Looking for the Alex Rider books in order? I’ve put the novels, short-story collections, bonus fiction, companion books, graphic adaptations, and screen versions together in one place without counting the same story twice.
Anthony Horowitz’s spy series begins when Alex discovers that his uncle worked for MI6. From there, the missions grow into a continuing story involving Scorpia, Alex’s family history, and the cost of being used as a teenage agent. Publication order is the simplest way to read the series for the first time.
Jump to:
- Alex Rider Books in Publication Order
- Alex Rider Books in Chronological Order
- Alex Rider Short Stories and Bonus Chapters
- Alex Rider Companion Books
- Alex Rider Graphic Novels
- Is There an Alex Rider TV Show?
- About Alex Rider
Alex Rider Books in Publication Order
The list below covers the full-length novels in publication order. Dates use the first U.S. publication year when a U.S. edition exists. Point Blanc is the original U.K. title of Point Blank.
- Stormbreaker (2001)
- Point Blank / Point Blanc (2002)
- Skeleton Key (2003)
- Eagle Strike (2004)
- Scorpia (2005)
- Ark Angel (2006)
- Snakehead (2007)
- Crocodile Tears (2009)
- Scorpia Rising (2011)
- Russian Roulette (2013)
- Never Say Die (2017)
- Nightshade (2020)
- Nightshade Revenge (2024)
Where Does Secret Weapon Fit?
Secret Weapon (2019) is a short-story collection rather than a full-length novel. Publishers and retailers sometimes count it in the numbered series, which is why the book numbers attached to Nightshade and Nightshade Revenge can vary.
For a complete publication-order read, read Secret Weapon after Never Say Die and before Nightshade.
Point Blank or Point Blanc?
They’re the same book. Point Blanc is the original U.K. title, while Point Blank is the U.S. title. The television adaptation uses the U.K. spelling.
Do You Need to Read the Series in Order?
I recommend reading the novels in publication order. Each mission has its own villain and central plot, but Alex’s relationships, injuries, family history, and conflicts with Scorpia carry forward. Reading Russian Roulette where it was published also preserves the earlier reveals about Yassen Gregorovich and Alex’s parents.
Alex Rider Books in Chronological Order
- Russian Roulette
- Metal Head
- Double Agent / Coda
- The White Carnation
- Christmas at Gunpoint
- Nine Ways to Die
- Stormbreaker
- Resistance to Interrogation
- Alex Rider: Operation Stormbreaker
- Alex Rider: Stormbreaker (Video Game)
- Alex Rider: Stormbreaker: The Official Script
- Stormbreaker: Behind the Scenes
- Point Blank / Point Blanc
- Alex Rider Season One
- The Man with the Wrong Shoes
- Alex in Afghanistan
- The Man with Eleven Fingers / A Taste of Death
- Tea with Smithers
- High Tension / Quite a Ride / Incident in Nice
- Skeleton Key
- Spy Trap
- Eagle Strike
- Alex Rider Season Two
- Secret Weapon
- Scorpia
- Alex Rider Season Three
- Ark Angel
- Alex Underground
- Snakehead
- Crocodile Tears
- Scorpia Rising
- Never Say Die
- Nightshade
- Nightshade Revenge
Alex Rider Short Stories and Bonus Chapters
The short fiction can look more complicated than it is because several stories were revised, retitled, or collected later. I’ve grouped the collections together and identified the earlier versions so the same adventure isn’t treated as a separate story twice.
Secret Weapon
Secret Weapon (2019) collects seven Alex Rider stories:
- Alex in Afghanistan
- The Man with Eleven Fingers
- High Tension
- Secret Weapon
- Tea with Smithers
- Christmas at Gunpoint
- Spy Trap
High Tension revises the separately published story Quite a Ride, which also appeared as Incident in Nice. The Man with Eleven Fingers expands A Taste of Death. These are alternate or revised versions, not completely separate missions.
Alex Rider Undercover
Alex Rider Undercover (2020) is part secret dossier and part short-story collection. It includes:
- The Man with the Wrong Shoes
- Double Agent
- Metal Head
- The White Carnation
Double Agent reworks material first published as the Snakehead bonus chapter Coda. The White Carnation had also appeared separately before it was included here.
Nine Ways to Die
Nine Ways to Die first appeared in the Stormbreaker Silver Edition (2025). It is an original Alex Rider story included at the back of this special edition.
Other Short Fiction
- Quite a Ride (2010), also published as Incident in Nice. It was later revised as High Tension.
- Alex Underground (2008), set after Ark Angel.
- A Taste of Death (2012), later expanded as The Man with Eleven Fingers.
- Resistance to Interrogation, a bonus chapter set during Stormbreaker.
- Coda, a bonus chapter connected to Snakehead and later reworked as Double Agent.
- The White Carnation (2014), later collected in Alex Rider Undercover.
Alex Rider Companion Books
These books explain Alex’s gadgets and missions rather than continuing the main storyline. I’ve moved Alex Rider Undercover to the short-fiction section because it includes four stories.
- Alex Rider: The Gadgets (2005)
- Alex Rider: The Mission Files (2008)
Stormbreaker Film Tie-In Books
The movie produced two short tie-in books. They’re optional and don’t add a new mission to the reading order.
Alex Rider Graphic Novels
The graphic novels adapt the original books, so they aren’t additional Alex Rider missions. The adapter and illustrator credits vary by volume. Dates below use the first U.S. release for the linked editions.
- Stormbreaker: The Graphic Novel (2006)
- Point Blank: The Graphic Novel (2007)
- Skeleton Key: The Graphic Novel (2009)
- Eagle Strike: An Alex Rider Graphic Novel (2017)
- Scorpia: An Alex Rider Graphic Novel (2017)
- Ark Angel: An Alex Rider Graphic Novel (2020)
- Snakehead: An Alex Rider Graphic Novel (2025)
Is There an Alex Rider TV Show?
Yes. Alex Rider has been adapted as both a movie and a completed television series.
Alex Rider: Operation Stormbreaker adapts Stormbreaker. Anthony Horowitz wrote the screenplay, but the movie compresses the novel, changes some character details, and gives the story a broader action-comedy tone. It follows the same central mission involving Herod Sayle and the Stormbreaker computers, though the planned film series didn’t continue.
The television series starts with Point Blanc instead of retelling Stormbreaker. It ages up parts of the story, expands the supporting cast, and adds Kyra as an important character. Each season draws mainly from one novel:
- Season One: Point Blanc
- Season Two: Eagle Strike
- Season Three: Scorpia
The show is a looser adaptation than a page-for-page retelling, but it keeps the central villains, missions, and Alex’s uneasy relationship with MI6. The Scorpia season completes the television story.
About Alex Rider
Alex Rider begins as an ordinary London schoolboy living with his uncle, Ian. After Ian is killed, Alex learns that he worked for MI6 and had quietly trained him for espionage. In Stormbreaker, MI6 sends Alex to investigate Herod Sayle and his plan to place Stormbreaker computers in British schools.
Anthony Horowitz writes the series as a fast-paced spy thriller for children and young adults. The individual missions have their own plots, but the larger story follows Alex’s history with MI6, his family, and Scorpia.
Horowitz has also written adult mysteries, authorized Sherlock Holmes and James Bond novels, and numerous television series and screenplays.
Looking for more books in order?
If you want more thriller authors and reading-order guides like this one, start with my Thriller Books in Order index.