Artemis Fowl I
by Eoin Colfer
Artemis Fowl I
by
Eoin Colfer
|
|
| published
|
October 2004
by Montena Mondadori
|
| first published
| 2001 |
| binding
| Paperback |
| isbn
|
9509080004
(isbn13: 9789509080003)
|
| pages
| 288 |
| date added
|
01-31-07
|
|
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Read in May, 2004
recommends it for:
NOBODY
An excerpt from my blog: http://swertfeger.blogspot.com...
I had heard some mothers in a bookstore talking about Artemis Fowl and how good it was, so I finally gave in and bought the first book. Artemis Fowl is a child genius/billionaire/criminal mastermind who has discovered that fairies and the like are real and is seeking to exploit them. He does this by kidnapping a LEPrecon (fo...more
An excerpt from my blog: http://swertfeger.blogspot.com...
I had heard some mothers in a bookstore talking about Artemis Fowl and how good it was, so I finally gave in and bought the first book. Artemis Fowl is a child genius/billionaire/criminal mastermind who has discovered that fairies and the like are real and is seeking to exploit them. He does this by kidnapping a LEPrecon (for Lower Elements Police Reconnaissance). The Lower Elements live underground, having been driven there by the Mud People (or humans). I decided that the book was not good in the first few pages. The writing is not up to par. Some of the dialogue seems like it came from two six-year olds arguing about whose laser gun was better, when in fact all they have are cheap squirt guns. A child’s imagination is an amazing thing, but the words they use to describe their imagination is quite another. In addition to the bad writing and dialogue, the plot is also poorly structured. But what makes me really angry about this book is the attempt to brainwash kids through literature. I am not opposed to teaching children morals and values through stories, in fact that is the way it has been done for centuries, but this book goes above and beyond what is acceptable. The author, Eoin Colfer, I discovered is trying to teach children to take care of the environment by contrasting fairy society with human society. However, in attempting to do this, he shows his repulsion of not just pollution but of the whole human race. Let me share some passages with you:
If the Mud People knew [about leprechauns] they’d probably take steps to stamp them out. Pg. 33
Mud People bred like rodents. Pg. 50
The Mud People destroyed everything they came in contact with. Pg. 50
The only good thing about going to the toilet was the minerals being returned to the earth, but the Mud People had even managed to botch that up by treating the …stuff…with bottles of blue chemicals. Pg. 50
She could see the polution in [the dolphins], bleaching their skin white and giving them red sores on their backs. And although she smiled, her heart was breaking. Mud People had a lot to answer for. Pg. 68
The smell of death and pain lingered in the blood-swabbed decks. Many noble creatures had died here, died and been dissected for a few bars of soap and some heating oil. Humans were such barbarians. Pg. 105
The Mud People had greased the hinges [of the whaling boat] with whale blubber. Was there no end to their depravity. Pg. 106
Mud People have been stealing from us for millennia. Why do you think we live underground? Pg. 120
…unless the Mud People had learned to coexist with other species. And if history had taught any lessons it was that humans couldn’t get along with anyone, even themselves. Pg. 125
“…I’d say there was some human blood in you.” In describing a fairy who was a little trigger happy. Then later, he apologized because, "it had been a deeply offensive insult." Pg. 128
No one built weapons of cruelty like the Mud Men. Pg. 265
Sorry, there were quite a few. It just makes me angry to see someone be this repulsed by their own species. I recognize that the types of humans described in the above passages do in fact exist, but not all humans are like that, and we are getting better. But you know what I would like to do now, I would like to debate Mr. Colfer’s accusations on humanity using the fairy world he created for her book.
First of all, let me share with you the basic history of human-fairy relations, according to Colfer. Fairies apparently descended from Pterodactyls, and lived peacefully on earth for many millennia until the humans evolved. The fairies called these humans, Mud People, because they lived in the mud. The humans apparently could not help but try and kill the fairies. Instead of fighting, the fairies withdrew underground, and it is there that they have lived for many centuries. Going deeper and deeper as we humans mine more and more. The fairies only return to the surface to replenish their magic.
Now, answer me this, if you care about something, would you fight for it or would you hide? I would fight for it, and it seems that the fairies would too. That is the basis for the plot of the book, but for some reason, the fairy race has decided too hide, while these cruel humans destroy the earth that they care about so much. But who even says that we would have to fight. All we know is that they are not fighting. So, we can’t change that. These fairies complain about our destruction and pollution of earth. However, the main fairy in the book at one point uses wings (they strap on to their backs) that are gasoline powered. Now granted, they were an old pair of wings, now all the newer wings are solar powered, but the fact that they had at one point used gasoline, and are still using gasoline in older modeled wings, seems to indicate that they are partially responsible for the pollution on earth, and only switched to solar recently. The main fairy also complains about the human's sewage treatment. I would also like to know what the fairies would propose that we do with our sewage besides treating it. We create so much that the earth cannot biodegrade it quickly enough to keep disease from breeding in it. Now, if we had the magic power to heal, like the fairies, then maybe we could just let it return to earth naturally, but the fairies have taken the magic away from us. They will not share. And one more thing, the author says that no one builds weapons of cruelty like the humans, yet, throughout the book, Colfer describes fairy weapons like a “Neutrino 2000” which is a platinum nuclear handgun that has three settings, “scorched, well-done, and crisped to a cinder”, and not only that but the gun will continue to work for well over a thousand years, so not only can you use it to kill many things, but should you die or lose it, it will continue to work in the hands of others for a millenium. But the worst weapon the fairies have invented is a “Blue Rinse”, which is a biological bomb that destroys only living tissue, leaving the landscape unchanged. Can you imagine? All the “benefits” of Hiroshima, without all the bad side effects like destroying a city. And what’s worse is that while we have used the nuclear bomb only twice, the fairies use the blue rinse “on rare occasions.” That sounds a lot more frequent than twice. I don’t know about you, but it sounds like the fairies are just as capable as humans in the production of weapons of cruelty.
