Wow, just finished this story, it is a MASTERPIECE! I loed every moment of it and the levels of genius it took to execute are astonishing. Every character was so well thought out and I loved the depth of emotion they all displayed, that is truly talented writing. The end, wow, the ending was amazing. At least one Rider had to die (well Beckett in this case) and I think that Helen, despite her love for Alex, was a wicked soul, despite her (begrudgingly lovable) flaws, she did love Alex but that was sort of her only redeemable quality. Her death was so essential, Chiara's as well, and it really helped towards the realism of the plot and for Alex's character. (At this point I'm 100% rambling, i'm still in shock). Yassen and Alex's relationship was PERFECT, every single one of their interactions was so brilliant, Yassen's quiet love for Alex and (old) John and Alex's reluctant respect and trust for Yassen, that final scene on the rooftop *chefs kiss*. I really hope that you understand how much I appreciate this story, it 100% deserves a favourite, I genuinely thank you for spending the time to write this for us. Big shout out to Techie, who I have come to understand was a huuuge part in getting this story out, so thank you so much Techie too, much love from me. Thank you again and have a lovely day :) (Reconsider that sequel tho eh...?)

Although the grammar and language weren't perfect or as high up as I am used to, the complex plotline and characterisation made up for it.

Why is everyone crazy?

Okay, I know I'm late to the party and I don't know if you'll read this review, but I'll write it anyway. I only found out about this fic in the reviews for a recent one, and the people there were singing your praises, so I just had to check it out.

So I feel like this fanfic is a worthy continuation of Alex Rider. You have captured the feeling of the series incredibly, put a darker twist on it, but it's still the same. Alex is amazingly in-character, not many manage to achieve that. He is indeed shining, but I do think that the major gem of this fic are the secondary characters. You manage to make us care about OCs that we've only known for the space of two days. When you killed Gabriel, Leroi's brother, let me tell you, it was very very sneaky. Because he was one of the characters that we didn't know much about, just that he was young, bright, and innocent. Also, Chiara! I didn't expect her to die, I must say, but her death was so sad. Hell, her life was sad! She was a very interesting character, unlike any we've come across in canon. She was clever, but also insecure and played herself down a lot. She was also a little crazy. At some point, I expected someone, her or Ciro perhaps, to quote "we are all mad here", haha! As for Ciro, a very interesting villain, I must say he reminded me of Cray a bit, but he was more wicked,because he saw it all as a game. I expected Helen to die, but I really did love how her and Alex's relationship developed, even in such a short space. I believe the mother-son connection is very strong and Alex cut her more slack than he did John, I think. And of course she really did love Alex, whereas John used him. I really liked the character of Yassen in the end, but when Ciro lied to Alex about Yassen supporting him, I teared up for the betrayal! I mean, I felt betrayed! Thank God it turned out to be a lie! It is a common understanding among the AR fans that Yassen is essentially a... hmm, I don't know about good, but certainly not an evil character. If you'd gone against that, I don't know what I would have done, hahaha! Now, I also really liked the plot, at some point you said you didn't have one for some chapters, but it didn't show. Only sometimes I think it developed a bit slow, like when Ciro was guiding Alex and Chiara towards him, but it also helped to build up the suspense. I must admit, it was one of the rare times I felt honest anticipation to find the solution to the mystery (the jeans thing). Well done!

There's probably a lot more I'll think of to say, but I think I'll leave it here for now. Well done!

This was a wonderful, engrossing story. All the characters were delightfully unique and plausible - it hurt to say goodbye to the OCs. Watching Alex and Yassen interacting was probably the highlight for me, especially with how much they assumed about the other, and how much they got right (or wrong). I hope Yassen gets his retirement, and Alex gets some reprieve from death. ...even if he's stuck being part of that world. Somehow I dont think they've seen the last of the other.

I really liked it. It's always nice to read a well fleshed out plot and engaging characters. Especially this last chapter was great - it wrapped up everything nicely without giving an unrealistic 'happy ever after' note. And extra credits for somehow making Yassen and Alex driving a rollercoster in Disney Land somehow both IC and plot relevant. It was both funny, macabre and surreal all at once.

If there should be any critic it might be the "15 years in coma and waking up a few months apart" that seem quite unrealistic (but then again, the universe the book is set in is hardly realistic either), but the brain damage did help a bit on that at least.

I have binged all of this and I’m in love. I like Alex Rider because of all of the opportunities for angst and him facing horrible odds and being blackmailed. You had an amazing combination of everything! Super well written I am so happy you wrote this!

cool

Hey I know I alreaady reviewed but I just wanted to add - If I'm ever able to write this coherent a plot actually get it all out, I think I'd consider it the peak of my skill ever. It was amazing and I'm so thankful you wrote it and put so much effort into giving us this masterpiece

AAAAAAAAAAAAAA THID WAS SUCH A ROLLERCOASTER OMG 200K WORDS OF ABSOLUTE BRILLIANCE I CRIED DUDE NOT EVEN KIDDING MY FINGERS A RE SHAKING RIGHT NOW
YOY MAD3 ME CARE ABOUT THE OCS AND YOU TOOK THE SHITTIEST ALEXS PARENTS ARE ALID AND AND YOU DID SUCH WONDERFUL THINGS LIKE IDEK MAN
THIS EAS SUCH AN EXPERIENCE BONUD OF AMAXING YASSEN BUT CHARACTRRIZED PROPERLY TOO AND AAAA
I FEEEL TERRBLE SAYING THIS BUT? THIS NAY BE BETTER? THAN THR CTUAL BOOKS? SORRY ABOUT ALL THE SPELLING MISTAKES MY FINGERS ARE STILL TREMBLING AND MY PHONES AUTOCORRECT IS WEIRD

WHY JEANS!?

TechieissowonderfulTechieissowonderfulTechieissowonderful.

Finally a GOOD story, all the others are just a bunch of crap (awkward ending) bye!

This was amazing thank you so much for wriying this.

Dang, this was so intense. Wonderfully written! I legitimately felt like I was reading another book in the series :)