I was so geared up for this book! A friend loaned it to me, having not yet read it. It was the cover that drew us both in. Shiny gold sparkly cover that touts "Stay back, Human. You don't know what you're dealing with."
Who could resist? Herein lay a tale of a 12-year old boy, a criminal mastermind, dealing with fairies! Magic and mayhem would thrill me until the last page...
... Or so I thought.
Let's start with the characters
Artemis Fowl is a genius. Not just smarter-than-your-average-bear, but a downright criminal mastermind. And he's not even a teenager yet. He's determined to claim his place in the family infamy by capturing some fairy gold … by any means necessary. Throughout the book, Artemis is cold and calculating. Here and there are glimpses of a boy who loves his mother - but those glimpses are few. We are not supposed to "like" Artemis.
Butler is a bodyguard. Trained in every offensive and defensive technique imaginable. He's a huge bear of a man. He follows his young master's orders to the letter, and single-handedly takes on a troll. He is by far my favorite character of the book. A heavy handed mercenary whose love for his sister is his Achilles' heel.
Captain Holly Short is a fairy. The first woman on the reputable LEPrecon team. That's L.E.P recon (lower elements police reconnaissance). She's tough and clever. I think we're supposed to really like Holly. Well - we do, sort of. The problem is, everything moves so quickly, we never get to spend enough time with anyone. She's busy trying not to screw up, and we can all relate to that in our own lives on some level.
Commander Root is her red-faced superior officer. He likes Holly more than he is willing to admit. He's a tough old LEPrecon, who can remember the "top hat and shillelagh days". Root is full of quick wit and bravado. He's a likeable character, though he seems created for a screenplay, not a book.
Foaly is the techno geek. He's a centaur with a vast array of computer hardware and electronic equipment at his disposal. He's the genius that controls all of the equipment used by the fairies when they go "topside". He and Root have great dialogue, which again - feels more like a screenplay than a book. He's funny enough, but feels a bit contrived at times.
What worked about the book
The fairy world. They've progressed as we humans have - only with the assistance of magic, their technology surpasses our own. They now live below ground, avoiding contact with humans. Dwarves, elves, trolls, sprites, centaurs, unicorns ... The People. They each possess The Book, which lists the rules and codes that govern the way they live.
The beginning of the book draws you in, hook, line, and sinker. Artemis Fowl is determined to obtain a copy of The Book, and learn the secrets of The People. His ultimate objective is to capture a fairy, and steal some fairy gold.
Mulch Diggums. He is a convict dwarf recruited on a mission to invade Fowl mansion. The descriptions of how a dwarf processes earth ... or rather digests it … are quite humorous. I loved these sections of the book.
What didn't work
A much harder question to answer. Mostly it was that with about 280 pages of should-have-been-great story, it just falls flat. Not once am I intrigued enough by Artemis or Holly - the two main characters. The plot is interesting, but fails to maintain suspense and becomes (in places) predictable.
Some of the violence. Now, I'm no pansy - but I put myself in the place of an eleven-year-old reader. There is a passage that describes, in detail, Butler being crushed and thrown by a troll. I shudder to think how this might have affected a child if it hadn't been as glossed over as all of the action scenes.
Of course the ending prepares us for the sequel – just like any Hollywood production. I guess that is what finally clinched the 3-star rating. I just couldn’t get excited about the book by the end of it.
Something Fun
The author, Eoin Colfer, has created a code. A virtual fairy alphabet. Along the bottom of each page is a message written in fairy script. Readers have the opportunity to decode the message there. Hints for decoding this message are on pages 26-27 of the paperback version. I haven’t had time to decode much more than the first few pages, but frankly, I’ve lost interest.
I recommend the book, for light reading and a whimsical look at what fairies might be like in modern times. Just don’t expect to be blown away by this best seller.
ISBN: 0-7868-1707-0
Artemis Fowl, by Eoin Colfer
Recommended for ages 10 years and up.
Muze: Copyright 1995 - 2008 Muze Inc. For personal non-commercial use only. All rights reserved.
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2008 Shopping.com, Inc.