But you know what, that argument is stupid. There are no fairies with magic powers, despite the numerous books available that would suggest otherwise, and if they do exist, they have decided not to help us. So, it is up to us humans to work things out on our own, and while there have been some bad things in our past, what matters now is our present, and what we do from here on out, and I would like to say that in spite of it all, we are doing a pretty good job. Humans are good creatures, created in the image of God. We are imperfect, but on the whole, we are all striving for perfection every day. And that is all I have to say about that.
...less
bookshelves:
fictionmagical
Read in September, 2007
i managed to decipher the code written below the book so for those who are interested...read on:
THE PROPHECIES OF OHM PHLEGM POT CLEANER TO FROND ELFEN KING:
I AM OHM PHLEGM POT CLEANER TO THE KING. BUT I AM MUCH MORE THAN THAT FOR I SEE THE FUTURE WRITTEN IN THE PHLEGM. FOR CENTURIES, WE PIXIES HAVE READ THE PHLEGM, BUT I AM THE BEST THERE HAS EVER BEEN. MY VISIONS ARE GENERALLY OF LITTLE IMPORTANCE. I FORETELL OUTBREAKS OF TROLL POX OR GAS SPASMS AMONG ELDERLY DWARFS. BUT SOMETIMES EVEN ...more
i managed to decipher the code written below the book so for those who are interested...read on:
THE PROPHECIES OF OHM PHLEGM POT CLEANER TO FROND ELFEN KING:
I AM OHM PHLEGM POT CLEANER TO THE KING. BUT I AM MUCH MORE THAN THAT FOR I SEE THE FUTURE WRITTEN IN THE PHLEGM. FOR CENTURIES, WE PIXIES HAVE READ THE PHLEGM, BUT I AM THE BEST THERE HAS EVER BEEN. MY VISIONS ARE GENERALLY OF LITTLE IMPORTANCE. I FORETELL OUTBREAKS OF TROLL POX OR GAS SPASMS AMONG ELDERLY DWARFS. BUT SOMETIMES EVEN A POOR POT CLEANER CAN SEE WONDROUS THINGS. A VISION CAME TO ME TWO MOONS AGO, WHEN I WAS GAZING DEEP INTO HIS MAJESTY’S OWN PHLEGM POT. I WAS HEATING THE POT OVER A FLAME WHEN THE SIGN APPEARED. THIS VISION WAS MORE VIVID AND DETAILED THAN ANY I HAD PREVIOUSLY SEEN. BECAUSE OF ITS IMPORTANCE, I DECIDED TO WRITE IT DOWN FOR POSTERITY. AND SO I CAN SAY I TOLD YOU SO. I SAW AN AGE WHEN THE PEOPLE HAVE BEEN DRIVEN UNDERGROUND BY THE MUD MEN. THIS IS WHAT THE PHLEGM TOLD ME: IN THIS TIME, ONE SHALL COME AMONG US. FOWL BY NAME AND FOUL BY NATURE. A MUD MAN UNLIKE ANY OTHER. HE SHALL LEARN OUR SECRETS AND USE THEM AGAINST US. I SEE HIM NOW AS PLAIN AS DAY. HIS FACE IS PALE, HE HAS DARK EYES AND RAVEN HAIR. YET IT MUST BE A MISTAKE FOR HE SEEMS A MERE YOUTH. SURELY NO MUD BOY COULD OUTWIT THE PEOPLE. BUT NOW I SEE THAT THE BOY IS NOT ALONE. HE IS AIDED BY A FORMIDABLE WARRIOR SCARRED FROM A THOUSAND BATTLES. THIS FOWL SHALL HOLD THE PEOPLE TO RANSOM FOR THEIR MOST PRECIOUS POSSESSION. GOLD. AND IN SPITE OF ALL OUR MAGIC, THERE IS A CHANCE THAT HE WILL PREVAIL. FOR HE HAS DISCOVERED HOW TO ESCAPE THE TIME FIELD, UNFORTUNATELY, HOW THE STORY ENDS I CANNOT SAY. BUT THERE WAS MORE TO SEE. THERE IS ANOTHER STORY TO COME, SOMEONE WILL BRING THE PEOPLE AND MUD MEN TOGETHER. THE WORST OF BOTH RACES. THIS: FAIRYS’ GOAL IS TO GRIND ALL THE CREATURES OF THE EARTH BENEATH HIS BOOT. AND WHO IS THIS TRAITOR, IT IS NOT CLEAR. BUT HE SHALL START A WAR UNLIKE ANYTHING THE PEOPLE HAVE EVER SEEN. THOSE WHO WERE ENEMIES SHALL BE UNITED AGAINST HIM. AND FOR THE FIRST TIME THERE WILL BE MUD MEN BELOW GROUND. I HAVE ONE CLUE TO HIS IDENTITY, A RIDDLE: GOBLINS SHALL RISE AND HAVEN SHALL FALL, A VILLAINOUS ELF IS BEHIND IT ALL TO FIND THE ONE WHO SO DISAPPOINTS LOOK YE TO WHERE THE FINGER POINTS. INSTEAD OF ONE FACE THIS ELF HAS TWO. BOTH SPEAK FALSE AND NONE SPEAK TRUE. WHILE PUBLICLY HE LENDS A HELPING HAND, HIS TRUE AIM IS TO SEIZE COMMAND. I KNOW IT’S NOT VERY PLAIN IS IT I DON’T UNDERSTAND EITHER. BUT PERHAPS IN THE FUTURE ALL WILL BECOME CLEAR. LOOK FOR A POWER HUNGRY ELF WHO HAS A FINGER POINTED TO HIM DURING OUR TALE. AND SO THIS IS OHM’S LEGACY. A WARNING THAT MAY SAVE THE WORLD FROM TOTAL DESTRUCTION. THERE’S NOT MUCH TO WORK WITH I KNOW. THE DETAILS ARE A BIT SKETCHY. MY ADVICE TO YOU IS TO CONSULT THE PHLEGM. IT MAY BE THAT YOU ARE SENSITIVE. I HAVE BURIED THIS PROPHECY WITH MY PHLEGM POT. IF YOU ARE NOT FORTUNATE ENOUGH TO WORK AS A POT CLEANER, THEN THERE IS USUALLY A SUPPLY OF PHLEGM EVERY TIME YOU HAVE A COLD. HERE END ETH THE FIRST PROPHECIES OF OHM. BUT BECAUSE OF THE IMPORTANCE OF MY VISIONS, I SHALL REPEAT THE PROPHECIES ONCE MORE. IF YOU HAVE JUST BEGUN TO UNDERSTAND THE TEXT THEN READ ON. IF YOU HAVE WORKED OUT THE ENTIRE MESSAGE THEN CONGRATULATIONS. NOW GO AND SAVE THE WORLD.
