43 pages • 1 hour read
Anthony HorowitzStormbreaker
Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2000A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapters 1-3Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 1 Summary: “Funeral Voices”
Alex Rider wakes up when the doorbell rings before dawn. Two policemen ask the housekeeper, a woman named Jack Starbright, if this is Ian Rider’s house. Alex knows that Ian is dead by their tones. The policemen tell him that Ian died in a car accident and was not wearing a seatbelt. Ian raised Alex after his parents died in a plane crash when he was a baby. He was close to his uncle, and he feels grief as he realizes that he will never see him again. Alex realizes that he did not know Ian well. Though Ian was a banker and traveled frequently, he had no social life, which puzzles Alex. Alex expresses concerns about the future to Jack, an American who became Alex’s babysitter and Ian’s housekeeper while studying in England. He worries that Jack will return to America soon and that he will have to move. Alex also finds it hard to believe that Ian was not wearing a seatbelt since he was always careful. A man named Crawley from Ian’s bank, Royal & General, assures Alex that he will take care of Ian’s affairs.
At Ian’s funeral a few days later, the bank’s chairman, Mr. Blunt, appears. Alex tells him that Ian never mentioned him, to which Blunt replies that Ian was a good man and will be missed. When Alex asks what Ian did, Crawley explains that Ian managed the bank’s foreign branches. Alex questions them about the seatbelt, to which Blunt says that Ian was not careful enough. As they leave, the driver of Blunt’s car accidentally reveals his leather gun holster. Alex wonders why bankers would need guns, especially at a funeral. When Jack arrives home, he sees a van with the name Stryker & Son outside his house before it drives away. Inside, Alex sees Ian’s office unlocked and notices that all of Ian’s office documents are gone.
Chapter 2 Summary: “Heaven for Cars”
At school, Alex thinks about what the police and Blunt told him about Ian’s death and decides that Ian could not have died in a car accident. At the end of the school day, he searches the yellow pages for car-wrecking businesses. He finds J. B. Stryker Auto Wreckers, recognizing the name from the van that took Ian’s belongings. He goes to the site and finds his uncle’s car, which has numerous bullet holes. He realizes that his uncle was murdered. He then sees two men whom he recognizes from the funeral. One of them is the driver with the gun.
Alex hides in the car, but it is soon picked up by the car crusher. He is trapped, and the machine’s claw slightly cuts his head. Alex escapes through the back window but loses his shoe. He reaches his bike, but the driver from the funeral stops him. As the driver reaches into his jacket, Alex remembers his karate training. He delivers a back kick to the driver, incapacitating him. As he leaves the wrecking yard, he is thankful that he was able to escape.
Chapter 3 Summary: “Royal & General”
Crawley calls Alex the following morning and tells him to come to Royal & General to discuss his uncle’s affairs. Crawley takes Alex to his office, which is next to Ian’s old office. Blunt watches them on a security camera. When Crawley leaves for a moment, Alex tries to enter Ian’s office. Finding the door locked, he goes out to Crawley’s window ledge, jumps to a flagpole, and then jumps to Ian’s office window. Blunt chuckles as he watches on the camera and calls Alex extraordinary. Inside Ian’s office, Alex notices pictures of himself, which confirms that Ian cared deeply about him. This causes him to miss Ian. Alex opens Ian’s desk drawer and finds files about poisons and methods of interrogation. Another file is labeled “Stormbreaker.” Before he can leave, Crawley and the driver enter. Alex asks them if they killed Ian. Crawley says he cannot tell him at the moment. The driver pulls a gun and shoots Alex with a dart.
Chapters 1-3 Analysis
Chapters 1-3 introduce Alex, Jack, and Blunt. This section withholds information about Blunt and his role in MI6, creating suspense for the reader and Alex. Blunt will soon be revealed as an MI6 agent and Ian’s handler, but in the opening chapters, he appears to be sinister. Over the first three chapters, Alex learns more about Ian and is quickly thrown into perilous situations meant to test him.
These chapters introduce The Moral Complexity of Espionage with MI6’s decision to cover up Ian’s assassination. Blunt lies to Alex at Ian’s funeral to protect MI6’s secrecy and avoid jeopardizing their objectives. Blunt’s decision to recruit Alex presents a moral question as well. Blunt insists that Alex is “what [they] need” despite being only 14 (34). Crawley and the driver’s decision to drug Alex is also morally ambiguous because Alex is still an adolescent and has not yet agreed to work for MI6.
Perseverance in the Face of Difficulty appears early in this section. Alex’s suspicions about Ian’s death lead him to investigate both the junkyard and Ian’s office. These investigations lead to intense situations. Alex’s brush with death in Ian’s car provides his first major adventure and forces him to use quick thinking to escape. Alex’s subsequent encounter with the driver from the funeral ends as quickly as it starts, with Alex using his karate skills to knock the driver unconscious. Alex’s jump to Ian’s office window is a daunting feat that, while terrifying for Alex, is important for learning the truth about Ian’s death. Alex’s courage impresses Blunt greatly, and he remarks that Alex is “extraordinary” (34). The danger in this section begins to reveal Alex’s determination and courage. Putting the novel’s teenage protagonist in somewhat exaggerated predicaments shows his skills as a potential spy.
This section foreshadows the revelation that Ian was an MI6 agent and Blunt was his supervisor. Ian’s careful behavior and frequent travels make Alex doubt the claim that Ian did not wear a seatbelt and crashed. At the funeral, the driver’s gun raises more questions. The bullet-ridden car and Alex’s later investigation of Ian’s office confirm that Ian was not a banker and had been lying to Alex for years. The use of details and foreshadowing also shows Alex’s curiosity and resourcefulness, which draw the attention of Blunt. The section reveals Alex’s athletic capabilities, especially in karate, in which he is a black belt. He uses this skill again in Chapter 12 when he knocks out a guard at Sayle Enterprises.
Alex’s perceptiveness and athleticism provide insight into how Ian raised Alex, showing aspects of his personality even though he died before the narrative begins. Alex’s athleticism shows that Ian encouraged him to partake in sports and outdoor activities. He also enrolled Alex in a challenging school. This foreshadows and arguably confirms Mrs. Jones’s statement that Ian intentionally prepared Alex to become a spy.
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By Anthony Horowitz
