Artemis Fowl - The Opal Deception

By Eoin Colfer

5 Stars
Fantasy

Teen

Just continuing a complete review of all the books my son Sheldon has in his library from this particular series. He has the first five and this is the fourth in the series. I have read the first six but we have no copy of the sixth in the series – yet.

Artemis Fowl starts this story off without any of his fairy memories. He agreed in exchange for help from the fairies to have them all scrubbed from his mind so he would no longer be a threat to their underground existence. He of course has reverted to his criminal behaviour something he appeared to be progressing out of in the last book. He and Butler are on their way to steal a painting. Holly Short, Foaly and Commander Root have to deal with an escaped convict. Their retrieval effort goes awry with Commander Root being killed on an explosion blamed on Holly.

Opal Koboi the pixie genius villianess of The Arctic Incident made an impossible escape and is plotting revenge on all those who defeated her then, including the unaware Artemis and Butler. Our heroes including Mulch Diggums who has to escape from a prison submarine have their hands full.

The book is written in the same humorous style as the preceding books and is an enjoyable adventure. It's no secret that I'm a fan. Still I think it is deserving of the five star rating.

Parallel Journeys

By Eleanor Ayer

With Helen Waterford and Alfons Heck

5 Stars
Historical
Adult

This is another book from my children's homeschooling library. Like many or these books that I've chosen to read and review the contents are not only educational but also quite disturbing. With the recent 70^th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz it does talk about a time that we would be wise not to forget.

The setting of the book is Nazi Germany and tells the story of two people alternating between the two stories. It is a powerful contrast. Helen Waterford was a young Jewish woman from Germany. Her family escaped to Holland before the Second World War began. Her and her husband Siegfried were once again subject to the Nazi boot when Holland was overrun. They tried hiding but were eventually captured and sent to the concentration camps. Helen survived her husband did not. Her story is harrowing and horrible.

Jews were not the only people sent to the concentration camps and here is where I identify with her. As a Sabbatarian Christian I have no doubt that had the Nazis found me I'd have been there too. I do have one advantage in that I look like a typical Dutchman and therefore would have had an easier time escaping detection. I don't know if there is enough of the hero in me to have been a part of the underground although I have a dear friend now passed away whose family was part of that effort.

Alfons Heck was a youth when the Nazis came to power and he joined the Hitler Youth and enthusiastically supported the glory of Germany. He rose in the ranks and had quite a high position of leadership by the end of the war. He was only sixteen at the time. He personally met Hitler and other high ranking Nazi leaders along the way. With the end of the war, he looked for answers. Instead of denying what he had done he set out to speak out. He wanted to truth to be told to help keep this from ever happening again.

Helen and Alfons began touring together with their message and their stories. The result here is powerful, thought provoking and disturbing. I highly recommend it to any of my readers.

Only the Names Remain: The Cherokees and the Trail of Tears

By Alex W Bealer

Illustrated by Kristina Rodanas

4.5 Stars

Historical

Adult

This book also resides in my children's homeschooling library, again part of the Sonlight history curriculum. It caught my attention mainly because I have several good friends that are part Cherokee. Most prominent would by Kitty Sutton who writes historical fiction related to the Cherokee Nation. I've already reviewed the first two of her books and will probably review the third book at some point as well.

Only the Names Remain is short, 76 pages and the font is not small. There are illustrations sprinkled through it. It is easily read in one sitting. The prose for the literary amoung us, isn't anything to get excited about, but it isn't boring. The subject and the content is riveting enough.

I think the book succeeds in its mission, which is to give a brief concise history of the Cherokee and what happened to this still proud American tribe. My only objection to the book is that it gives the impression that the Cherokee Nation has been completely destroyed by betrayal. The betrayal and cruelty is real but my Cherokee friends still know they are Cherokee. I know they have many leaders who work hard to make sure the next generation knows who they are and about their history.

The book begins in Georgia pointing out place names in what was once the territory of the Cherokee Nation. It briefly mentions what is known of their ancient history and then deals more with the period where they adapted to the arrival of Europeans. It outlines their alliances and enemies both native and European. From there it pinpoints the events that lead up to their forced relocation. Finally it deals with the infamous Trail of Tears itself where one in four died en route. It is a sad and shameful event in American history and I think all Americans should learn about it. I'm not American and never studied American history in school except as it touched on Canadian history. The fact that this was part of Sonlight curriculum, an American based program, makes me think that maybe it is taught extensively. I do wish it discussed where the Cherokee are today but it doesn't take the reader significantly past the Trail of Tears.

As a Canadian I don't believe I'm in any position to hate America for what it did to the Cherokee. All they would have to ask is where the Beothuk are today. We didn't march them anywhere. We just hunted them to extinction.

I do highly recommend the book for anyone.