this was written in the book at least 3 times....less
bookshelves:
cle-pub-lib,
finished
Read in November, 2003
Eoin Colfer, Artemis Fowl (Hyperion, 2001)
It seems inevitable in this post-Harry Potter kidlit landscape that someone would have had to come up with an anti-Harry, a creature as slimy and loathsome as that little Potter brat is good and pure. Eoin Colfer made a valiant attempt in Artemis Fowl. And while he steps in a major pothole along the way, in the general scheme of things he did a pretty good job.
Artemis Fowl is not your typical twelve-year-old. He is guarded by a mountain of a man wher...more
Eoin Colfer, Artemis Fowl (Hyperion, 2001)
It seems inevitable in this post-Harry Potter kidlit landscape that someone would have had to come up with an anti-Harry, a creature as slimy and loathsome as that little Potter brat is good and pure. Eoin Colfer made a valiant attempt in Artemis Fowl. And while he steps in a major pothole along the way, in the general scheme of things he did a pretty good job.
Artemis Fowl is not your typical twelve-year-old. He is guarded by a mountain of a man wherever he goes (think Professor Toru Tanaka in a dark suit and shades), his father is missing and presumed dead, his mother is off her gourd, and-oh, yes-he's a brilliant criminal mastermind who aims to restore the wealth his family lost on the same trip where his father went missing. How does he aim to do this? By stealing fairies' gold. No, I kid you not. Fairies are real, and Fowl wants what they've got.
It's a great setup, and it's carried off relatively well. There are a few places where the pace bogs down, but for the most part it rolls along smoothly as Artemis gathers his information, goes about kidnapping a fairy, and hatches a plan within a plan within a plan that keeps her rescuers (and the readers) on their toes wondering what all he's on about. This is certainly readable enough, though there are points one gets to where putting the book down and going off to do things like eat or sleep seems manageable. (Compare to, say, Kathe Koja's kidlit, which will plague your dreams if you try to sleep before you finish the book.)
Where Colfer goes painfully wrong, as where most authors go painfully wrong when writing kidlit, is to break the first rule taught in every book ever written on kidlit and every course ever taught on kidlit. The rule goes, with some variations, "don't talk down to your audience." The problem doesn't exist just in kidlit, of course, and hundreds of thousands of useless books, both fiction and nonfiction, are published every year that assume the public is made up of blithering idiots. As true as this may be, it's also still true that one catches more flies with honey than with vinegar. If you're putting an environmentally conscious subtext in your book, showing an image of diseased dolphins is more than enough (and, in fact, the very brief description given is quite stomach-turning on its own, and would have been greatly effective had he ended the sermon there); when you've stated your case in images, there's no need to then go off on a mini-tangent that amounts to "if I leave it like that, you won't get it, so I'm going to explain that last bit for you to make sure you understand what I'm on about." It's insulting to the reader's intelligence, it distracts from the value of the book, and it destroys the pace, even if it's only one sentence of explanation. It's redundant. Colfer doesn't just wade in this muck pit once (which might have been forgivable), but he does it at various times throughout the novel. One gets the feeling at times this is what an adventure novel would sound like had it been written by Amiri Baraka or Joan Baez.
If you can stomach being preached to in the middle of an adventure novel, by all means, pick it up. If you bristle every time an author pauses to explain something to you, you're probably better off avoiding it... ...less
bookshelves:
gold-star-award,
personal-read,
trt-reviews
Reviewed by Me for TeensReadToo.com
I've been trying to find a new series to hold me over until the next Harry Potter book--and I've finally found it. Meet Artemis Fowl the Second, a twelve-year old genius who doesn't want to go to school, is worried about his mother's fragile mental health, is preoccupied with his father coming back from the dead, and who is determined to add to his family's coffers by any means possible. In a word, Artemis is an evil genius, and you just can't help but love...more
Reviewed by Me for TeensReadToo.com
I've been trying to find a new series to hold me over until the next Harry Potter book--and I've finally found it. Meet Artemis Fowl the Second, a twelve-year old genius who doesn't want to go to school, is worried about his mother's fragile mental health, is preoccupied with his father coming back from the dead, and who is determined to add to his family's coffers by any means possible. In a word, Artemis is an evil genius, and you just can't help but love him. Or hate him. Or love to hate him. Or hate to love him. Or...well, you get the picture.
