Artemis Fowl by: Eoin Colfer
review by: Jill Brown '04
Eoin Colfer's Artemis Fowl is a cleverly staged battle of weapons and wits centered in Ireland. On both sides of the fight, the moral and criminal individuals unite to fight their perceived common enemy and the supposed rules of war are broken to reveal a truly clever yet desperate plan.This book is the creative and humorous story of the fairies versus a 12-year old genius, Artemis Fowl. Artemis, a child prodigy, attempts to regain his family's fortune by holding a fairy for ransom, a ton of fairy gold. Artemis Fowl, while being a mere child, has the obedient following of Butler, his very large manservant, who can overpower anyone who attempts to interfere with Artemis' plan. The pairing of a small child and an overgrown bully is humorous enough without the addition of elves, centaurs, goblins, and dwarfs, who comprise much of the magical realm of characters.
³On reprimand for numerous larcenies: Mulch Diggums, the kleptomaniac dwarf. A dubious individual, even by Artemis Fowl's standards. As if this account didn't already suffer from an overdose of amoral individuals.²
The main unit of magical beings is the LEPrecon unit (Lower Elements Police recon unit). The LEPrecons are more technologically advanced than the humans (who they refer to as Mud People) and possess wings, great weapons, time stops and mesmerizing capabilities.
I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoyed any of the Harry Potter books or who enjoys humorous and magical adventures. Artemis Fowl is a fun book to read as a mental vacation from reading tiresome and dense scholarly texts. If you end up enjoying Artemis Fowl, the second book in the trilogy, Artemis Fowl: The Artic Incident has already been published.