Book Review: Artemis Fowl

Title: Artemis Fowl

Author: Eoin Colfer

Reviewed by: Sheryl Anderson

Although aimed at children, the Artemis Fowl series is entertaining for adults as well.  These are action-adventure stories with elves, dwarves, trolls, centaurs and other fairy creatures, lots of high tech gadgets, some humor and some magic.  They follow the escapades of Artemis Fowl, a young genius and criminal mastermind, his bodyguard Butler, Captain Holly Short of the LEPrecon and assorted other fairy characters.

In the first book, Artemis has discovered the existence of fairies and sets up a trap to catch one.  Artemis is not a very nice person in the beginning.  The fairy he manages to kidnap is Captain Holly Short of the LEPrecon.  LEPrecon is short for Lower Elements Police Reconnaissance, an elite group of the LEP.  All of the fairies moved underground ages ago to escape humanity, which is where Lower Elements comes from.  We are introduced to many reoccurring characters in this book as they try to rescue Holly.  There’s Foley, a centaur and technological genus, Commander Julius Root, Holly’s boss, and Mulch Diggums, a tunnel dwarf and convict.

Book two reunites Artemis and Holly in the search and rescue attempt of Artemis’s father and the squashing of a goblin rebellion.  Book three involves stolen fairy technology and lots of high tech stuff.  In book four, Opal Koboi, the villain from book two, returns and plans to expose the fairy world.  Book five is about the lost colony of demons and the unraveling of the time spell that keeps them hidden.  There is a sixth book due to come out any day now, if it hasn’t already.

The books so far:
Artemis Fowl
Artemis Fowl: The Arctic Incident
Artemis Fowl: The Eternity Code
Artemis Fowl: The Opal Deception
Artemis Fowl: The Lost Colony