Artemis, along with his bodyguard/manservant/butler ironically named, of all things, Butler, Artemis sets out on his greatest, and most ambitious, scheme to date--discover the secrets of the fairy world, and relieve some of said fairies of their precious gold. After all, they have plenty to spare, and after Artemis Fowl the First lost a vast majority of their fortune, the Fowl family needs to pad the coffers.
So off Artemis sets on a world jaunt to discover the secrets of the fairies, and his ambitions and delusions finally pay off--he meets an alcoholic sprite who, in exchange for the return of her magic, lets Artemis get a good look at her Book. The Book, you see, contains all the mandates, rules, and regulations (along with a slew of secrets) of the fairy world--and now Artemis Fowl is able to hatch his nefarious scheme.
Artemis discovers that the fairies must adhere to very specific rituals to renew their powers, so along with Butler, he sets out on a stakeout to catch himself a fairy. Hoping, of course, that he can hold said fairy for ransom in exchange for some gold.
What Artemis didn't include in his calculations, however, was Captain Holly Short. A member of the LEPrecon Unit, Holly, although a small sprite, is very human looking--and can be extrememely wily and dangerous. As Artemis implements his evil plan, Holly uses her own military-type background to hatch her own plan of escape. The results are both disastrous and hilarious.
I read ARTEMIS FOWL in one sitting. Once you get started on this story of the human world of the Mud People mixing with that of the magical beings who live below ground, you just can't stop! The magical quality of the book is that it is all too believable--and so much fun! You envy Artemis his brilliance at the same time you can't believe how undenianably evil he is. You pity him, and you despise him. As for Holly Short, you love the fairy, admire her tenacity, yet hope at the same time that she spares the lives of Artemis, Butler, and Butler's sister, Juliet. I have to admit that I loved Foaly, the centaur in charge of computers and technical equipment. Actually, I loved ALL the characters of ARTEMIS FOWL, and can't wait to read the next book! Pick up a copy today! ...less
bookshelves:
havereadandloveit
Read in January, 2006
Pertama kali saya melihat buku ini di sebuah toko buku, saya tertarik dengan sampulnya yang mengkilap, jarang sekali ada sampul jenis ini di indonesia. karena itulah saya tertarik untuk membaca sinopsis singkat di belakang buku tersebut. Di sana tertulis sebuah frase "stay back human, you don't know who you're dealling with" kata-kata yang ternyata diambil dari kalimat seorang tokoh di dalamnya itu memacu keingintahuan saya untuk mengetahui isi dari buku tersebut.
Novel ini bercerit...more
Pertama kali saya melihat buku ini di sebuah toko buku, saya tertarik dengan sampulnya yang mengkilap, jarang sekali ada sampul jenis ini di indonesia. karena itulah saya tertarik untuk membaca sinopsis singkat di belakang buku tersebut. Di sana tertulis sebuah frase "stay back human, you don't know who you're dealling with" kata-kata yang ternyata diambil dari kalimat seorang tokoh di dalamnya itu memacu keingintahuan saya untuk mengetahui isi dari buku tersebut.
Novel ini bercerita tentang seorang anak laki-laki berumur 12 tahun bernama Artemis Fowl. Pewaris darah Fowl, sebuah keluarga tua yang telah berkuasa dan menimang kekayaan sejak lama. Tapi, kekayaan itu sekarang sudah berkurang dan membuat Artemis khawatir akan hal itu. Ditambah ia kehilangan sang ayah, dan ibunya pun mengalami stress karena hal itu. Artemis tampaknya harus berjuang sendirian untuk mengembalikan kekayaan keluarganya.
Dengan rasa ingin tahu dan ambisi yang menggebu. Artemis menemukan satu kunci menuju kekayaan yang ia cari selama ini. Emas. Itulah bentuk kekayaan favoritnya. Bersama bodyguardnya yang bernama Butler, Artemis berkelana untuk membuktikan teorinya tentang 'kaum'.
Pencariannya menemukan titik terang. Ia berhasil menemukan apa yang tidak mungkin ditemukan oleh orang normal lainnya. Ia berhasil menemukan seorang peri yang terbuang di dunia manusia. Dari sanalah Artemis menemukan kunci menuju ambisinya.
Namun ternyata, peri bukanlah apa yang selama ini didengarnya. Peri mempunyai peradaban yang maju sangat pesat dibandingkan dengan peradaban manusia. Lupakan peri cantik bersayap nan baik hati yang selama ini ada di dongeng-dongeng. Artemis malah berurusan dengan Holly Short, kapten satuan keamanan peri. Holly adalah peri perempuan yang ambisius, tegas, namun ternyata baik hati. Artemis belum menyadari kegigihan Holly kala ia menawan peri ini ketika sedang naik ke permukaan Bumi.
Kini saatnya perang antara manusia dan peri dimulai kembali. Artemis berpegang pada teori dan kecerdasannya untuk melawan senjata terakhir dari peri. Senjata yang tidak akan digunakan apabila tidak dalam kondisi yang sangat darurat dan terdesak. Dengan penggunaan senjata ini, Artemis dinobatkan sebagai musuh utama yang paling berbahaya bagi peri.
Apakah Artemis menang melawan kemajuan peradaban peri? Untuk apakah emas yang ia pinta sebagai tebusan atas Kapten Holly Short? Dan benarkah ia hanya seorang anak ambisius yang haus kekayaan dan tidak pernah memikirkan keluarganya? Temukan sendiri jawabannya kala Anda membaca novel yang ditulis dengan rapi dan menarik ini. Selamat membaca =)
[Kirim Resensi] [Baca Semua Resensi]...less
bookshelves:
fantasy,
young-adult
Read in February, 2008
I liked Artemis Fowl, but I didn't love it. I ended up reading it after I heard someone say that they wouldn't want their kids to read it because the main character was unlikable and a criminal... and since I was under the impression that this was a popular series for kids, that comment piqued my interest and I decided to read it myself.
