Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer

Rate and review Artemis Fowl! | What does everyone else think?

Summary Hugely enjoyable; just the right mix of fantasy, humour, gadgets and thrills.

This is the first instalment of the Artemis Fowl series, which continues to grow in success as well as its number of books.

Artemis Fowl is a 12 year old genius born into the Fowl dynasty, that is, he is heir apparent and an already accomplished master of criminal activities that have founded the Fowl empire; he also has every intention of continuing in his father’s footsteps. With his manservant, bodyguard and all round unstoppable man mountain, Butler, Artemis proceeds in his plan to replenish the family coffers with gold…lots of it. But this is no ordinary gold he has set his sights on, this is Fairy Gold, but then Artemis is no ordinary 12 year old.

Having procured a copy of ‘The Book’ the fairy bible, Artemis translates and digests the secrets contained within, allowing him to track and trap a fairy who has come ‘topside’ from the fairy kingdom underground in order to fulfil a magical ceremony. Holly Short is a female officer in the LEP fairy police and as such is considered expendable by some of her senior officers, but thankfully not all of them. This story (sorry, factual account – Artemis Fowl is after all ‘real’) recounts the attempts of Artemis to blackmail ‘The People’, that’s magical folk to you and me, into giving him a rather large chunk of gold and The People try to stop the ‘Mud People’ that’s us humans, from succeeding in their plan and rescuing the kidnapped Officer Short. There is amazing technology used on both sides, the fairies comes courtesy of the resident Centaur, Foaly, who is as adept at crushing one-liners as he is at iris eye cameras and lava lifts. Root is Holly’s permanently purple-faced; bad tempered commanding officer who Foaly takes great delight in riling further. Along with the impressive technology are big, smelly Trolls and Tunnel Dwarfs that can dig at an amazing rate by unhinging their jaws and literally eating the soil as they burrow – no guesses where the soil has to exit!

Artemis is a supremely intelligent child that considers any signs of humility as weakness; however, he is not quite yet the hardened criminal his father was before him so remains a likeable and not completely ruthless character. Butler, his loyal servant is just the type of best friend you dream of having, capable of getting you out of any sticky situation and always on your side, even if they think you’re in the wrong. Holly Short is a LEPrechaun officer and as such has had years of intense and specialised training, so she should stop getting everything wrong at sometime, right?

This book is hugely enjoyable and has just the right mix of fantasy, humour, gadgets and thrills to keep even the most demanding of children entertained. Beware though; if you do buy this book be prepared to buy the rest, as another trick of Artemis Fowl’s is that he is highly addictive! Eoin Colfer has done his homework and knows exactly what his readers are looking for.

Artemis Fowl (Amazon.co.uk)

Author: Eoin Colfer
Binding: Paperback
Number of pages: 304
Publication date: 2006-04-06
Publisher: Puffin

RRP: £6.99
Lowest new price: £1.72
Lowest used price: £0.01

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
Amazon.co.uk Review

Artemis Fowl (Amazon.com)

Author: Eoin Colfer
Binding: Paperback
Number of pages: 304
Publication date: 2002-03-07
Publisher: Puffin Books

RRP: $12.40
Lowest new price: $0.01
Lowest used price: $0.01

Twelve-year-old villain, Artemis Fowl, is the most ingenious criminal mastermind in history. His bold and daring plan is to hold a leprechaun to ransom. But he's taking on more than he bargained for when he kidnaps Captain Holly Short of the LEPrecon (Lower Elements Police Reconnaissance Unit). For a start, leprechaun technology is more advanced than our own. Add to that the fact that Holly is a true heroine and that her senior officer Commander Root will stop at nothing to get her back and you've got the mother of all sieges brewing!
Product Description

Submit your own mini-review

Let people know what you think about Artemis Fowl. You can write your own mini-review and give the book the rating that you think it deserves. Your reviews will go towards giving Artemis Fowl its overall rating that will decide where Artemis Fowl finishes in the top 100 fantasy books of all time.

Books you may also enjoy...

The Immortals by Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell

Five hundred years into the third age of flight and mighty phraxships steam across the immensity of the Deepwoods, plying their lucrative trade between the three great cities. Nate Quarter, a young Lamplighter from the mines of the eastern woods is propelled on an epic journey of self-discovery that encompasses tournaments, battles, revolutions and a final encounter with the Immortals themselves.

... read the full review

Summary: Astonishing imagination and outstanding illustrations.

Reader reviews | Write review

King of the Cloud Forests by Michael Morpurgo

When Japan invades China, Ashley and Uncle Sung are forced to flee. It is a perilous journey across the Himalayas, and they struggle to survive. Then Ashley is captured. Who are these strange creatures that revere him as their king? ... read the full review

Summary: A beautiful and magical tale of love, loss, friendship and understanding.

Reader reviews | Write review

Stormchaser by Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell

On board the Stormchaser, Twig, a young crewmember drawn by destiny to join the sky pirates, is filled with excitement at the adventure ahead. Their quest is to collect stormphrax – a valuable substance created inside the heart of the storm. Stormchaser is the second book in The Twig Trilogy, a fantasy series for older children / young adults. Written by Paul Stewart and illustrated by Chris Riddell, it forms part of the Edge Chronicles, a series that has sold almost one and half million copies worldwide. ... read the full review

Summary: Everything is perfect ... and reading it is a pure delight.

Reader reviews | Write review

Also in this sub-genre...

• The Iron Man by Ted Hughes
• The Immortals by Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell
• King of the Cloud Forests by Michael Morpurgo
• Stormchaser by Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell
• The Sum of All Men by David Farland
• The Curse of the Gloamglozer by Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell
• Kensuke’s Kingdom by Michael Morpurgo
• The Way of the Warrior by Chris Bradford
• The Way of the Sword by Chris Bradford
• Midnight over Sanctaphrax by Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell
• Beyond the Deepwoods by Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell
• The Galaxy Boys and The Sphere by Andrew Steele