Artemis Fowl

:My random thoughts:

I had heard much about this raved upon book and it's following series.  But, I'm not much of a reader of best sellers. I haven't read Harry Potter, Percy Jackson and the Olympians, The Twilight series, and I just read the Hunger Games.  But, after seeing most of the books at our library, I decided, "Well, Might as well try".  That was a huge turning point at my life.  Huge. How can I ever properly express my utmost love for that naughty 12 year old? How, my friends?

:Publisher's Description:

Twelve-year-old Artemis Fowl is a millionaire, a genius—and, above all, a criminal mastermind. But even Artemis doesn’t know what he’s taken on when he kidnaps a fairy, Captain Holly Short of the LEPrecon Unit.  These aren’t the fairies of bedtime stories; these fairies are armed and dangerous. 

            Artemis thinks he has them right where he wants them…but then they stop playing by the rules.

:info to know:

Author:  Eion Colfer

My recommended age:  10+

Their recommended age: 10+

Publisher: Hyperion books

Number of Pages: 304

• Characters:   Amazing. Shall I do a run down of my favorite? 
  Artemis:   He is, by far, my favorite villain after Moriarty. His cunning, his smarts, his everything, is just, just, captivating.  Sometimes, I forgot he was only 12, until the lollipop remark...*snicker*...and then, I think Artemis must've been knocked off key.  I loved the ending of the book the most, because I think it showed the little boy hidden under the criminal mastermind. It brought tears to my eyes.
  
  
  Butler: Come on, don't we all wish, at one point or another, to have such a loyal friend/bodyguard as  Butler? I simply adore that guy. He is like a teddy bear with a machine gun. Really, he is.
  
  
  Foaly: Computer Geek Centaur? Yes, thank you.
  
  
  Commander Root: He reminded me of the very image of an US Army Sarge. And I found his outbursts, and his annoyance at the whole world very humorous.

 Plot:
I wondered the whole book long how Artemis AND the Folk were going to win the battle, and triumph. We all know, of course, that Artemis would ultimately win, but the Fairies just couldn't go away empty handed. And they also had the advantage of technology centuries above humans.  But, I think it all wrapped up nicely.  And, always remember, at the core of every Technology, is a wee bit of magic. And magic, can be cheated.

Writing Style:
I will admit, it was a bit slow towards the middle.  But, after delving into it, I became sucked in.  I know a lot of people abjected top the way the Fairies thought about Humans (AKA Mud people), and they said Mr. Colfer was trying to sell propaganda about saving the earth, but I don't feel that way at all.  Just because the Fairies didn't like the way Humans do things, doesn't mean Mr. Colfer does. You CAN have different opinions then your Characters, ya know.

Cover:
Isn't Artemis the cutest little fella in black shades?

Ending:
It made me cry.  But it wrapped up nicely. It left room for a sequel without driving us crazy to "WHAT NEXT?"

World Building:
I think he did a good job. Naturally, Earth already exists, but whodathunk to make an underground world? Amazing.  He could have easily made the fairies retreat into the forests with an Invisible shielding of some sort, but nope, Underground they went.

Language:

Outside of some Fairy language we couldn't understand? None.

Drugs and Drink:

Artemis drugs Holly, and at the end, he drugs himself, Butler, and Juliet. I wont tell you why.

Romance and sexual content:

None.

Violence:

Harmless stuff, pretty much. Trolls are nasty creatures, but the first encoutner with the brutes ends with all well.  The second encounter, Butler Dies (High light for spoiler: But never fear! Holly revives him!), And Juliet is in peril. Butler fights many times, but with clean methods, and Juliet loves watching wrestling. Artemis and the whole household nearly die.  There is nothing I would abject to in a movie.

Ratings:

 

Is it any shock that I give this book a:

 

Have you read this series yet?

How often do you read popular books?