Random Facts About the Books

[Gracie James]

So, just post here any random little know-its...
I'll start off with tiny things I know:

1. John Crawley has a dalmation named Barker
2. Fox's name is Ben Daniels
3. Alan Blunt went to Cambridge University
4. Fox has a "Liverpudlian" accent
5. Mrs. Jones has a cat named Q
6. Mrs. Jones also had both her children taken by someone, although it has not yet been built upon.
7. Mrs. Jones's first name is Tulip because her parents were gardeners.
8. Sabina has a thing for older men, even though Alex is younger than her
9. Alex speaks four languages
10. Alex's mother, Helen, is the only known relative of Alex that was not involved in any secret government work; she was a nurse.
11. The only reason Alex was still alive for the very first book was because he had an ear infection.
12. Alex's dad played tennis (and was quite good, too  =D)
13. In the books, Smithers enjoys the challenge of making gadgets for a teenager, while in the movie he was played to be annoyed at the task.
14. Ash's real name is Anthony Sean Howell

Soooo....yeah. Just post anything you find interesting, unique, wierd, or even such a tiny detail that it, in itself, is cool.

[J2Rider]

does anyone know what the EXTRAS are in the UK's Walker's Books new editions are? Thanks

[J2Rider]

John Rider, no more than 26, joins Special Operations.

Ash joins Special Operations.   

Alex born in East London, England.

Alex Rider has a Taurus sign for his birthday, possibly an April 20th birthday?
Wikipedia says birthday was Feb 13, 1987, but also says Jan 17. 

For date of Alex birthday:  USA version of  CROCODILE TEARS says Feb 13th.

Skeleton Key has a scene in which it seems to be summer early July and Alex says he?s 14 and three months).
This would indicate maybe April 7 or so is his birthday.

Alex is christened?

Ash joins Scorpia?

End of April. Alex?s parents are killed.  Alex is three months old. (MISSION FILES says John died in 1988)

A few months after the death of Alex?s parents, Ash leaves MI6 and goes to work for Australian SIS.

Alex is two when the Berlin Wall comes down. 1989.

Alex learned karate from when he was six years old (ARK ANGEL and elsewhere)

Jack comes to work for Ian. Alex is about 7 years old.  Jack meets Ash when Ash visits London for a few weeks. Ash stays at hotel.
Ash visits two or three times. Jack and Ash go out a couple of times.   

Age 7: Alex plays hide and seek with Jack at Christmas. 

Surfing years ago. A week spent in San Diego, CA with Ian.

Ian Rider had taken Alex climbing in Scotland, France and all over Europe.

Alex has been in Italy before (SCORPIA UK and US Scholastic versions).

Alex spent the best part of a year in Barcelona, Spain with his uncle.

Shortly after his tenth birthday, Alex spent time in Prague, Czechoslovakia. Here he learned pickpocketing.     

Age 11: scuba diving in the Carribean with Ian Rider for a week.

Age 12: For Alex?s 12th birthday, Alex was given a Condor Junior Roadracer bike.

Alex has gone to Blackpool with Jack. She won a teddy bear. Could have been any age.

Age 12: ?About two years before Alex?s missions were recorded, Alex sorts out bully Michael Cook who used to beat up Tom Harris.?

When Alex was 13 he went scuba diving in Guadeloupe, The Caribbean with his uncle Ian Rider.

Alex has never been to Africa at the start of CROCODILE TEARS



CHRISTMAS AT GUNPOINT
Alex is 13.
It is the last Christmas Alex and Ian spend together. 
Ian is killed a couple of months after Alex?s 14th birthday, the following Spring.
Alex and Ian spend ?a couple? of days on their own in Gunpoint, Colorado hotel the Granary, 50 miles north of Aspen.
Third day: they meet Sahara Sands.
Fourth day: it snows again. 10 inches on ground. Alex and Sahara spend five hours high up over Bear Creek.
?Five months later? Alex would be racing down the side of Point Blanc.
Fifth Day: the climax
The lap top had info about the withdrawal of American troops from Iraq.
Alex, ?,,,in fact, I met Sahara a couple of years later.?   


STORMBREAKER (UK version)
Year: Book published in 2000. Written before that so 1999 or 1998?

Day One
3am
House in Chelsea, London between King?s Road and the river.

Jack had come to the country seven years ago (nine in the movie).

Day Two
Five visitors come to the house including Crawley. Crawley comes to the house.

Day of Funeral (Day Five?)
Ian is supposedly buried.

Day Six
Alex on bike: Condor Junior Roadracer, cut down Reynolds 531 Frame
Brookland, maths teacher is Mr Donovan.
Secretary of school: Jane Bedfordshire, in her 20s.
Alex learned Karate from when he was six years old.


