Point Blanc (novel)

Point Blanc (novel)
Point Blanc European and Australian cover
General Information
Release date	September 3, 2001 (UK); March 31, 2002 (North America)
Pages	288 (UK); 215 (USA)

Point Blanc is the second book in the Alex Rider series, written by British author Anthony Horowitz.

Summary

Walker Books (UK)

Investigations into the "accidental" deaths of two of the world's most powerful men have revealed just one link: both had a son attending Point Blanc Academy – an exclusive school for rebellious rich kids, run by the sinister Dr. Grief and set high on an isolated mountain peak in the French Alps. Armed only with a false ID and a new collection of brilliantly disguised gadgets, Alex must infiltrate the academy as a pupil and establish the truth about what is really happening there. This edition currently not available in North America.

Plot

Alex Rider is at school and witnesses a man called Skoda selling drugs to some of his classmates. Alex follows him to his home, situated on a barge, but is caught by the police after using a crane to lift the barge out of the water. He accidnetally drops it in a police conference centre rather than a nearby car park, as he intended.

Fortunately, no one is killed, but Alex’s real identity is revealed when he’s taken back to the station. MI6 then blackmail Alex into investigating the deaths of Roscoe and Viktor Ivanov, a high-ranking Russian official. The only thing linking these deaths is their rebellious sons’ attendance at the Point Blanc Academy in the French Alps.

Alex undergoes a dramatic physical change and takes the identity of Alex Friend, the son of billionaire David Friend. He stays with the family for a week in preparation for his infiltration of the academy. Alex is later picked up by Eva Stellenbosch, who takes him to the “De Mondu” hotel in Paris. That night, his drink at dinner is drugged, and while he is unconscious every inch of his body is photographed for unknown reasons at this point. Alex doesn’t recall this experience in the morning.

Alex arrives at the academy and strikes a friendship with James Sprintz, another pupil at the academy who was asked by asked to show Alex around. James explains that something weird goes on in the academy; the other rebellious, disrespectful students each underwent a sudden overnight change and become the perfect pupils. Alex investigates over a number of days, and one night after sneaking out, sees James being dragged from his room by several men and Stellenbosch. The next morning James acts strangely, and Alex investigates further, before contacting MI6 via a device given to him by Smithers.

Alan Blunt and Tulip Jones decide not to send immediate help, and Alex searches the academy’s basement, where he finds James and the other students, who explain that Doctor Grief, head of the academy, has made clones of them. Alex goes to leave to bring help, but Stellenbosch knocks him unconscious before he can.

Grief explains to Alex about his plans; in the 1990’s, he made sixteen clones of himself, and is now using a plastic surgeon to alter their appearances to resemble the sons of rich and influential people, as a means to eventually have his clones inherit the assets of these individuals and become one of the most powerful men in the world. He warns that Alex will be killed the next morning through a live dissection, and imprisons him. Alex, using one of Smither’s devices, escapes and snowboards down the mountain the academy is situated on using an ironing board. While escaping his pursuers, Alex is hospitalised when the force of a nearby train throws him into a fence.

When Stellenbosch visits him in hospital, planning on finishing him off, she is told that he is dead. This is false however, and Mrs Jones convinces Alex to return to the academy with an SAS squad, led by Wolf, in order to rescue the students.

While storming the school, Alex is attacked by Stellenbosch, who is shot dead by Wolf just before she could kill Alex. However, Wolf is also shot in the process, driving Alex to rush out the building in anger to see Grief about to leave via helicopter. In a desperate bid to stop him, Alex uses a snowmobile to drive forward and smash into the helicopter, leaping off just before it hit. Grief is killed when it blows up, and Alex returns home.

Mrs Jones tells Alex in a debriefing that the rescue mission was a success and that all fifteen clones were disposed of. Alex then receives a call informing him to visit the head teacher of his school, Mr Bray. When he arrives and finds a clone of himself, he recalls Mrs Jones’ words and realised that one clone – his own – had escaped. Alex then fights his clone in the school, and one of the two fall to their death from the roof of the school. It is left ambiguous which Alex survives, though one stands up and walks away as the emergency services arrive.

Awards

• Galaxy British Book Awards: The Children's Book of the Year
• Lancashire Children's Book of the Year
• Blue Peter Book Awards: The Book I Couldn't Put Down
• Askews Torchlight Children's Book Award

Trivia

• The book Alex Rider: The Mission Files claims that Anthony Horowitz was inspired by the the first successful clone, Dolly the sheep. Horowitz read about it in a newspaper one day, and this inspired the book Point Blanc.
• Skoda's real name is rumored to be Jake.
• It was mentioned in a supplement that a third person was killed by the Gentleman before Alex's mission in Point Blanc, named Robert Merrick.

Useful Links

• Point Blanc (graphic novel)
• Point Blanc - Walker Books (UK)
• Point Blanc Mission - Alex Rider official Website