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Artemis Fowl

(Artemis Fowl #1)

Eoin Colfer

3.85 · Rating details · 516,537 ratings · 12,207 reviews

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—they're dangerous! Full of unexpected twists and turns, Artemis Fowl is a riveting, magical adventure. ...more

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Paperback, 396 pages

Published April 1st 2003 by Disney-Hyperion (first published April 26th 2001)

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Aug 10, 2013 Jayson rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: genre-juvenile-fantasy, author-irish, 200-299-pp, genre-science-fiction, read-in-2013, genre-young-adult

(A-) 81% | Very Good
Notes: Ironically, it's the supernatural characters that follow familiar archetypes, while the humans are strange and atypical. ...more

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Oct 17, 2007 Percy rated it really liked it

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 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. ...more

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Jun 11, 2008 Crew rated it did not like it

Recommends it for: NOBODY

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. 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.

Summary: 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 n ...more

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Mar 06, 2018 Mario the lone bookwolf rated it really liked it

Shelves: colfer-eoin

It´s the setting, the fantasy sci-fi crossover mix, the humor and the good oldfashioned badass smartass character trope that make this series an entertaining read. I´ve so far read no children books author who made such a mix and I would, in general, like to see more tech and Sci-Fi there instead of just fantasy all the shelves up and down.

The tech is not broken down to ridiculous simplicity, but not too complex and perfect for speeding up and slowing down the plot, some character development pr It´s the setting, the fantasy sci-fi crossover mix, the humor and the good oldfashioned badass smartass character trope that make this series an entertaining read. I´ve so far read no children books author who made such a mix and I would, in general, like to see more tech and Sci-Fi there instead of just fantasy all the shelves up and down.

The tech is not broken down to ridiculous simplicity, but not too complex and perfect for speeding up and slowing down the plot, some character development problems, dialogues, and motivations could be hidden innuendos to grown-up readers, something Rick Riordan loves to do to and, most important, this is something that can really get kids into reading because it´s no standard fiction, but something with hearth and soul that dares to be defiant.

It unites reflection space for male and female readers, combines different genres, and, oh my gosh, has a message in it. From now on I am more reflecting on why people, some friends (just a joke, I don´t have social contacts), and great human beings (that´s really ridiculous), get bite reflexes when reading children's books, so it might get a bit controversial:
I don´t get it why people always tend to overreact if there is a harmless message in a book that doesn´t say anything racist, extreme, dangerous,… but criticizes human nature and is pro-environmental protection instead. It´s not as if it was recruiting and brainwashing for dangerous political or religious ideologies, it´s about saving the planet and being critical regarding other humans' intentions and society in general.

Adults bashing children books authors for having a positive agenda towards a better world should possibly debate with their real political opponents ( I don´t care about politics anymore, except everything progressive that doesn´t do harm from whoever it comes, just focus on the future in the form of the next generations, the environment, and science) instead of highly subjectively interpreting and seeing perfidious conspiracy theory stuff in books for 9 to 15-year-olds.

The funniest thing is that this is no metaphysical blah blah about any kind of not so important, not clear, philosophical faith stuff that doesn´t matter, it´s the only living space we have and the author is damn right to describe us as what we are and what we do.

Other critics seem to have problems with villain characters who aren´t honest and law-abiding because kids reading books will become criminals with such bad role models, not with such great ones as the kids watching political debates and TV in general and playing computer games.
Or, finally, the character design and credibility of a book that should be understandable to, I have to overemphasize and repeat myself, kids, small humans, not adults, is sooo bad that the book deserves just one star. Come on man, really? Rick Riordan, Derek Landy,… anything without too critical content is superb, but as soon as something one doesn´t like is integrated, the book is bad and the artificial error searching and cherry-picking begins? Probably time for a bit of self-reflection and priority setting.

Or do they wish to offend kids by doing as if they were stupid by just telling them that all is happy go lucky, unicorns, rainbows, glitter, lollypops, and stuff and that all humans are friendly, just as the adults do to avoid critical thinking? By breeding the next population of opportunistic no brainers all problems are worsening.

Tropes show how literature is conceptualized and created and which mixture of elements makes works and genres unique:
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.ph... ...more

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Sep 15, 2016 Ahmad Sharabiani rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 21th-century, fantasy, fiction, young-adult, childrens-young-readers, british

Artemis Fowl (Artemis Fowl, #1), Eoin Colfer

Artemis Fowl is a series of eight science fiction fantasy novels written by Irish author Eoin Colfer.
Artemis Fowl is the first book in the Artemis Fowl series.

