Artemis Fowl

Eoin Colfer, author of Artemis Fowl, describes his creation as "Die Hard with fairies". He's not far wrong. Artemis Fowl is the most ingenious criminal mastermind in history and with his trusty sidekicks, Butler and Juliet, 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 their number and wait for the ransom to arrive. But when the time comes to put his plan into action he reckons without Captain Holly Short of the LEPrecon (Lower Elements Police Reconnaisance) Unit--a sort of extra small Clarice Starling with pointy ears and wings--and her senior officer Commander Root, a man (sorry, elf) who will stop at nothing to get her back.

Fantastic stuff from beginning to end, Artemis Fowl is a rip-roaring, 21st-century romp of the highest order. The author has let his imagination run riot by combining folklore, fantasy and a fistful of high-tech funk in an outrageously devilish book that could well do for fairies what Harry Potter has done for wizardry. But be warned: this is no gentle frolic so don't be fooled by the fairy subject matter. Instead what we have here is well written, sophisticated, rough and tumble storytelling with enough high-octane attitude to make it a seriously cool read for anyone over the age of 10. --Susan Harrison

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A Primary Teacher's Perspective... - Rated
Another highly successful collection of books that give a new twist to faeries and all things mythical. Except unlike so many others of its kind, this book focuses upon the rather unlikely and unsavoury young aristocrat criminal mastermind, Artemis Fowl. On a quest to steal leprechaun gold, he holds a young faery to ransom but gets more than he bargains for as the winged equivalent of the SAS storm his plush mansion.

Eoin Colfer's genius in this series of books is injecting a somewhat tired premise with a new twist. Particularly with this first novel of the long-running series, the reader is given plenty to think about as faeries have jet-propelled wings and mythical creatures are given a gritty and very tangible edge.

There is no doubt that many more readers of various ages will enjoy Artemis Fowl, and like the other modern heavyweights such as Harry Potter, Colfer's books can quite easily be enjoyed by readers of all ages. However, in a school setting the book is most likely aimed for a gifted Year 4 reader and up. Regarding curriculum links, there is potential for some extravagant and rather ambitious science and maths lessons that can link with events in the book.

An adults perspective - Rated
I write this review from the eyes and mind of an Adult.

After reading the current Artemis Fowl series I find myself waiting for more. Eoin's hard work in these books clearly shows.

What stands out is that these books are quick reads for an Adult. But the point that is most worth mentioning is that you do not feel like you have been short changed. You are given a full story with few, if any, questions that are not answered in the narrative.

I would reccommend this book to an adult who is journeying on a train for example. Around 3 hours of continous attention is all that is needed to read this book and enter the world of Artemis, Butler, Holly, Mulch, Foaly, and many more interesting and complete characters.

MS

Something Fowl this way comes... - Rated
Some people may be fooled into thinking that Eoin Colfer's creation of Artemis Fowl is an attempt to imitate Harry Potter. But whilst it is a fantasy adventure, aimed at kids but with crossover potential, there's very little to liken the two of them.

The main point being that Artemis Fowl is more about technology and gadgets than magic. True, there is magic, but fairy wings are petrol powered, boats explode with Semtex, CCTV is hacked into and leprechaun becomes LEP Recon. The duet of magic and gadget works.

Well, most of the time. Despite being a twenty-something with a decent head for electronics, even I found most of the terms and jargon being flung at me bewildering. Will a 12-year-old really understand what the half-life of Solinium means? Well, probably - children are more techno-minded than we give them credit for - but the terminology is everywhere, and it can get a little OTT and obtrusive at times and you wonder what the point of it is to the story.

But then Artemis Fowl has it's trump card - it's sheer originality. There's no particular bad guy or good guy: for those of you who find Harry Potter's unwavering goody-goody act too much will find Master Fowl the perfect tonic. He's an anti-hero, he's a genius criminal mastermind, and even at the tender age of twelve is very charismatic. When he's not in the scene, you await his return. And, as I said with the example of LEPRecon, old fantasy elements like fairies, elves, goblins and dwarves are hauled into the twenty-first century and given a makeover. No wand waving or broomsticks here.

Basically, Artemis Fowl comes with a big fat recommendation. If you love Harry Potter, this is right up your alley. Adventure, action, magic and furious page-turning awaits you. If you hate Harry Potter, however, go for it. If Harry Potter and Artemis Fowl were in a class together, Harry would be the perfect teacher's pet whilst Artemis would be the bad boy at the back of the class. Brilliant.

Plot & humour, no characterisation or depth, I loved it - Rated
How to tell whether an adult would like these books?

1 Do you like action books / action movies with pacy plots?
2 ... even if there is no characterisation or emotional depth?
3 Would you like a book that has a lot banter in it, but also has a dry humour running all the way through?

If you said 'yes' three times, I think you would like the book. Even one 'no' and I'm not so sure. I loved it.

It has a pacy plot. Think Jason Bourne, James Bond, Batman movies, Die Hard. Like these examples, it has very little characterisation.

It's got a lot of humour, though sometimes the banter gets a bit much. It reminded me of Terry Pratchett, but lighter. Artemis Fowl, the 12 year old criminal mastermind, is part James Bond, part James Bond villain, with a little pinch of mafia godfather. He is ridiculously clever, in an entertaining way, motivated by money again in an entertaining way, but endearing too.

Other reviewers argue whether it is or is not like Harry Potter. I think it's nothing like HP. More like part Robert Ludlum (the author of Jason Bourne), part Terry Pratchett (drier humour, but not as fantastically weird as TP).

It does have goblins, elves and dwarves in it, but don't let that put you off - it's an action book in a fantasy setting, rather than a fantasy book (in my view).

For an adult, it's a light read (Waterstones had it in the 9-12 year old section), but a fun way of filling a few hours.

amazing book - Rated
Artemis fowl is a genius? humm, maybe so. but so is eoin colfer. the book is interesting and very easy to read in a single sitting which i have done. i have read the entire series (so far!) and loved them all. The way eoin combines fiction with fact (fairies and humans) is sheer genius. 5 stars.