I'd never limit what my child read because the main character was a jerk or a criminal or whatever - I feel like part of reading is being able to safely step...more
I liked Artemis Fowl, but I didn't love it. I ended up reading it after I heard someone say that they wouldn't want their kids to read it because the main character was unlikable and a criminal... and since I was under the impression that this was a popular series for kids, that comment piqued my interest and I decided to read it myself.
I'd never limit what my child read because the main character was a jerk or a criminal or whatever - I feel like part of reading is being able to safely step into someone else's shoes. But I could see where this person was coming from. Artemis isn't Harry Potter - you're definitely not rooting for him. Instead, he's a brilliant twelve-year-old boy who leads a life outside the law, trying to restore his family's fortune by hatching and executing a devious plot to steal fairy gold.
We're not really supposed to like Artemis, but I was surprised to see a bit of general human-hating going on as well... the People (the fairy folk) despise the Mud People (humans) for their treatment of the earth and its animal inhabitants. At one point in the story, as Holly (one of the fairy folk) sees dolphins as she's flying over the ocean (and I quote):
She could see the pollution in them, bleaching their skin white and giving them red sores on their backs. And although she smiled, her heart was breaking. Mud People had a lot to answer for.
Alright, I can see giving kids a healthy dose of environmental moralism, but dolphins? Using dolphins as the vehicle for the message... it's almost like slaughtering kittens. And dolphins with bleached skin and red sores on their backs, no less. A little heavy-handed, I thought.
There are other characters in the book who share the spotlight with Artemis and bring a friendlier vibe to the book. Holly, a fairy who works in LEP Re-con (Lower Elements Patrol Re-con - leprechaun, get it?) is an engaging, likable character (although I found it strange that she's the first woman ever in her field... apparently a little bit of sexism is not uncommon among the fairy folk). She's an obvious foil to Artemis, bringing some humanity (fairy-style, of course) to the story.
Without giving any spoilers, Artemis does grow a bit throughout the book. He's not the same evil genius at the end that he was in the beginning, and he does become a slightly more sympathetic character. I'll probably read the next book in the series just to see what he gets up to next....less
Read in May, 2008
recommends it for:
people on airplanes
Artemis Fowl, though entertaining and often well told, is one of those books that has bound itself with the shackles of pandering to a perceived audience and thus will never rise above a certain level. For example, the dwarf character defeats his enemies with the help of his terribly powerful flatulence more than once. The whole race tunnels with the power of poop. The main faerie character, Holly, is a girl trying to break her way through a glass ceiling that no one seems to notice throughout...more
Artemis Fowl, though entertaining and often well told, is one of those books that has bound itself with the shackles of pandering to a perceived audience and thus will never rise above a certain level. For example, the dwarf character defeats his enemies with the help of his terribly powerful flatulence more than once. The whole race tunnels with the power of poop. The main faerie character, Holly, is a girl trying to break her way through a glass ceiling that no one seems to notice throughout the book except to note that she has broken it. The main character, although a bit shallowly described is likable and fun. However, he would be much more believable if the author had chosen to make him just a few years older. All of these come from the author's unnecessarily pandering to the children who will presumably comprise the majority of his audience. In addition, there is a pretty large amount of environmentalist agenda in this rather short book. I have no problem with saving the whales, but the many asides concerning pollution and extinction seemed completely out of place. In addition, although it sounds insane to ask for a rational and coherent system behind a hidden race of faeries, I believe this is one of the lines that separates good fantasy from run-of-the-mill fantasy. This is a test Colfer fails. His system of magic and faeries is incoherent and sometimes seems inconsistent. At the very least it is ill-explained. Despite all of these shortcomings, the world is very imaginative, and the story is fun. The characters are all likable for the most part, if often shallow. Colfer's storytelling method adds enjoyment to the book in that you can enjoy the small victories of both sides of the conflict. Overall I would recommend this book only to those looking for light, fun, but overall forgettable fantasy....less
bookshelves:
booktalked,
fantasy,
kidbooks,
ya
Read in January, 2006
Super popular, and better written than a lot of pulp kids' fantasy. Not my favorite, but I'll give the second one a shot down the road. Booktalk below.
Artemis Fowl, by Eoin Colfer.
My name is Artemis Fowl, Jr. I may only be twelve years old, but I’m already one of the world’s great criminal masterminds. Don’t believe me? Well, you will, as soon as I’ve restored my family’s fortune with the fairy gold. You see, my family used to be one of the richest in Europe, until my dad went ...more
Super popular, and better written than a lot of pulp kids' fantasy. Not my favorite, but I'll give the second one a shot down the road. Booktalk below.
Artemis Fowl, by Eoin Colfer.
My name is Artemis Fowl, Jr. I may only be twelve years old, but I’m already one of the world’s great criminal masterminds. Don’t believe me? Well, you will, as soon as I’ve restored my family’s fortune with the fairy gold. You see, my family used to be one of the richest in Europe, until my dad went missing when his ship carrying 250,000 cans of soda was hit by a Russian missile. Now it’s up to me to make the Fowl family feared once again.
Luckily, I’m a natural criminal mastermind. That, and now I have the fairy book. You see, they have a handbook – the fairies – that tells them all about magic, about technology, and how to stay hidden from the ‘mud people’ – that’s us. It took me a long time to steal one, and understand the language, but now that I have I’ve got the edge. I also know about the fund. Fairies don’t each have a pot of gold, not even the LEP recons – they’re the fairies’ spies – but there is gold, and it will be mine.
I won’t tell you my whole plan, because I don’t want you leaking it to the fairies. I will say this, though: with what I learned from the book, it should be a piece of cake. Now all I have to do is find a fairy.
