to increase tension through slight shifts in tone and never fails to do so at the right moment. The result is an unforgettable conclusion to an entertaining story that fans will love. Ages 12-up. A Philomel hardcover.