It follows the adventures of Artemis Fowl, a twelve-year-old criminal mastermind, as he kidnaps a fairy for a large ransom of 24-carat gold with the help of his bodyguard, Domovoi Butler and his sister, Juliet Butler, to restore the Fowl family fortune.

After multiple attempts by the LEP (Lower ...more

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Aug 29, 2011 J.G. Keely rated it it was ok

Shelves: uk-and-ireland, novel, fantasy, reviewed

Colfer has described this series as “Die Hard, with fairies”, which is a reference to an old Hollywood joke. After the phenomenal success of that movie, a lot of writers started pitching their scripts as ‘Die Hard, with [blank]”, such as Speed: “Die Hard on a Bus”, or Air Force One: “Die Hard, on Air Force One”, or, as the joke goes, the unfortunate who wanted to make "Die Hard, in a building".

If you have actually seen Die Hard, you might recall Hans Gruber, the wealthy, cunning, erudite, Europe ...more

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Oct 24, 2008 Danielle The Book Huntress (Back to the Books) rated it it was amazing

Recommends it for: The sophisticated reader of YA books, Faery lovers

Shelves: faerie, antihero, fantasy, humor, favorites, owned-copy, part-of-a-series, charismatic-villain, young-adult, favorite-or-autobuy-author

Want to meet the guy who's smart enough to take over the world? Well he's twelve years old. And his name is Artemis Fowl. I have two words for this book: GREAT FUN.
If you are at all young at heart or you just want to read something different from your usual fare, then check out this book. Artemis will keep you entertained with his hijinks. At the age of 12, Artemis is keeping his family afloat as they suffer from grief at the disappearance of Artemis Fowl, Sr, his father. His mother has retreat ...more

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Aug 12, 2017 Montzalee Wittmann rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Artemis Fowl: Artemis Fowl, Book 1
By Eoin Colfer
Narrated By Nathaniel Parker
I borrowed this book from the library. I figured everyone in the world has read this but me and thought I would catch up. What a hoot! Loved it! I don't know what I thought it was going to be but I didn't expect a 12 year old genius villain! My goodness, I thought it was great! The fairies, dwarves, trolls, and the silly things that happen, I giggled so much. It was so silly I can see why kids love this book. I am defini ...more

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Aug 21, 2020 Sofia rated it liked it · review of another edition

Recommends it for: Fans of middle-grade fantasy

Shelves: fantastic-fae, strong-female-protagonist, your-typical-mg-fantasy, gary-stu, well-that-was-a-cheap-plot, stock-side-characters

Here's the deal with masterminds: they're hardly ever fleshed-out characters. I'm all for the conflicted genius trope, but people have to make mistakes, otherwise the plot will never move forward, because the antagonist won't make any ground.

And that's precisely the problem.

Since they have to mess up at some point, you run the risk of making them seem like they were never a mastermind in the first place. One error is fine. Two mistakes is still okay. They were confused, they were out of their e Here's the deal with masterminds: they're hardly ever fleshed-out characters. I'm all for the conflicted genius trope, but people have to make mistakes, otherwise the plot will never move forward, because the antagonist won't make any ground.

And that's precisely the problem.

Since they have to mess up at some point, you run the risk of making them seem like they were never a mastermind in the first place. One error is fine. Two mistakes is still okay. They were confused, they were out of their element - all good excuses. But three or more, and you lose respect for the "genius." Without adequate evidence for their abnormally large brain, how can I be sure they were ever smart at all?

Artemis Fowl is a twelve-year-old criminal mastermind (which makes no sense, but I'll get to that in a moment). He has recently discovered that fairies are real and exist somewhere below us, operating around a police force of sorts called LEPrecon. Get it? Yeah. A little heavy-handed, there. So he decides to kidnap one of the fairies in order to get a ransom of leprechaun gold. Only Holly Short, the fairy in question, isn't too happy about it. What ensues is a lot of craziness as each side tries to get what they want. It's your typical amusing middle-grade novel. Complete with fart jokes. Lots of them.

I'm going to use an example of a character from a wildly different book who ends up a lot like Artemis - Kaz Brekker, beloved "hero" of Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo. He, too, is a cold, calculating genius who will stop at nothing to get his job done. And he's young, too. Not as young as Artemis, but enough to make him notable.

And yet, also like Fowl, I completely lost respect for him halfway through. After a series of blunders and highly unstable behavior, he no longer felt like a mastermind to me.

