Artemis Fowl

The unique take on your average protagonist is what initially drew me into the novel. Artemis is not easily likable. He is young boy genius who spends his time manipulating those around him and is entrenched in the criminal underworld. Artemis discovers the existence of an underground civilization and naturally decides to exploit it for money. The humanity in Artemis comes from his treatment toward Butler and his parents. He subtly displays love and trust towards his accomplice and bodyguard Butler, and he is heartsick over his mother's mental deterioration after his father's sudden disappearance. Due to this, you may just find yourself rooting for Artemis by the end.

Fantastic start to the series. I am loving the dry, quirky humor Eoin Colfer infuses the story with. The set-up of the story with the file notes and the history is clear enough to keep the story from being confusing, but still complicated enough to make you want to figure out what is going on.

What I've noticed as I read through the story was how realistic Artemis was - especially for being a 12 year old "genius". In spite of his advanced technological knowledge and his masterminding schemes, he still is an insecure boy that needs reassurance and his parents. I loved the very human side of him.

I first read this when I was twelve. I was determined to grow up and marry Holly, or work with her side by side, or both. I kind of wanted to be Artemis but not really. Mulch fascinated me and Foley was the coolest, in my mind. I didn't go online to crack the code at the bottom of the pages. Having just read a sci-fi book about teens that taught the readers to crack the code (and just tonight spent an hour unsuccessfully attempting to google the title of), I attempted to decipher the Artemis Fowl code myself. After a few pages, I gave up and read the first Artemis Fowl book in one sitting. As an adult, I saw a Goodreads friend rate it and figured I'd reread it myself. I remembered several cool parts and thought they'd be interesting show more again. The copy I read had a cover I found uninteresting, and to my dismay, the pages were feathered. Feathered edges drive me nuts. The text was middle grade, but the story tried to hide that, with some effort, it could have been YA. The overall effect was that readers were treated as stupid over, over, over and over some more. I didn't laugh at single joke. I laughed a 'do you know what you just implied to an American audience?' few times. Mostly I shook my head and waited for the book to end.

The parts I was looking forward to were incredibly lackluster and went on for maybe a paragraph each. The world-building was rushed. It also presumed the audience's knowledge of mythological creatures and such history in a sloppy way. The writing tried to alert me to the fact that this is the beginning of a series in an overdone way. Sometimes this was done in a way that sucked all possible tension out of the present moment. Most of all--I read the book flap as an adult and had forgotten Artemis is twelve. I giggled upon rediscovery and at times, had to stifle laughter as I read. Oh, and the mom has locked herself in the basement and the dad's presumed dead and oh look, the bodyguard is supposedly a father figure. At first, it was entertaining that the author thought this plausible in the story. As the book progressed, it got incredibly annoying.

Butler is repeatedly stated to be a father figure to his employer (power dynamics are a thing, author), but is afraid to ask how he's feeling. How old is Butler? His little sister, Juliet, is sixteen and means the world to him, and I'm never shown why. Juliet is a prop, anyway. She's there for Artemis to have a crush on and Holly to put a spell on. Juliet's only characterization is to like wrestling, to be stupid, and I kept waiting for her to say the exact phrase 'I'm not like other girls'. Why is she in the Fowl's employ? Why is a twelve-year-old managing the family finances and business decisions? Did his mom sign papers so he could fly to another country in the beginning of the book, with his bodyguard? Admittedly, that's always been one of my favorite parts: the alcoholic faery is awesome. No clue why. Back to the pompous jerk who can't shave yet: who's letting him get away with all this stuff? How long has he been doing this? Why have responsible adults and agencies overlooked him? I get that the mom's sick and the dad's missing, but he should have gone into foster care long ago since that's the case.

I'm convinced that, as an adult, the author wrote down the elaborate childhood fantasies he'd had and got them published as this book series. I congratulate him sincerely on his success and have been curious about the movie since I first read the book--I want to see what Holly looks like. I point out that Artemis Fowl is a Marty Stu, although arguably a Gary Stu, and shall peruse TV Tropes to accurately label. In a different time, he might get along with Draco Malfoy. Seriously, both times I read this, I kept thinking of Malfoy when Fowl got more than a sentence of page time.
To Mr Colfer: I'm sorry your childhood was so hard. Mine also resulted in me developing a rich fantasy world to cope, and this is the second time I've admitted this. I think you needed more editors for this book, and I hope the movie turns out well. show less

Very smart book for kids with a nice anti hero twist.

