CONTEST REMINDER: LAST DAY TO ENTER TO WIN THE NEW ALEX RIDER BOOK!

Don't forget! Today is the last day to get your entry in for a chance to win the brand new Alex Rider novel by Anthony Horowitz, Crocodile Tears! Enter by midnight tonight, Pacific Time. All the details on how to do so are here. If you've never read one of Horowitz's books, now's a great time to give them a try. These may be Young Adult novels, but they're as good as any adult spy novels on the market today. Both Alex Rider and Charlie Higson's Young Bond books are part of a post-Harry Potter renaissance in YA literature. And, despite the teenage spy protagonist, the emphasis in Horowitz's books is definitely more on the "adult" than the "young." These novels are honestly pretty gritty. This isn't Spy Kids stuff. As in Higson's books, people die–and "not well," as Daniel Craig would put it. Furthermore, the themes are also rather dark. Alex Rider is not a willing, for-the-fun-of-it teenage spy. He's actually a reluctant spy in the Harry Palmer school, repeatedly pressed into service–and danger–by the manipulative controllers at MI6. If you haven't yet discovered the world of Alex Rider, definitely give it a try!

Click here to enter the Double O Section Third Blogiversary Contest for a chance to win Crocodile Tears.