Artemis does, in fact, find a fairy for his criminal plot, but Captain Holly is no Elf to be messed with. And if that weren’t enough, the fairies launch a rescue mission. If anyone is up to the task of holding off the fairy magic and technology, it’s Artemis. But will his genius be enough to win the day, and steal the gold? Or will the fairies show him who’s boss? Artemis Fowl, by Eoin Colfer.
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Read in August, 2007
recommends it for:
everyone
I have long heard about Artemis fowl from online friends. I stayed away from it because it was written in a style that i was not particularly fond of at that time. On a recent visit to the library, I picked it up because I couldn't think of anything else to read.
It is an easy read but a fun and engrossing one.
Colfer's wit is a wry and very droll wit. Mixing genres and worlds, she pulls in her own take on the world of faerie by pushing them into an urban setting and also putting them und...more
I have long heard about Artemis fowl from online friends. I stayed away from it because it was written in a style that i was not particularly fond of at that time. On a recent visit to the library, I picked it up because I couldn't think of anything else to read.
It is an easy read but a fun and engrossing one.
Colfer's wit is a wry and very droll wit. Mixing genres and worlds, she pulls in her own take on the world of faerie by pushing them into an urban setting and also putting them underground. The world of fairy involves sprites, dwarves, elves, pixies, gnomes and so forth. Like Rowling, she takes the an existing mythology and changes it to her end. it works well.
The title character of the novel is Artemis fowl who as one reviewer put it is an Irish-boy-genius-lex-luthor. Although the book and consequently the series is named after him, most of the book deals around people in the faerie worlds or Artemis' human colleagues.
To gain gold from the secretive faeries, artemis does the impossible by decoding their secret bible and also capturing captain Holly short -- the first female LEPRecon (a clever acronym for Lower Elements patrol recon). From here, antics ensue along with the ocassional tech-jargon thrown in for good measure by both Artemis and the uber-advanced world of faerie.
Inherently light-hearted, the series does deal with issues such as the glass ceiling and morality. Done in a passing manner, one does not realize this until they have actually thought about how the completely advanced world of faeries still has such a prejudiced viewpoint against women.
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bookshelves:
amustread
Pertama kali baca buku ini... ummm agak2 mikir juga sih.. Ini buku apaan ya? Gue rada takut juga bakalan terkena imbas buku kor-mod yang lagi heboh melanda (contoh: Davinci Code memicu badai buku copy cat yang mempertanyakan gereja dan doktrin2nya).
Gue rada takut juga sih jangan2 nih buku kloningan potter lagi (petunjuk di back jacket buku ini agak mengkhawatirkan ...)
Tapi ternyata gue salah besar. Pertama-tama si Jagoan buku ini, the oh so deliciously sneaky Artemis Fowl sekilas menginga...more
Pertama kali baca buku ini... ummm agak2 mikir juga sih.. Ini buku apaan ya? Gue rada takut juga bakalan terkena imbas buku kor-mod yang lagi heboh melanda (contoh: Davinci Code memicu badai buku copy cat yang mempertanyakan gereja dan doktrin2nya).
Gue rada takut juga sih jangan2 nih buku kloningan potter lagi (petunjuk di back jacket buku ini agak mengkhawatirkan ...)
Tapi ternyata gue salah besar. Pertama-tama si Jagoan buku ini, the oh so deliciously sneaky Artemis Fowl sekilas mengingatkan gue sama Draco Malfoy dengan otak Hermione Granger. Bukan cuma a mini genius, Artemis juga pinter milih anak buah dia punya bodyguard yang keren abis dan bersedia mati buat dia (bandingkan dengan anak buah Draco yang bodoh dan hobi makan itu).
Tidak seperti Harry Potter yang sangat sempurna (berhati mulia dengan budi pekerti suci dan luhur dan gagah berani meskipun ceroboh - btw, harry ceroboh pun selalu lucky dan selalu selamat), Artemis adalah bocah kecil yang jenius, licik, jahat, rakus dan kadang-kadang kejam. Tapi underneath it all, dia juga punya kebaikan (kalau kebaikan itu teteup bisa ngasi keuntungan buat dia).
Story tellingnya gak seru2 amat sih (agak mengingatkan sama kenangan nonton marathon serial Charmed dari season 1 sampe season terakhir) lengkap dengan fairies, leprechaun, goblin and all, tapi this book gives me a refreshing read after the holiness that draped me from all of those Harry Potter books and movies.
Ah... finally a good old good and evil side of a child.
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Has a copy to sell/swap
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Read in July, 2008
These books really got their success on the hype of Harry Potter. If they had been published previously I really don't think they would have been anywhere near as successful, but then again maybe they wouldn't have been written at all. Rowling did revolutionize fantasy, after all.
Artemis Fowl, genius, mastermind criminal (who happens to be twelve) kidnaps a fairy for ransom and takes on a SWAT team of Fairies (who by the way are not your ordinary fairies- think midget James Bonds with magic...more
These books really got their success on the hype of Harry Potter. If they had been published previously I really don't think they would have been anywhere near as successful, but then again maybe they wouldn't have been written at all. Rowling did revolutionize fantasy, after all.
Artemis Fowl, genius, mastermind criminal (who happens to be twelve) kidnaps a fairy for ransom and takes on a SWAT team of Fairies (who by the way are not your ordinary fairies- think midget James Bonds with magical powers and super technology.)
