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Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer
Artemis FowlBy Eoin Colfer Release Date:
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“Like an army of mystical beavers repairing storm damage.”
(pg 233)
No matter how many times I read this book, I am drawn in by the imagination, the creativity, and the enchantment of the tale of Artemis Fowl. The first in a set of five books, I resisted the lure of a 12-yr-old criminal-mastermind for a while, thinking the book too silly for my age. Now I run to the store the moment a new book in this series appears.
Artemis Fowl has a plan to gain back the money his father lost when he disappeared a year ago. Aided by Butler, his body guard, Artemis devises a plan to steal gold from the fairies. Young enough to still believe in magic, but old enough to construct a devious scheme, few could pull off what Artemis is about to do.
Our fairy heroine, Captain Holly Short of the LEPrecon Unit, is the test case for allowing female elves to join the Lower Elemental Police recon unit, and she has been having a very bad week. After being attacked by a troll, she attempts to carry out the ritual to recharge her magic, but instead is captured by Artemis and Butler, thus beginning the hostage crisis.
Filled with interesting characters and an excellent usage of magic and technology, Artemis Fowl is a book that readers of any age should enjoy. My favorite part is how Colfer integrates magic and technology, instead of ignoring one in favor of the other, like so many urban fantasy writers do. Instead, Foaly, the centaur super-genius, uses technology to shield magic from human scanners and stay one step ahead of the Mud People.
The book is rich with detail that will keep the reader coming back. It’s been a few years since I last read the book, and I was amazed at how many things I didn’t remember and how I was still enthralled by the action. Even my roommate, who tends to feel that she is above reading “children’s” books, eagerly reads every new Artemis Fowl.
With the release of The Lost Colony, right now is the perfect time to pick up a copy of this classic and reread it. Then continue on to The Artic Incident, The Eternity Code, The Opal Deception, and of course now The Lost Colony.
The cover is golden and holographic, while the gnommish language spells out a hidden message along the bottom of each page. For fun, the reader can find the alphabet here and decode the messages that every book includes.
Action: 5 – Even in rereading, the action is fun and interesting, keeping the reader attentive. Scenes are easy to imagine and very suspenseful to the first time reader. Even with knowing who might live or die, the book still pulls the reader into the drama of each scene.
Romance: NONE – The future books might have it, but there is no romance here. And yet I still love the book. I’m the kind of person who always needs a touch of love, but I’m all right without it when it comes to Artemis Fowl.
Characters: 5 – Everyone has character in this book, from the minor LEPrecon officers, to each main character. As it is a series, the characters grow from book to book, and you can expect to see lots of recurring side characters.
Overall: 5 -In case your gnomish is a little rusty, the above says, “I love this book!” and it’s true. I’d recommend it to anyone, of any age. I’d forgotten how enjoyable the book was, after not reading it in a while, but now I have to make time to reread all the sequels this weekend.
Extras:
First on the list of Artemis fun, visit the author’s website. The only downside to the site is it isn’t always updated, and there is music that is impossible to turn off. Not bad music or anything, but still obnoxious when something else starts playing over your playlist.
Next, a quick internet search yielded many good fan sites. Artemis-Fowl.com seems to be the mecca of Artemis news, for everything from new books to fandom information. The Orion Awards is a fan fiction website featuring some of the best works and they also publish a fanzine.
If you’re interested in the Irish myths which make up the background for the book, check out the Encyclopedia Mythica, in the Celtic section. It’s a great place to start.
Finally, a few YouTube videos for your enjoyment. First is an actual promo video with Eoin Colfer, the second a rather well-done music video using fan art.
Parents:Ages 10+ - but I would really recommend it for any age; they just might need to look up some words as they read. Despite being a children’s book, Colfer does not “dumb down” the language and hopefully young readers will be inspired to learn more about science and language. Girls and boys will enjoy this book, and it would be a great one to read as a family. If you’re worried about a criminal genius being the main character, don’t worry, he does have a heart, it’s just buried under a lot of greedy ribs.
Thanks for the links. I really like Artemis Fowl, and until now, the only place I had for fanfiction was ff.net. The Orion Awards look very good!
I also found another fansite, http://artemisfowl.fangathering.com which is very good. You might like it as well.