SERIES HUB · SPOILER-LIGHT
Alex Rider books in order
The complete reading-room route through the main missions, shorter stories, companions and graphic adaptations.
Recommended starting point
Begin with Stormbreaker for the main missions; use the graphic Stormbreaker only if you prefer to enter through sequential art.
Publication order vs chronology
Read the numbered main missions in publication order. Graphic novels retell those missions in their own sequence.
Prequels, origins & interstitials
Russian Roulette is Yassen Gregorovich's origin story; Secret Weapon and Undercover collect shorter or interstitial Alex material.
Series status
Thirteen numbered main-sequence books are shown here in publication order.
Themes & recurring ideas
Choice under coercion, courage, loyalty, adult exploitation of children, and the cost of surviving as a spy.
Locations & organisations
MI6, the Department of Special Operations, Smithers' gadgets, Scorpia, Nightshade and missions that move rapidly across the world.
Stormbreaker
2000 · NovelFourteen-year-old Alex discovers his guardian was an MI6 agent and is forced into his first mission: investigate billionaire Herod Sayle.
Point Blanc
2001 · NovelAlex infiltrates an Alpine finishing school for rebellious rich boys, where the pupils are returning home strangely transformed.
Skeleton Key
2002 · NovelA holiday cover lands Alex beside two CIA agents and a Russian general with a nuclear plan.
Eagle Strike
2003 · NovelAlex investigates pop megastar Damian Cray without MI6 backing, making this one of his most personal missions.
Scorpia
2004 · NovelIn Venice, Alex searches for the truth about his father and falls into the hands of the terrorist organisation Scorpia.
Ark Angel
2005 · NovelA kidnapping draws Alex into the orbit of a billionaire and his luxury space hotel, Ark Angel.
Snakehead
2007 · NovelWorking with Australian intelligence, Alex infiltrates a ruthless people-smuggling organisation in South-East Asia.
Crocodile Tears
2009 · NovelA charity billionaire's benevolent image hides a scheme built around engineered disaster and global fear.
Scorpia Rising
2011 · NovelScorpia lays a final trap in Cairo, forcing Alex into a mission that closes the first great arc of the series.
Russian Roulette
2013 · NovelYassen Gregorovich's origin story: how a village boy became the assassin whose choices shadow Alex's life.
Never Say Die
2017 · NovelA cryptic message sends Alex across Europe in search of someone he thought he had lost forever.
Nightshade
2020 · NovelAlex confronts Nightshade, a network that has turned gifted children into perfectly obedient weapons.
Nightshade Revenge
2023 · NovelThe Nightshade story continues from San Francisco to a looming global catastrophe, testing Alex and his uneasy allies.
Alex Rider: The Gadgets
2005 · CompanionAn illustrated guide to Alex Rider's high-tech equipment, with blueprints and behind-the-scenes detail rather than a new main-sequence mission.
Alex Rider: Mission Files
2008 · CompanionA classified-style companion of files, maps and mission material that includes the short story Christmas at Gunpoint.
Stormbreaker: The Graphic Novel
2006 · Graphic adaptationAntony Johnston adapts Alex's first mission into a full-colour graphic narrative illustrated by Kanako Damerum and Yuzuru Takasaki.
Point Blanc: The Graphic Novel
2007 · Graphic adaptationThe second Alex Rider novel becomes a graphic adaptation of the Alpine academy mission, scripted by Antony Johnston.
Skeleton Key: The Graphic Novel
2009 · Graphic adaptationAlex's Cuban mission and uneasy partnership with the CIA are retold in sequential art.
Eagle Strike: The Graphic Novel
2012 · Graphic adaptationDamian Cray's celebrity, games empire and lethal plan drive the fourth illustrated adaptation.
Scorpia: The Graphic Novel
2016 · Graphic adaptationAlex's search for the truth about his father is adapted against a vividly rendered Venice.
Ark Angel: The Graphic Novel
2020 · Graphic adaptationThe sixth graphic adaptation takes Alex from a hospital kidnapping to a billionaire's orbiting hotel.
Snakehead: The Graphic Novel
2024 · Graphic adaptationAntony Johnston adapts the seventh mission, with art by Amrit Birdi and colours by Samir Pirzada.
Secret Weapon
2019 · Story collectionA collection of Alex Rider short missions, including previously uncollected adventures from across his spy career.
Undercover
2020 · CompanionA World Book Day dossier combining classified communications, blueprints and files with two short Alex Rider stories.
Publication timeline
Spoiler-free FAQ
Where should I start?
Begin with Stormbreaker for the main missions; use the graphic Stormbreaker only if you prefer to enter through sequential art.
Do I need to read in order?
Read the numbered main missions in publication order. Graphic novels retell those missions in their own sequence.
Is the series complete?
Thirteen numbered main-sequence books are shown here in publication order.
Continuity FAQ — reveal spoiler-marked guidance
What belongs to the main sequence?
Russian Roulette is Yassen Gregorovich's origin story; Secret Weapon and Undercover collect shorter or interstitial Alex material.
Does story chronology differ from publication order?
Read the numbered main missions in publication order. Graphic novels retell those missions in their own sequence.
Warning: follow the individual book pages' ending controls before reading solution-level discussion.
Sources
Order, format and publication year use the source links on each permanent book page.