Artemis is twelve. He probably still looks and sounds like a child. And I could not stop giggling every time he said something dramatic, because he's short and round-faced and ridiculous and ordering around a hulk of a man like he was the master of the house.

Young geniuses are not more impressive than older geniuses. They're just less trustworthy and admirable.

Despite Artemis Fowl's interesting personality, I liked this book overall. Holly Short is a wonderful character, and everything tied together well towards the end. The beginning was slow, but that's to be expected. The writing was humorous in a dry way and made me laugh quite a few times, but I wouldn't want to read it for very much longer. It's a middle-grade fantasy - what did you expect?

3 stars. ...more

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Jan 10, 2014 Jason Koivu rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fiction, sci-fi, fantasy

From the get-go it appears Artemis Fowl is going to be about Artemis Fowl, a criminal boy genius with Sherlock Holmes-like powers of deduction, but then bomb squad-esque faeries take over the story and we end up spending just as much time, if not more, reading about them. That's fine since they're interesting and their story moves with a good dash of fun and excitement.

This is another of those books with a redeemable bad-guy protagonist. We shouldn't, but we do root for him, at least in some wa ...more

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Mar 08, 2013 Tadiana ✩Night Owl☽ rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy, ya-fantasy, faerie

99c Kindle sale, Oct. 11, 2018. A solid, amusing start to this YA fantasy series, about a twelve-year-old millionaire evil genius. Okay, he's not really evil, but he is into criminal heists, especially since the family wealth is gone, his father has disappeared, and his mother is mentally ill, out of touch with reality. So Artemis, having used his brilliant mind to figure out that fairies are real, decides to restore the family fortune by kidnapping a fairy and holding him or her for for ransom. ...more

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Apr 06, 2018 Alaina rated it it was amazing

Shelves: young-adult, sci-fi, fiction, fantasy, mystery, contemporary, favorites, humor, paranormal, 2018

Okay, so this is my second re-read of this series. I think? I'm pretty sure I listened to the audiobook beforehand so diving into the KU ebook version was a bit of an eye opener. It was like this time around I just saw things I didn't hear or see before. Which makes re-reads all the more fun because things start clicking into place.

Now Artemis, he's an interesting guy who finds himself in trouble. I mean he's a genius so he probably knew all the outcomes before they even happened. Which for me, Okay, so this is my second re-read of this series. I think? I'm pretty sure I listened to the audiobook beforehand so diving into the KU ebook version was a bit of an eye opener. It was like this time around I just saw things I didn't hear or see before. Which makes re-reads all the more fun because things start clicking into place.

Now Artemis, he's an interesting guy who finds himself in trouble. I mean he's a genius so he probably knew all the outcomes before they even happened. Which for me, would be highly useful because I would never know what's going to come at me.

Besides him, you meet Butler and Juliet. They are brother and sister and sort of look after Artemis and his mom. Speaking of her, she's not doing too well and I was just intrigued as to what happened to her. I honestly felt bad for her and Artemis because she thought he was her dad and husband way before she mentioned his own name.

Back to the siblings, Butler is very handy when it comes to protecting Artemis. He's also kind of scary and I hope to never meet him. Then there's Juliet, and she was just simple adorable when Holly influenced her. Oh lord, the whole tv thing had me dying.

Ah, speaking of Holly. She was kidnapped by Artemis for some unknown reason but things start to click for her when he uses her own rules against her. Definitely made things a bit more interesting because of how he knew where to look for the book and how to get everything else.

Since it has been a while since I last read this series, I'm super excited to see what I remember will happen and what else I will see differently.
_____________________________________
Not going to lie.. this book has been on my radar for a while.. but once I saw that it was becoming a movie... well I jumped on this book quicker than a bottle of wine being uncorked!

Artemis Fowl was such an interesting and enjoyable book. Artemis is basically your best nemesis ever! He's brilliant, evil as fudge, and a ruthless bastard all wrapped into one! Oh, did I forget to mentions he's also en evil millionaire mastermind?!?! He's like the Doctor Evil and the Mini Me all combined into one person! I loved it!

Artemis, is bad, but soooooo freaking lovable. Sometimes you need a good villain to love - and boy did I love his character! I loved all of the magic too throughout this book. Maybe I'm on a magic high from the Children of Blood and Bone book but this book was such a nice followup!