The books are fun in their element, which is what? Sci-fi meets fantasy, meets crime novel, meets thriller/adventure. I can see why kids would really like them. The problem with these books for me was I wasn't sure what they were and I wasn't sure who to love and who to hate. Artemis is extremely unlikeable in the first book, even when you see him start to soften a bit you still want to smack him upside the head, but that might be a maternal instinct on my part. And the rest of the characters are just okay. Nothing really exciting me and the plot was so-so. The book is fraught with all sorts of creative ideas, from fairy technology, to magical rituals to reknew your powers, well thought out plot, and plenty of adventure to be had, but it wasn't nearly as enticing to me because I just didn't really care what happened to anyone. Ah. I've become so insensitive! Maybe I'm more like Artemis Fowl than I thought. ...less
bookshelves:
fantasy
What do the Russian mafia, 12 foot poison-oozing trolls, a farting dirt-eating dwarf, a beautiful ray-gun-toting leprechaun, fairy gold, a computer-geek centaur, and a 12 year old Irish criminal genius have in common? They’re all in this book!
Young Artemis Fowl Jr. is desperate. The family’s criminal fortune is bleeding dry. Artemis and his family are mere millionaires now. He needs more money to continue his search for his legally-declared dead father, Artemis Fowl Sr., presumably kil...more
What do the Russian mafia, 12 foot poison-oozing trolls, a farting dirt-eating dwarf, a beautiful ray-gun-toting leprechaun, fairy gold, a computer-geek centaur, and a 12 year old Irish criminal genius have in common? They’re all in this book!
Young Artemis Fowl Jr. is desperate. The family’s criminal fortune is bleeding dry. Artemis and his family are mere millionaires now. He needs more money to continue his search for his legally-declared dead father, Artemis Fowl Sr., presumably killed in a shipwreck off northern Russia while attempting to establish a soda pop franchise in Russia. Just in time, internet-surfing Artemis discovers the hidden underground world of The People--magical fairies, sprites, trolls, dwarfs, goblins, leprechauns, and centaurs. Super brain, Artemis, sees a way out of financial ruin. Kidnap a leprechaun and hold it for a ransom of gold. That is the ancient rule; a treasure of gold for the return of a kidnapped leprechaun.
Sounds simple, huh? Do you really think so? Consider this. Not once in all the centuries have The People paid a ransom of gold for a kidnapped leprechaun. Why? Possibly, it might be the incredible magical powers and super weapons they can unleash on anyone foolish enough to try. It might also have something to do with those mindless blood thirsty 12 foot poison-oozing trolls and the Blue Rinse.
But then again, The People have never met a human like Artemis Fowl Jr.
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Read in September, 2007
What happens when a 12-year-old criminal mastermind sets out to kidnap the first female recon officer in the highly elite LEPrecon squad – which just happens to be comprised of faeries? You get Artemis Fowl!
I started this book a while ago as an unabridged audio book. At first, I didn’t think I was going to like it. It just didn’t capture my attention. But, about 40 minutes in to the story, I got hooked. This book is quite creative and has a definite intelligent humor to it that teenage...more
What happens when a 12-year-old criminal mastermind sets out to kidnap the first female recon officer in the highly elite LEPrecon squad – which just happens to be comprised of faeries? You get Artemis Fowl!
I started this book a while ago as an unabridged audio book. At first, I didn’t think I was going to like it. It just didn’t capture my attention. But, about 40 minutes in to the story, I got hooked. This book is quite creative and has a definite intelligent humor to it that teenagers and adults will totally get. Some of the humor will most likely fly over younger readers’ heads (as it should!), but the faeries, trolls and other magical creatures will make up for that.
Artemis Fowl is one complex character. I was really impressed with how Eoin Colfer allowed me to watch the criminal mastermind side war with the facet of Fowl that was still, in essence, a 12-year-old boy. There was a good balance there, and it made Fowl become believable to me. This was important because the concept of the story
Commander Root, Captain Holly Short and Foley the centaur were all fantastic characters, but I believe my favorite – hands down – has to be Butler, the bodyguard and somewhat father-figure to Artemis. Butler’s humor, loyalty and honor really impressed me.
I can’t say a lot about the book, because it’ll give it away. But, like Harry Potter, this is not just a kids’ book.
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bookshelves:
bookwyrm_chrysalis_reviews,
ya-science-fiction
Filled with interesting characters and an excellent usage of magic and technology, Artemis Fowl is a book that readers of any age should enjoy. My favorite part is how Colfer integrates magic and technology, instead of ignoring one in favor of the other, like so many urban fantasy writers do. Instead, Foaly, the centaur super-genius, uses technology to shield magic from human scanners and stay one step ahead of the Mud People.
The book is rich with detail that will keep the reader coming back...more
Filled with interesting characters and an excellent usage of magic and technology, Artemis Fowl is a book that readers of any age should enjoy. My favorite part is how Colfer integrates magic and technology, instead of ignoring one in favor of the other, like so many urban fantasy writers do. Instead, Foaly, the centaur super-genius, uses technology to shield magic from human scanners and stay one step ahead of the Mud People.
The book is rich with detail that will keep the reader coming back. It’s been a few years since I last read the book, and I was amazed at how many things I didn’t remember and how I was still enthralled by the action. Even my roommate, who tends to feel that she is above reading “children’s” books, eagerly reads every new Artemis Fowl.
With the release of The Lost Colony, right now is the perfect time to pick up a copy of this classic and reread it. Then continue on to The Artic Incident, The Eternity Code, The Opal Deception, and of course now The Lost Colony.
The cover is golden and holographic, while the gnommish language spells out a hidden message along the bottom of each page. For fun, the reader can find the alphabet here and decode the messages that every book includes.