Artemis is a shit of kid. Rich, smug, entitled, genius level IQ and a serious desire to take over the world. He is a young Lex Luthor with ten times the smarts and possibly also the ruthlessness. When he one day catches a fairy he discovers a whole new world of magic, violence, special forces units and danger all of which might help or hinder his plans for world domination.

This book in no way shape or form talks down to kids rather it demands they raise themselves to its level by treating the main protagonist with such seriousness and skill that you end up cheering for the little turd.

I'm just happy that the hero is a sort of mean, calculating, criminal child. It's a nice break from the idea that all children are innocent and good-hearted little saints. Kids have pain and react to that pain. I mean, the book isn't trying to be that deep, it's mainly just very entertaining, good story.. but the thing that hooks me is that the main character is a likeable little jerk.

Ich hatte mal zu Weihnachten Teil 2 und 3 bekommen und fand sie ganz toll. Jetzt dachte ich mir, dass es mal Zeit für Teil 1 ist. Und bin froh, diesen nicht zuerst gelesen zu haben. Der Humor kommt schon unterschwellig durch, der dann in den nächsten Bänden Oberhand gewinnt. Doch irgendwie sind Geschichte und Charaktere noch unausgegoren. Es war ganz nett und spaßig zu lesen, aber ich glaube nicht, dass ich jemals die nächsten Bände gelesen hätte, wäre das mein erstes Artemis Buch gewesen.

Ansonsten stimmt alles:

Fantasyanteil: Check ✔
Humor: Check ✔
Supergeniebösewicht: Check ✔
Ein bis an die Zähne bewaffneter Butler: Check ✔
Mutter darf nichts erfahren: Check ✔

Also: Gutes Buch, aber nichts besonderes. Erstmal. Der show more Autor musste sich offensichtlich erst einschreiben bevor er da was tolles auf die Beine gestellt hat.

Achso, da war noch was. Ich schrieb folgendes bei Gone:

(Nichts gegen Artemis, aber der hat Geselligkeit nicht gerade mit dem Löffel gefressen. Wenn Butler nicht ständig hinter ihm stehen würde hätte er sicherlich schon seeehr oft Prügel bezogen).

Und was passiert in diesem Buch?

She pulled back her fist, fingers curled in a tight bunch. Artemis didn’t flinch. Why would he? Butler always intervened before punches landed. But then something caught his eye, a large figure running down the stairway on the first-floor monitor. It was Butler.

‘That’s right, rich boy,’ said Holly nastily. ‘You’re on your own this time.’

And before Artemis eyes hat time to widen, Holly put an extra few kilos of spring in her elbow and whacked her abductor right on the nose.

HAHA! Und sehr befriedigend. Also soweit es einen befriedigen kann dass ein 12 Jahre alter Bengel eins auf die Glocke bekommt. show less

I have just read this book again and I’m wondering why I originally gave it 3 stars. Was I nuts? This book is great. It combines espionage with the fairy world. How original is that?

It starts off with this genius, millionaire kid named Artemis Fowl. The Fowl family are corporate criminals. They lost a few hundred million when a Russian missile destroyed a shipment of Coca Cola, and Artemis, having the mastermind brain that he has, wants to build the fortune back up. How’s he going to do it? By kidnapping a fairy and demanding ransom of course.

The fairy world is comprised of all kinds of impish creatures, all of which are unknown to humans. Artemis has figured out their existence and has gotten his hands on their secret handbook. The show more fairies have been forced underground to get away from humans. Holly Short is a captain in the LEPrecon police unit. She works for the cantankerous Commander Root. When Root orders Holly to recharge her magic, which can only be done at certain locations above ground, Artemis is waiting. He kidnaps her and threatens to expose the fairy world unless they pay up. What follows is a great James Bond like attempt by the fairies to rescue Holly without having to pay the ransom.

This book is jam packed with action. Great characters. Great plot. Great description. Highly sophisticated fairy magic. I love Root, Holly, and the techie centaur Foaly. Colfer brings high creativity to this one.

FYI: Movie coming out in 2019 show less