Overall, the book was amazing! I loved Holly, even though she was captured by Artemis.. but damn those fairies can be sneaky af. I can't wait to dive into the second book because I NEED MORE FROM ARTEMIS! I can't accept that the book is over right now!! ...more

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Dec 31, 2016 Ahmed Ejaz rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2016, full-lengths

SPOILER FREE review if you will not open the spoiler tags

How does one describe Artemis Fowl? Various psychiatrists have tried and failed.

WORLD-BUILDING
All the fairies, elves, dwarves, goblins, trolls live in the underground world. This world has its own technology which is beyond our comprehension and have their own laws.

CHARACTERS
Artemis Fowl [ of course ]
(Doesn't this name sounds Awesome!!!)
No need to say, he is a super genius criminal. You know how old he is? Just 12 Y ...more

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Aug 25, 2020 Bradley rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2020-shelf, fantasy, sci-fi, ya

For some odd reason, I've been avoiding reading this book (or the whole series) despite it being well-beloved in general.

Why? I mean, I like a good heist novel and the cockier and the more headstrong the character, the more interesting I find it. So this should be right up my alley, right?

Well, it's YA. MG, even. Okay. So that's a big thing.

Even so, I thought I ought to finally GIVE IT A CHANCE. After all, wasn't there a big movie was made for it?

*crickets* *embarrassed shuffling over at Disne ...more

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May 13, 2008 Drew Nelson rated it it was ok

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 t ...more

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Mar 23, 2014 Natalie Monroe rated it it was ok

Shelves: confusing, could-have-been-better, boooring, dragged-on-too-much, not-worth-the-hype, great-start-hated-the-rest, not-as-good-as-i-expected, great-concept-poor-execution, bye-bye-nineteenth-amendment

Well, looks like my 14-year-old was right--it was as bad as I remembered. The concept was nice, but terrible execution and the plot got too muddled in the middle. It tries to be funny but fails. Epically.

And Artemis struck as a wee sexist. He doesn't want to hurt a girl because she reminds him of his mother and his friend, Juliet. The author might be trying to show that Artemis is actually a nice guy, but the way I see it, there are only two options: Oedipus Complex or sexist jerk.

It's gotta be ...more

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Oct 31, 2017 Tina ➹ the girl who lives in Fandoms rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: reviews, recs, cover, disappointment, rants, 2010-2016

3 Silver Stars

Warning:
it could be a Ranting review,
so if you're a hardcore Fowl fan, don't continue.

It was interesting & usually funny, but I couldn't exactly feel connected to this story for some reasons:

first & most important one; why is Artemis a boy? I think you might say it is an Irish name." or something, (or is it?) but I've grown up with the myths of Artemis goddess of the moon, so... yeah, I can't register that.
2) I don't think about stories of fairies or leprechauns; in other word, it' ...more

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May 23, 2015 Rusty's Ghost Engine (also known as.......... Jinky Spring) rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy-or-paranormal, faeries

Back in 2015 when I first read this these were my opinions.....

What a complete waste of time. I almost dnfed this, well I kind of did as I skimmed through the last pages.

I can't believe this was almost made into a movie and I can't believe this was given 5 stars by 2 of my friends. The only reason I didn't dnf this is cause it was leant to me by one of the 2 friends I mentioned so I felt I had to finish it well sort of.

The characters were really unrealistic and had no depth to them. plus I felt ...more

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Feb 19, 2020 ☀ Kat Nova ☀ rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Ok so my friend forced me to read this and, ummm... WHERE WAS THIS SERIES WHEN I WAS IN MIDDLE SCHOOL bro I would've been obsessed with this shit. This was really fun, and that ending honestly made me smile. I now want to read the rest of the series and see this little bastard grow up :,) ...more

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Jul 12, 2020 Katie Lumsden rated it really liked it

Great fun – thoroughly enjoyable to reread.

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Feb 11, 2011 Stephanie (Bookfever) rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites, young-adult, owned-physical-books, favorite-authors, fae, humor, magic, paranormal, middle-grade, fantasy

"A genius. A criminal mastermind. A millionaire. And he is only twelve years old."

Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer is my favorite book ever. EVER! I read it for the first time when I was fourteen years old and have been reading the series ever since. I've re-read the book over and over again. I can't even remember how many times I have read it but by now this book feels like an old friend and it's just as amazing as when I read it the first time. Now that I've re-read it once again, I think it's "A genius. A criminal mastermind. A millionaire. And he is only twelve years old."

Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer is my favorite book ever. EVER! I read it for the first time when I was fourteen years old and have been reading the series ever since. I've re-read the book over and over again. I can't even remember how many times I have read it but by now this book feels like an old friend and it's just as amazing as when I read it the first time. Now that I've re-read it once again, I think it's time for a review!

When Holly Short gets abducted by Artemis Fowl II, a child prodigy from Ireland because he wants to ransom her for fairy gold, the book really gets going. The fairies are amazed by everything that Artemis knows about the People but they're definitely not giving up on Holly and are determined to rescue her and keep the gold in the meantime. But it seems that Artemis is always two steps ahead of them...

Artemis sort of is an antagonist. He's no hero, and as is stated in the book: you can't romanticize him. This is absolutely true. And yet, I can't help but root for him. But on the other hand I also end up rooting for the fairies, especially Holly. Because she's so badass. You kind of just want both Artemis and Holly to win, whatever they're fighting for. Artemis definitely is a one of a kind character. I have never read about any character like him. He's twelve years old and a prodigy. No matter how many times I read this book, I'm always blown away by his genius (of should I say Eoin Colfer's genius?). In any case, he's probably my favorite fictional character ever created and I'm pretty sure it will never ever change.

Holly is also one of my favorite characters. I love everything she stands for and even though there aren't that many female characters in his books, when there is, you can bet she'll end up having a very strong personality and being able to kick butt. So, yeah... that's Holly. She may be small but she can kick anyone's ass and is the first female on the LEPrecon squad + she has a feisty and reckless personality. Gotta love her!

Personally, I think that this book has the greatest set of characters ever. Artemis and Holly aside, we also have Butler, Juliet, Commander Root and Foaly. I just love Butler. He always has Artemis's back and to me, he feels more like a father to Artemis than anything else. Juliet is Butlers teenage sister and she's a riot! Commander Root is simply epic. You definitely don't want to get on his bad side and Foaly is just brilliance itself. He's a centaur, a bit crazy and I love his wit!

So do I have to say more? Artemis Fowl is a brilliant book. That's the way it just is. Eoin Colfer writes fast-paced, witty and sometimes even touching scenes. Is it any wonder he's my favorite author ever? ...more

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Apr 06, 2019 Brittany rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: z2019-challenge, fantasy-paranormal, fiction, mystery, middle-grade, reviews, paranormal, teen

Well what to say, This book definitely had a younger audience in mind, but I still really enjoyed Holly. I definitely found myself on the side AGAINST Artemis right away. Artemis' attitude and the way that he talks to and treats others made him really hard to like. I wasn't a big fan of his.. Any redemption was too little too late for me unfortunately.

The created world IS interesting, but it's not a series that I will rush to continue. ...more

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Aug 25, 2020 Trish rated it liked it · review of another edition

Reading this started out as a dare. *lol* I had heard about it when the movie came out, then discovered one of my colleagues and her partner are big fans, but somehow the idea of a child master-thief somehow involved with magical creatures such as goblins and faeries and dwarves just didn't appeal to me. I can't even remember if I ever even only saw the movie trailer. But then there was this bet and ... *sighs*

12-year-old Artemis Fowl II lives in a huge manor with his mentally unstable mother. H Reading this started out as a dare. *lol* I had heard about it when the movie came out, then discovered one of my colleagues and her partner are big fans, but somehow the idea of a child master-thief somehow involved with magical creatures such as goblins and faeries and dwarves just didn't appeal to me. I can't even remember if I ever even only saw the movie trailer. But then there was this bet and ... *sighs*

12-year-old Artemis Fowl II lives in a huge manor with his mentally unstable mother. His father has been "lost at sea" for a while now and the boy's gotten it into his head to "save the family". You see, having a manor isn't enough, the family was once almost obscenely rich so he wants to get everything back to those days. The problem? Well, amongst other things, the family got rich off stealing, smuggling and other various shady enterprises. They even had managed to become "legit" but didn't like it. So what is this supposed mastermind's plan? To catch a faerie, translate and read its book to learn of The People and eventually cash in on the famous gold of legends.
Maybe it's because of his youth, but he's often underestimated, and if he needs violence ... well, that's what Butler is for.
One has to hand it to him, he wasn't going about it willy-nilly and he had done his homework. Nevertheless, some things do go wrong regardless and the siege of Fowl Manor turns into a sort of war.
Will Artemis outsmart everyone or be outsmarted in turn? And what about his parents?

