“The enemy isn’t out there. It is within.” That line sets the tone for Snakehead, the seventh Alex Rider novel: darker, sharper, and closer to the bone. We open in Australia (very on-brand for me), surge into Bangkok, and tangle with human-trafficking rings and a bomb plot on the water. Along the way, we meet Ash and face the kind of betrayal that doesn’t fit neatly into “good guy / bad guy.”
Big idea: Reality is messy. Moral clarity often arrives after the decision. I’ll show you how to act decisively when you can’t see the full board, then learn fast and adjust.
What you’ll get:
A spoiler-lite overview of the plot beats that matter
The Ash dilemma and why “the enemy within” cuts deep
A practical framework to make better choices under uncertainty
(00:00) Cold Open
(00:24) Series context & why this entry hits different
(00:56) Crash-landing in Australia & the SAS test vibe
(01:39) Snakehead & Scorpia: the Southeast Asia operation
(02:02) The bomb at sea & Bangkok detour
(02:36) Pacing & world-hopping done right
(03:09) Enter Ash: darker threads & moral fog
(03:32) Godfather angle & the “enemy within” theme
(03:53) Big philosophy: “Reality is messy”
(05:20) Personal reflections: choices, service, and uncertainty
(06:39) You only get the options you create
(07:28) Final verdict & who should read this
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Connect with Mere Mortals:
Website: https://www.meremortalspodcasts.com/
Discord: https://discord.gg/jjfq9eGReU
Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/meremortalspods
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/meremortalspodcasts/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@meremortalspodcasts
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