It has been years since I read the first few in this series, but I remember enjoying the snarky humour and Artemis's not-so-nice characterization. I also do recall how his character began to evolve in the later books, as he became less-self-involved and more heroic and so was not surprised to find him playing pretty much a straight hero in this one. That said, I guess I would have like this final one to have mixed it up a bit (of course this is what I the reader wanted, not the author's problem) and see both Artemis's heroic and anti-heroic sides as all finished up. And while it wasn't an important aspect of the series for me, I do have to admit to feeling disappointed not to have any real sense of some sort of resolution or SOMETHING of the romantic tension and implications suggested periodically between Holly and Artemis. I think younger fans who have recently come to the series will be fine with this one if they go for the action as this one is pretty much non-stop action with brief moments along the way where we revisit various familiar characters. The ending made me actually wonder if we really have seen the last of all of these characters. Felt like Colfer may have purposely left many hanging threads in case he wants to return some day to explore their stories.