Herod Sayle

Herod Sayle is the key antagonist in Stormbreaker. In the original UK edition, Sayle was born in the gutters of Lebanon; the US edition changed his nationality to Egyptian. He was one of 13 children (nine boys, four girls). His father was a failed oral hygienist and his mother took in washing. One day, he saved two wealthy British tourists, who adopted him and sent him to school in England. He was severely bullied there, however, the primary bully being the future Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. Growing up, he grew to hate the British school children.

Since his schooling, he has built a large and successful empire, becoming a multi-millionaire. In the film he is mentioned to be a multi-billionaire, giving him a similarity to Bill Gates.

Sayle also invented a technique that allows computer components to be developed in non-sterile environments, slashing the price of production. Using this technique, he develops a computer called Stormbreaker and is donating a Stormbreaker to each school in Britain in exchange for a British citizenship. However, MI6 is suspicious about his intentions, sending out agent Ian Rider to investigate. After several weeks, Ian Rider sends out an urgent notice, saying that he found something important and needs to contact MI6. However, as he drives back home, Yassen Gregorovich assassinates him. MI6 is even more troubled at Ian Rider's urgent message and his subsequent murder, and desperately needs to know what Ian Rider knew.

Ian Rider's nephew, Alex Rider, must step up to the plate. Alan Blunt blackmails Alex into investigating. A month before, Sayle held a contest; the winner would get to stay at Sayle's house and get a tour of the Stormbreaker factory. MI6 takes the real winner, a kid named Felix, and sends Alex Rider in under Felix's identity.

Alex Rider investigates the plant and its operations and soon discovers what his uncle had found. Sayle has put a genetically modified strain of smallpox onto all the Stormbreaker computers (which we later discover, in the book Snakehead, was supplied to him by the criminal organization Scorpia). The smallpox will be released during the grand opening ceremony. In that ceremony, the Prime Minister will push a button, turning on all the computers and releasing the smallpox in the process. Sayle's minions, Nadia Vole and Mr. Grin, then imprison Alex in a tank with his pet Portuguese Man o' War jellyfish. Sayle flies to London to do the ceremony. Alex is left inside the jellyfish tank to either pass-out and drown or get electrocuted by the jellyfish. Alex manages to avoid the jellyfish and dives to the bottom of the tank, where he uses a specialized "zit" cream from Smithers to melt off the supports of the tank. The tank breaks; Alex and the jellyfish pour out. Alex is untouched by the Portuguese Man Of War but the jellyfish lands on Nadia Vole, electrocuting and killing her.

Alex escapes and reaches one of Sayle's airplanes. Mr. Grin--held at gun point by Alex--flies the plane to London to the ceremony location (the Science Museum). Alex flies in using a parachute and fires blindly, destroying the switch seconds before the Prime Minister is about to flip it. Sayle is hit by two bullets, in the left arm and shoulder, but escapes.

At the end of the book, after he has a meeting with Mrs. Jones and Alan Blunt, Alex takes a cab to discover that the driver is Sayle. Sayle takes Alex hostage to a tower, showing him a helicopter about to land that will take him into hiding. Sayle is about to shoot Alex just as the helicopter lands, but Yassen Gregorovich climbs out of the helicopter and shoots Sayle instead, killing him. Surprisingly, Gregorovich lets Alex live (he claims there were no instructions for him in regard to Alex) and flies the helicopter away.


In a First News interview, Anthony Horowitz revealed that Sayle's name is derived from the Christmas Harrod's sale.

In the film adaptation, Herod's nationality was changed from Egyptian to American, and his name changed to Darrius. Also in the movie Herod (Darrius) becomes rich and goes to a British school because his mother won the lottery, not because he saved the rich European tourists from a falling piano.

Sayle survived Alex Rider's bullets in the Science Museum and escaped to Sayle Tower in London, where he had a back-up transmitter to activate the Stormbreakers. Alex, however, defeated Sayle's bodyguard and unplugged the back-up transmitter. Sayle was about to kill Alex when Yassen Gregorovich's helicopter flew up. Gregorovich lowered himself from the helicopter and shot Sayle dead. Sayle's corpse fell from the tower, saving Alex.

Herod Sayle's dislike of the UK and especially the British Schoolchildren and Prime Minister is strong contrast to Winston Yu, the antagonist of Snakehead, who is obsessed with Britain and liked being brought up in a British public school (Harrow). He was only ever bullied on two occasions (both bullies were then assassinated by

From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Alex_Rider_charactershis mother).