Review: Artemis Fowl

His intelligence is well beyond any mortal let alone for his age. For months Artemis has been on the trail to find a fairy (yes, fairies exists) because fairies have a magic book. Why would he want this book? Because he wants to exploit the fairies and get their gold. With a fairy’s magical book he will know all their secrets, how they operate, how they do things and most importantly,  how to make himself rich and doesn't care whether if there is war between Fairy and Man. 

Eoin (pronounced Owen) Colfer is the bestselling author of a series called Artemis Fowl which the first book is also named after. Eoin has created a world where Fairies, Trolls and Dwarves exist but humans know nothing of (well except the ones that do) and if they happen to mistakenly glimpse them, the fairies have magically imbued technology that allows them to make them forget.

 

Artemis Fowl is a story which details about a boy called Artemis Fowl whose mother is sick and his father has gone missing. He is taken care of by a family called the Butler’s who have looked after (both as nanny and bodyguard) the Fowl family for centuries. The Butlers’ loyalty to the Fowl’s is second to none and they are raised knowing they will be protecting the Fowl family, so when Artemis has an idea about capturing a fairy (which can lead to cross-species war) Butler follows along loyally no questions asked.

 

I found this book to be a very fast paced book. It had lots of planning and scandals and it won’t take you long to finish (because you don’t really want to put it down). Artemis is a very intelligent boy and is portrayed as a villain (because he tries to exploit another race to get gold) yet there is still a 12 year old boy yearning for his mother and father. This is probably where the skills of Eoin Colfer shine, as children can really relate with Artemis on this level. I have been brought up with certain images and understandings of Fairies and Dwarves and if you want to change them, those changes better be good. However, Colfer really changes the way they are in his book, they are definitely unique but the changes aren’t to my liking and I have a suspicion that he changed it for a greater ‘young male’ readership. Although with that said, this book can be enjoyable for ‘young female’ readers as well. One of the main characters in the book is a female fairy called Holly Short who is strong and vibrant which I am sure all girls want to be as well.

 

I will surely pick up the next book Artemis Fowl: The Arctic Incident as this book was such a lively read.