Artemis Fowl
Style: Average
Attitude: Some Care Needed → Fairly Positive
This review was contributed by Ben G
In Brief: Enjoyably different take on the world of Fairies; the 12-year-old main character's amorality in achieving his ends
Series: Artemis Fowl
Publisher: Viking
Published in: 2001
Age Range: Pre Teens+
Period: Contemporary
Setting: Ireland
Genres: Adventure , Friendship , Humorous , Magic
Characters:
- Artemis Fowl: The 12 year old, ingenious criminal mastermind whose main aim in life is to return his family's fortune and glory.
- Butler: His trusty sidekick and bodyguard. Butler a 6'6" Eurasian exists solely to do Artemis' bidding.
- Holly Short: The lively and possibly trigger-happy fairy whom Artemis kidnaps.
- Foaly: An arrogant centaur who pioneered and invents all fairy technology.
- Mrs Fowl: The slightly batty mother of Artemis who refuses to accept that Artemis' father, who has been missing for several years is dead.
Synopsis:
Artemis Fowl, a 12-year-old criminal mastermind, comes from a long line of rich Irish criminals; however in recent years his father, now missing and presumed dead, managed to squander a substantial amount of the family's fortune and drag the name Fowl into disrepute. Artemis makes it his main aim in life to return the family's wealth and pull the name Fowl higher up the criminal food chain.
By means of the internet and the Book of the Fairies, which he obtains from a corrupt fairy, he discovers the secrets of the fairies and where they live. He devises an ingenious plan to kidnap a fairy and hold it to ransom which will restore his former wealth. His kidnapping target is Captain Short of the LEPrecon, Lower Elements Police Recon. However Artemis reckons without the determination of the LEPrecon and the fact that they will use all the technology at their disposal to stop him. He soon realises that these are not the fairies of fairy tales
Notes:
Literary: This is a very enjoyable though light-hearted story with an action packed and very imaginative plot and some interesting dialogue and interaction between the characters. It is a fairly long story but the author manages to hold the reader's attention and interest throughout.
General: Artemis uses bribery and corruption for his own ends, including giving a corrupt fairy her fix of alcohol. Artemis is self-obsessed and carried away with his own cleverness rather like Sherlock Holmes. Despite this however Artemis clearly loves his father and the rest of his family very deeply.
Something whizzed over Holly's head, something that glinted in the sunlight. Holly had enough on-the-job experience to realize that she was under fire, and immediately curled her elfin frame into a ball, minimizing the target.
Tuesday 1st January 2002