If you want to be a secret agent like Alex Rider you’ll need to master espionage tradecraft, the techniques, methods, and technology spies use to excel on missions. 

Don’t risk being the next Double-O-Nothing. Our SPYSCAPE Top 10 Tradecraft Tips will help get you operational. (Warning: A few series spoilers ahead!)

1. Languages‍

When it comes to languages, the more the better. In Stormbreaker, we discover Alex and his Uncle Ian are world travelers. As a result, Alex is fluent in English, French, and Spanish, and speaks some German, Italian, and Japanese—handy languages for a field operator hoping to save the world one mission at a time.

2. Self-defense

While spies aren’t always in the line of fire, you never know when a Point Blanc schoolmaster or evil tech billionaire might strike. Luckily, Alex knows karate and he’s a natural athlete. When he’s not surfing, climbing, canoeing, pole vaulting, snowboarding, mountain biking, quad biking, tightrope walking, or cycling around town, Alex is training with Special Air Services (SAS) K-Unit.

3. Disguise 

Spy disguise doesn’t just mean wearing a wig or a fake mustache. Sometimes it means ”going gray” or blending in, putting on a suit to get into a building you don’t have clearance to enter, or dressing down to eavesdrop in a coffee shop. Alex gets a posh haircut and learns to skeet shoot before going undercover at an elite boarding school in IMDb TV’s Alex Rider Season One. Knowing how to speak, act, and dress will help Alex (and you) maintain a cover story.

4. Legends‍

If you’re going in deep you may need a “legend,” a fake cover story so no one suspects you work for the intelligence services. Sometimes it’s just a false name. Other times, it is an entirely artificial life history with supporting documents. When Alex arrives at Point Blanc academy, he becomes Alex Friend, a rebellious rich kid. Most of the staff are fooled, although fellow student Kyra (Marli Sui) suspects “Spy Boy” is hiding secrets.
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5. Improvise‍

Sometimes the best weapon is the one that’s handy: A tightly rolled-up magazine or a pen can turn into a weapon. When Alex decides to flee from Point Blanc, he hijacks an ironing board in a very memorable snowboarding scene. It pays to develop your observational skills as a spy. So look around. Use what’s available. Be creative. Your life may depend on it.
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6. Tech tradecraft

When in doubt, get connected. Google Maps is useful for reconnaissance. Dictation software can quickly transcribe notes. British and U.S. spies use a secret version of Wikipedia to research targets, but social media and open-source intel can be just as effective. When Alex suspects his Uncle Ian may have been murdered, he uses an app to trace the last known location of an iPhone belonging to Tom (Brenock O’Connor) to find the intel
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7. Gadgets‍

Gadgets aren’t just for “Q” and 007. Packing the right kit can be mission-critical. Alex carries expanding bubble gum in Skeleton Key, an explosive coin in Snakehead, and a knife with a diamond-edged blade in Crocodile Tears. You may not need such extreme gadgets, of course. A USB data blocker, rear-view aviator sunglasses, and a drone HD camera may be more your style. Just don’t forget a pocket flashlight.

8. Surveillance tradecraft

Secret agents practice surveillance at spy school—counter-surveillance and “dry cleans” (if you think you’re being watched); technical surveillance countermeasures (if you suspect covert cameras); and SPYSCAPE’s favorite, stakeouts. Following a target may involve a team on foot and in vans tracking targets via satellites. Or it might be you alone, watching a doorway from a café across the street. Just ensure the target never knows you’re there or, like Alex, you may get busted infiltrating The Department and find a gun pointing your way.

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9. Interrogation techniques

Getting caught is sometimes part of the spy game. Alex is kidnapped and subjected to heavy metal music torture but he fights it by singing loudly in a loop. Spies are trained to withhold information, and some even abide by their own “Rules of Operation” in difficult circumstances. As one former agent told SPYSCAPE: “The first rule is to be cool. The second rule is to not get caught. And the third rule is that if you do get caught, refer to Rule 1 and just be cool.”

10. Magic tricks

Spies and magicians have more in common than you might think—including their love of secrets, deception, and disappearing tricks—all integral parts of spycraft and stagecraft. So you may want to study illusion, trickery, and sleight of hand (Uncle Ian taught Alex the art of pickpocketing at age 10). Find out how to read body language. Ask questions to determine if your opponent is lying. And recognize when it is time to disappear in a puff of smoke. One day, it may save your life.