Alpha Force

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Alpha Force is a ten book Action Adventure Series written by former SAS member Chris Ryan. The story revolves around five teenagers- Alex, Li, Paulo, Hex and Amber- who after being shipwrecked on a desert island and working together to escape it, form an elite team dedicated to fighting crime throughout the world.

The series ran from 2002-2005, with Survival being the first book and Untouchable being the last.

Tropes used in Alpha Force include:

• Action Girl: Li and Amber.
• And the Adventure Continues: The series ends with all of the team getting invitations to join MI 5.
• Asian and Nerdy: Subverted with Li; apart from her wide knowledge of animals and extreme sports she's just as smart as the rest of the team.
• Author Appeal: Alex's training from his SAS father and his motivation to be in the army.
• Belligerent Sexual Tension: Amber and Hex.
• Big Brother Instinct: Partly the reason why Hex is working on the Phoenix in Survival; he broke into a gym teacher's bank account because the guy was picking on his little brother, so they sent Hex to the Phoenix as punishment.
• Black and White Morality: Alpha Force are good, and whatever Big Bad of the week they're fighting are bad.
• Buried Alive: Hex and Paulo in Desert Pursuit, then Hex again in Fault Line.
• Conveniently an Orphan: Deconstructed with Amber, as the trauma from her parent's death causes her to lash out at others. Once she learns that they died for a good cause she's able to get over it.
• The Charmer: Paulo, except towards Li.
• Cowboy: Paulo, of the 'Working Cowboy' variety.
• The Cracker: Amber mistakenly believes Hex is one. He's quick to correct her.
• Crazy Prepared: Alex, who constantly carries around his small survival kit. Justified since his father is a SAS agent, and he tends to travel a lot in barren areas.
• Darkskinned Blonde: Amber.
• Deadpan Snarker: All of them have their moments, though Alex and Hex are the most prominent.
• Deserted Island: Survival is set on one.
• Don't You Dare Pity Me: Amber is diabetic, but the others learn quickly not to treat her any differently because of it.
• Drugs Are Bad: Rat Catcher and Untouchable both emphasise this.
• Embarrassing First Name: Hex's real first name is Melvin.
• Fire-Forged Friends: The team don't really bond until they're forced to survive together on a desert island.
• Five-Man Band:
  • The Hero: Alex, despite also being The Quiet One.
  • The Lancer: Li
  • The Big Guy: Paulo. Atypical for this trope, he's also The Medic.
  • The Smart Guy: Hex
  • The Chick: Amber
• Fun With Acronyms: The first letter of all their names spells out 'Alpha', which just happens to be the opposite of Amber's Omega necklace.
• Genki Girl: Li.
• Halfway Plot Switch: Often the team will be visiting a country to deal with one problem, only to learn there's another, bigger problem at hand.
• Knife Nut: Alex. He always carries his knife around, and can pin a wasp to a tree from fifty feet away.
• The Load: Hex thinks himself this in Survival, since his technological skills aren't very handy on a remote island.
• Mission Control: John Middleton, Amber's uncle.
• Multinational Team: Alex and Hex are English, Paulo is Argentinian, Li is Anglo-Chinese and Amber is American.
• Oop North: Alex is from North Cumbria.
• Rich Bitch: Amber was this at first. She gets better.
• Shown Their Work: Every book will have a situation that Chris Ryan has either thoroughly researched or been through himself.
• Sweet Polly Oliver: Li disguises herself as a boy in Desert Pursuit so she can get close to the slave traders. Later in the book Alex and Hex perform a brief inversion.
• True Companions: Alpha Force, starting at the end of Survival.
• Unresolved Sexual Tension: While Li and Paulo are obviously attracted to each other, they never properly get together in the story.
• Vitriolic Best Buds: The entire team is Type II to each other.
• Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?:
  • Hex develops claustrophobia in Hostage. Afterwards him being trapped in enclosed or dark places happens nearly once a book.
  • In Hunted, Li suffers from a fear of heights after seeing her old climbing instructor fall during abseiling and break her back. She gets over it eventually.