Artemis Fowl

Eoin Colfer

Artemis is a criminal mastermind – and he’s only 12. Set to restore the family fortune by crook, he is prepared to separate fairies from their gold to do it. Guarded only by Butler and Juliet, he needs to outwit a troll and the rest in order to get his gold. And in the end, will he be able to escape death?

Artemis is rather a flat character, in which the reader knows little about him except that after being left to his own devices after his father’s disappearance he is determined to not lose the family home despite his mother’s disabilities. You know that there must be something deeper going on in his mind, because he can’t be a bad guy all the way through, right?

This is a plot driven novel, with little attention given to landscape details and the like. You will find yourself liking the characters though, and Colfer guides the reader through different perspectives nicely through use of a detached faux scientific journal. There is an ‘introduction’ which introduces you to Artemis, but it don’t pay nearly enough homage to his brilliance (and Colfer’s by extension).

There are constant references to things that will occur in the future, and will be detailed in other books, which I think is a good way of putting a hook in for the reader. Younger readers are sure to enjoy it, male or female. Adults are unlikely to appreciate Artemis in the same way, but oh well, it’s not intended for them!

I hesitated to file this book under ‘action’, but it was the closest I could get under my current labeling scheme. I’ve also labelled it fantasy, due to the fairy aspect, but perhaps it is more like urban fantasy. I struggle with the definitions, I either like a book or I don’t!

I can still remember bringing my copy of this book to high school with me in maybe grade 7 or 8, and reading it with a close friend of the time. We both had copies, but we found it sociable to read the same copy! I always remember being jealous of his copy, because it was in so much better condition than mine. My copy is pictured above – the cover is really shiny and hard to photograph! I’m pretty sure you wouldn’t find the same cover anymore anyway, as the design changed after the first 3 books.

This is one of the first books I ever remember reading that I really enjoyed, and have kept reading over again and enjoying each time. Totally worth it to buy the rest of the books in the series (that I am going to read + review next), although I feel that the last couple of books don’t pack the same zing.