Day Seven
Crawley calls. Alex to the office. Is tranqulized.
Ian Rider had been on missions in Iran, Washington, Hong Kong, Cairo.
When he was 7, Herod Sayle saves an American couple in Beirut. Sayle has nine brothers.
Alex as Lester is supposed to go to Sayle Enterprizes on March 29th.
Stormbreaker ceremony is to be on April 1st. It seems to be a school day.


Nine or Ten Days of Training
(so Day 16 or 17, we?ll round up to about 18 due to a day between seven and his start of training)

Training day one (or day 9 of book)
p.65, the sergeant tells Alex he has him for 11 days

?in the days that followed?Alex learned map reading, radio communication, and first aid..?
?unarmed combat class, assault course??
??by the end of the week??  he cut his time to 17 minutes on the course.
Wolf  taunts and tries to humiliate Alex; Alex in mess hall is tripped by Wolf.
Men sent on a day jungle survival training course but Alex is not sent with them.

Day 8 of training. Day 15 of book.
Killing House. Wolf tries to make Alex fail and almost succeeds.

Day 9 to 10 of training. Day 16 to 17 of book.
40 kilometer hike.



RTI (RESISTANCE TO INTERROGATION from KIDS?  NIGHT IN 2)
Horowitz claims to have written it for ?War Child? whatever that is.
Seems to take place over one night some time during training and in the movie it seems to be at the end of training.



STORMBREAKER book continued 
Day 11 of training. Day 18 of book.
Alex saves Wolf?s career by kicking out of plane with parachute.
Alex meets Smithers.

 
Day 19
Alex arrives at Sayle?s.

Day 20
Stormbreaker game. Snookers game.

Day 21
March 31st
1:30 am: sneaking around;  Yassen, submarine; 
1:00 pm: Alex spends three hours on Stormbreaker; Quad bikes attack, one with a flame thrower;
Ian was here at over a week
The mine, capture?

Day 22
April 1

Page 288-the faked doctor letter from Blunt  says that Alex was away for three weeks

Yassen kills Sayle and disappears into the dying light.




 

[Crunch630]

Hey this may not count as a random fact, but I couldn't find any other place to talk about.

In every edition of AR Anthony's dog's name changes in his short bio.

Loony (Snakehead) , Lucky (Skeleton Key), Loopy (Ark Angel), Plucky (Eagle Strike)

Does anyone know why this is? It's almost 90% some sort of special thing by AH for each book.

[AlexRider:Afterwards]

I'm going to have to go home this weekend and get all of the books and look at the dog's name.  It seems to change by only one letter at a time which is like an awesome word game haha.  It'd be cool if it revealed some secret clue, but probably not.

[Crunch630]

lol yeah I doubt it though.

I don't know if he puts them into books other than AR I'm not sure. 

I think it's just some sort of humour I guess.

[bingo]

He does. They change in Po5 as well. I think he mentioned it one or twice in his posts on the main site .. something like; "The dog is getting used to his new name." or something like that. I think they just haven't named the dog properly xD Or its a joke ...

This is actually an interesting topic, so I'll keep it open. Although it would help if you guys stuck to mentioning interesting things about AR ... j2Rider, your timelines never cease to amaze me, but you've posted that before, I think? It would be easier to read if you posted them in the same format Gracie James did.

Here's a couple random facts of my own:

Sabina Pleasure likes Lord of the Rings and listens to Coldplay
Alex's dad and Ash liked to play Squash.

[Nazzy]

Ok here's something that didn't really make sense in Point Blanc:
On page 111 James Sprintz tells Alex he's been at the academy for 6 weeks.
- "But this one is the pits. I've been here for six weeks now..."

But then on page 118, it says James was at the academy for only 3 weeks.
- "According to James, the other boys had arrived at the academy two months before him. He had been there for just three weeks."
And I know "he" isn't refering to Alex cuz at the beggining of the chapter it says Alex just finished his first week.

Am I missing something totally obvious? I might just be tired, it's 10 am and I haven't slept yet...

[Crunch630]

Hey Nazzy I think you're right lol. That is funny...

I think also MI6 say that they can go skiing or something but at the school they don't. Not a mistake but just a faulty intel from MI6 I think.

Yesterday I lost my edition of Ark Angel!! NOOOO!! I lost it in my bag along with iPod, phone, wallet (cards as well). Bag got stolen... 

[Nazzy]

That's terrible!! Don't worry, what goes around comes around. I don't have Ark Angel either, I never found it at the bookstore. I think that book is cursed MI6 doesn't usually give faulty information, so that was a surprise. 

[rissa01]

Random Facts   Alan Blunt always wears gray.

[perthy25]

Ark Angel is cursed all right.....I got the US version!