Read the rest of my review on Bookwyrm Chrysalis...less
Read in March, 2008
This story was a fictitious story of a super genius, a twelve year-old super genius to be exact. The main character is young Artemis Fowl, Artemis is a genius and, with the name fowl comes out as a criminal mastermind. Fowl has been searching for months for a way to bring back his family fortune after his dad left, and he finally figured out how to do it. He decided that he would use “fairy” gold to restore the family fortune, and thus his search for fairies began. After searching for a fair...more
This story was a fictitious story of a super genius, a twelve year-old super genius to be exact. The main character is young Artemis Fowl, Artemis is a genius and, with the name fowl comes out as a criminal mastermind. Fowl has been searching for months for a way to bring back his family fortune after his dad left, and he finally figured out how to do it. He decided that he would use “fairy” gold to restore the family fortune, and thus his search for fairies began. After searching for a fairy he found their ancient book that held all fairy laws, he then began to hatch his plan. He would kidnap a fairy and get the others to pay ransom for it to be able to restore his family’s fortune. This story is like I said a fictitious story.
The author of this book did the best anyone could have done to explain the unexplainable. There are quite a few thoughts that could be seen as the deeper meaning of this book. One deeper meaning is forgetting the past, and also persevering no matter what. Both of these meanings pertain to Artemis the main character who tries to forget his father’s death and preserver trying to bring back the family fortune. This author used his fantastic imagination to sculpt perfectly clear pictures of beings like fairies, trolls, and dwarves. Altogether it was a plain out good book.
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Read in October, 2007
The overwhelming Irish nationalism is ridiculous. The protagonist is an antagonistic little brat for whom I could feel nothing positive.
The professional response:
After learning of the existence of faeries, twelve-year old criminal-genius Artemis Fowl devises a seemingly fool-proof plan to steal their gold. However, his plan backfires and he must endure a series of unpleasant happenings before eventually emerging triumphant. This book includes several instances in which the narrator disp...more
The overwhelming Irish nationalism is ridiculous. The protagonist is an antagonistic little brat for whom I could feel nothing positive.
The professional response:
After learning of the existence of faeries, twelve-year old criminal-genius Artemis Fowl devises a seemingly fool-proof plan to steal their gold. However, his plan backfires and he must endure a series of unpleasant happenings before eventually emerging triumphant. This book includes several instances in which the narrator displays unacceptable nationalistic tendencies, making such claims as Ireland is “the place where time began” and that the faeries feel the most akin to the Irish since they are the humans most in tune with magic. As if this were not enough, the author attempts to subvert traditional ideas of faeries, but must compensate for average writing by resorting to crude humor, no doubt aimed at middle readers. This book could possibly fit into “World within a World/Parallel Worlds” subgenre since not only do faeries exist in Artemis’s world, but the author gives the reader a window into the faeries world. Unlike Five Children and It and Mary Poppins, this book shows the reader where the magical creatures come from....less
The first book of the continuing series of Artemis Fowl, written by Eoin Colfer, and underlines this one fact; Artemis Fowl is not to be trifled with. The genre of this book is fantasy/non-fiction and the setting takes place generally in Ireland, more specifically at Fowl Manor and Haven City. The major characters are, who the perspective is from as well, Holly Short and Artemis Fowl. The basic summary of the plot would essentially be the first human, Artemis, ever to separate the fairies of th...more
The first book of the continuing series of Artemis Fowl, written by Eoin Colfer, and underlines this one fact; Artemis Fowl is not to be trifled with. The genre of this book is fantasy/non-fiction and the setting takes place generally in Ireland, more specifically at Fowl Manor and Haven City. The major characters are, who the perspective is from as well, Holly Short and Artemis Fowl. The basic summary of the plot would essentially be the first human, Artemis, ever to separate the fairies of their gold through an ingenious scheme with elaborate twists and turns, eventually all ending in his favor.
A reason that the writing and story line was so effective was due to the twist he put on Artemis's character, personality, and features. Making him an opposite of the intended image of a hero by being a small, unmuscular, and no-good thieve! However, this wasn't the only twist, because writing this way would be very difficult to continue just into a book. But Eoin Colfer managed to write five books on the continuing tale of this unlikely hero. Though not so far from other non-fiction novels it was a very good read and interested me to keep reading the series and other works of the author, overall it is recommended that you should read this....less
recommends it for:
Everyone
Artemis Fowl by Coin Colfer is the first in the series, artemis fowl is introduced as a boy genius who is not only bored with his life since he doesn't need to study at school but tired with it as well. However this little boy unfortunately also have one of the greatest criminal mind of all time. Fallen to greed this little boy hatched a scheme to follow the old story of a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow and actually steal that pot of gold. Instead of chasing down a rainbow(which is pre...more
Artemis Fowl by Coin Colfer is the first in the series, artemis fowl is introduced as a boy genius who is not only bored with his life since he doesn't need to study at school but tired with it as well. However this little boy unfortunately also have one of the greatest criminal mind of all time. Fallen to greed this little boy hatched a scheme to follow the old story of a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow and actually steal that pot of gold. Instead of chasing down a rainbow(which is pretty much impossible) he decides the kidnap one of the person in charge of safeguarding it and hold her for ransom. Things didn't turn out how he planned, he did get away with the gold at the end but it also caused him to dive into a stream of magical adventures which changed his life.
This book is written incredibility well and the character development was fantastic. The descriptions were easy to visualize and to picture. The dialog were easy to follow and believable. It is easy to read and understand however the plot is rich and complex. A great book for people of any age. Artemis is so comical and relatable, i think everyone who read this book has someone who they know who is a little like Artemis....less
bookshelves:
the-good
Read in July, 2005
This was a fun book to read. It was very creative and had a different twist on our usual take on fairies and leprechauns, dwarves and goblins. Especially with all the technology these legendary magical creatures have.
The characters that were focused on the most were barely rounded, but well rounded enough. Those secondary characters were the typical ones of a childrens book, either being the bad guy or the good guy. All characters remained consistent though, which I felt was nice and also pr