Artemis Fowl - The Eternity Code

By Eoin Colfer

5 Stars

Fantasy

Teen

This is the third book in the Artemis Fowl series and if you enjoyed the first two you're likely hooked at this point. The copy I read of course has been pilfered from my son's library like the others. I do give him credit and the entire family does make an effort to expand his collection every time we visit a used book store. I have read one that my son didn't have. It came through the local library. I also know there are two more books in the series at least that none of has read yet. I hope to be able to help him complete the collection even if it means buying some of them new.

The Eternity Cube starts with our intrepid child genius Artemis Fowl getting his criminal ego badly bruised and Butler suffering a mortal wound in the process. He was trying to make a buck from his pilfered fairy technology through a mini computer called the C Cube. Jon Spiro the villain of the story and his bodyguard Arno Blunt take possession of the technology. Artemis in an effort to save the life of his friend Butler appeals to the fairies for help.

Because fairy technology is in jeopardy they don't really have a choice but to help. Holly, Foaly, Mulch and Juliet are back and take on Jon Spiro in his lair equipped with the latest human security. In exchange for the help that he receives Artemis agrees to have his memories wiped at the end of it all so that he won't remember anything about them when all is said and done.

The end of the book is left open as to whether Artemis succeeds in beating the mind wipe. This book ends with the most obvious lead in to the fact that this is an ongoing series. Between that and the writing off Butler's abilities to a large degree at the end of the book tempted me to deduct half a point from the score. Not quite though, it is a great entertaining read. My feelings about the Butler thing is a little clouded by the fact that I've already read further in the series and I know that is overstating it.

From my point of view the book is highly recommended along with the rest of the series as I've experienced it.

Artemis Fowl - The Arctic Incident

By Eoin Colfer

5 Stars

Fantasy

Teen

The books from this series all reside in my oldest son's library. At some point I'm sure he will purchase a copy of all the ones he is missing. I might even help him out on that count. Flogging a dead horse again, I'm not a big fan of fantasy outside of science fiction sometimes. I will review a lot of them because all my children are fans of the genre and I have free access to a lot of them. Maybe I'm kidding myself because when I was younger I enjoyed reading several of Frank Herbert's books.

The Arctic Incident is the first sequel in the series. The first book was great and this book and story are just as good. That doesn't always happen with sequels. Most of the original cast is back, Artemis the child criminal mastermind, Butler his body guard, Holly Short, Commander Root, Mulch Diggums and Foaly. This time they have to face a threat together.

Protagonists and antagonists from the first book each have their own separate problem to deal with. Artemis Fowl senior is alive and being held ransom by the Russian Mafiya in Murmansk. He survived the sinking of the Fowl Star and has been in a coma for most of the intervening time. Our young hero and his body guard are trying to figure out how to bring him home.

Holly, Commander Root and Foaly have a different problem. The goblin triad is trading with humans and bringing in contraband goods to power outlawed weapons. They assume Artemis is behind it all. They bring him and Butler in for questioning and find out the have the wrong bad guys. Without going into detail they agree to work together. Artemis helps them solve their problem, the fairies help him retrieve his father.

The real culprit is disgraced LEP commander Briar Cudgeon who isn't over his humiliation in the first book. He has enlisted the help of Opal Koboi a genius who is a foil to Foaly. She is a vicious little pixie in her own right. It takes all of our heroes working together to win the day. After that they rescue Artemis Fowl Sr in dramatic fashion.

It is a great read. The same wit and humour I loved in the first book is evident here as well. I highly recommend this book as well.

Year of Impossible Goodbyes

By Sook Nyul Choi

5 Stars
Historical
Adult

This book was found in my children's homeschooling library. It was part of Sonlight one of the curriculums that we used. It was part of their history lessons. They have a stack of similar books several of which I have read and may offer reviews of in the future. Some of them are straight non-fiction such as this one and others are historical fiction. Both genres are of interest to me.

This is Sook Nyul Choi's story. She was born in Pyongyang during the Japanese occupation of Korea. The story begins when she is ten years old. The Japanese are cruel masters and they live in hopeless fear of them. Sook's mother manages a small factory that makes socks for Japanese soldiers. They toil under the sadistic leadership of Captain Narita whose wife is the school teacher for Sook. She is a match for her husband.

There seemed to be momentary hope when the Japanese surrendered and started going home. They were replaced by the Communist Russians who insidiously turned Koreans against each other. Trapped in the North under Communist rule they risked everything to escape to the south and freedom.

What human beings are capable of doing to each other is absolutely horrifying. There were scenes in the book that almost brought me to tears. Other parts made me angry. The story is not for the faint of heart but it is definitely worth reading. It brings home lessons none of us should forget. It took me a couple of days to come down from the emotion of the story before I could sit down and write this.

It is well written but the power of the story will likely cause you not to notice one way or the other. Definitely deserves the five star rating I give. Highly recommended.

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.