Short Summary:
Twelve-year-old Artemis Fowl is the most ingenious criminal mastermind in history. With two trusty sidekicks in tow, he hatches a cunning plot to divest the fairyfolk of their pot of gold. Of course, he isn’t foolish enough to believe in all that “gold at the end of the rainbow” nonsense. Rather, he knows that the only way to separate the little people from their stash is to kidnap one of them and wait for the ransom to arrive. But when the time comes to put his plan into action, he doesn’t count on the appearance of the extrasmall, pointy-eared Captain Holly Short of the LEPrecon (Lower Elements Police Reconnaisance) Unit–and her senior officer, Commander Root, a man (sorry, elf) who will stop at nothing to get her back.
My Review:
Fantastic start to the series. I am loving the dry, quirky humor Eoin Colfer infuses the story with. The set-up of the story with the file notes and the history is clear enough to keep the story from being confusing, but still complicated enough to make you want to figure out what is going on.
What I’ve noticed as I read through the story was how realistic Artemis was – especially for being a 12 year old “genius”. In spite of his advanced technological knowledge and his masterminding schemes, he still is an insecure boy that needs reassurance and his parents. I loved the very human side of him.
Artemis Fowl: The Arctic Incident by Eoin Colfer
Short Summary:
Eoin Colfer’s bestselling antihero is back in Artemis Fowl: The Arctic Incident–the superb sequel to the hyper-hyped Artemis Fowl, shortlisted for the Whitbread Children’s Book of the Year. The Arctic Incident sees the slightly older, perhaps slightly more mellow arch-criminal Artemis recovered from his last adventure, richer now that he has his half of a hoard of fairy gold, and happier since the Clarice Starlingesque superfairy Captain Holly Short of the LEPrecon returned his mother’s ailing mind to full health.
My Review:
Consistently good story with the first – Artemis is a bit older now but still showing the same insecurities. My favorite character was revisited (love that Mulch) and I really enjoyed getting to know Holly as more of an equal rather than an angry fairy bent on getting out of the kidnapping and then getting revenge.
One thing I am noticing about these books is they are perfect for middle school boys. The action is non-stop, the story never seems to take a breath and when I finish I feel like I should be gasping for air. Also – for some reason the narration reminds me of the TV show Pushing Daisies. Strange.
