Artemis Fowl

By Eoin Colfer

5 Stars
Fantasy
Teen

Peggy the librarian in Finch, Ontario introduced my oldest son to this book and he quickly became a fan of the series. He liked them so much at the time that he collected some of the series as he found them in various used book stores. The copy I read came from his collection. I would not consider fantasy one of my favourite genres but I am a fan of this series myself. Probably the biggest tribute to Mr. Colfer is the fact that I've read this book at least three times already. I've enjoyed it every time.

Artemis Fowl is a twelve year old wealthy genius criminal mastermind. His genius has uncovered the existence of the fairy races living below the surface of the earth. They aren't quite the fairies of the fairy tales, we've all heard as children. Nevertheless our protagonist with the help of his seven foot Eurasian body guard Butler set out to exploit the people. Pitted against Holly Short an officer in LEPrecon (Lower Elements Police), her boss Commander Root and their centaur genius Foaly, have they bitten off more than they can chew? In spite of Artemis being a criminal Colfer succeeds in creating a character we love.

Taking Holly hostage with an eye for fairy gold, it's a battle of wits between the world of mud men and the advanced fairy society below ground. The story is told with wit and humour. I thoroughly enjoyed the book. I'm sure there are plot holes somewhere but frankly I was too busy enjoying the story to notice even after the third reading.

Even though it is clearly targeting a younger audience, I would still recommend it to anyone. Personally I liked it better than the Harry Potter series and that is not meant as a diss on J K Rowling. I will likely review more of the series with time. There are at least two new books in the series that nobody in family has gotten a copy of yet. I look forward to reading them all.