Within the first two chapters I was rolling my eyes HARD. You see, I know that many publishers and even authors seem to think that their audience consists of idiots. While that might often be the case, especially amongst adults, I have always held the belief that most kids can handle complicated plots, more than three characters in any given scene, and "normal" writing (which is to say anything that is not meant for the mentally challenged or toddlers). However, some (my buddy-reader even says "most") middle-grade books are deliberately kept simple because either the author or publisher or everyone involved just didn't believe in the audience. Frankly, I find it insulting. I also see a geographical difference.
Anyway, I'm addressing this problem because this book seemed to suffer from the same misguided / insulting assumption. The funny thing about it is that there were even some logic errors and plot holes that, yes, a kid would/could spot.
It did get better once the plot was often replaced by action so I am considering whether the author needed some time to get the ball rolling as it were. Not sure that really explains away logic errors and plot holes though.

Nevertheless, I was entertained enough and this wouldn't be the first series (no matter which age group it's aimed at) where the first volume is the least good. The world building was suggestive enough to have me muse about certain things though, such as (view spoiler). So that was good. And the writing wasn't BAD.

Nothing too impressive and certainly not original but despite the rocky start, it was fun enough, I guess, and at least the brat wasn't the cardboard cut-out good boy with an enormous IQ that can do no wrong. ...more

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Oct 09, 2020 Chaotic Energy rated it it was ok

Shelves: dnf

I had to Dnf it. No offense if you like this it. This is not a bad book. It had a fairly interesting plot. Mind you, it had a very interesting plot that i could NOT READ. I tried, i honestly did. I loved some of the characters, and the world was intriguing. But my mind could not grasp it.
I asked myself "Why am i reading this book?" I had no answer. The writing style was not for me at all, and while the plot was well written, i did not understand it. And at one point, i was reading the words, an ...more

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Oct 25, 2015 Masoud Irannejad rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, young-adult, fiction, c-ireland

جلد اول و دوم کتاب رو با هم خریدم ولی از اونجایی که از جلد اول خوشم نیومد هیچ وقت سراغ جلد دوم نرفتم

پ.ن1: خوشم نیومد چون مناسب سن من نبود ، اگه چند سال زودتر خونده بودم شاید کلی لذت می بردم از کتاب
پ.ن2: اقتباس سینمایی کتاب هم امسال اکران می شه ،به نظر جالب میاد

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Feb 16, 2020 booksNpenguins rated it really liked it

Shelves: antiheroes-thieves-assassins, fae-and-fairies, magic-wizards-spells, paranormal-and-gothic, timetravel-and-robots, urban-fantasy, witches-and-monsters

"If I win, I'm a prodigy. If I lose then I'm mad. That's the way history is written."

Okay, so...I liked this, but I didn't love it.
There's nothing really wrong with this book. It's actually pretty entertaining and easy to read, with its simple yet witty writing and interesting characters. However, I couldn't help but feel a little detached from the story and even bored at times, but I guess it's my fault for jumping into this story after a couple of royally good fantasy books that won't eas ...more

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Apr 29, 2008 Jennifer Wardrip rated it it was amazing

Shelves: trt-posted-reviews, trt-gold-star-award-winner, read-personally-by-moi

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 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! ...more

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Feb 24, 2019 Cody rated it really liked it · review of another edition

“If I win, I'm a prodigy. If I lose, then I'm crazy. That's the way history is written.”

“Confidence is ignorance. If you're feeling cocky, it's because there's something you don't know.”

It is such a delight to note that Artemis Fowl excels in characterisation and storytelling that both young and old alike will enjoy being trapped amongst its pages. The plot is a bit reminiscent of Die Hard, only with magical creatures and high tech weaponry. At only age 12, young Artemis Fowl exerts a genius-l “If I win, I'm a prodigy. If I lose, then I'm crazy. That's the way history is written.”

“Confidence is ignorance. If you're feeling cocky, it's because there's something you don't know.”

It is such a delight to note that Artemis Fowl excels in characterisation and storytelling that both young and old alike will enjoy being trapped amongst its pages. The plot is a bit reminiscent of Die Hard, only with magical creatures and high tech weaponry. At only age 12, young Artemis Fowl exerts a genius-level intellect and a shrewd ideology making him a prodigy criminal mastermind. He descends from a long line of Fowls, an influential Irish family that has a manor on the outskirts of Dublin. The disappearance of his father and the mental fragility of his mother have placed a great burden on the Fowl family. One in which Artemis looks to remedy with the theft of a substantial amount of gold from a magical source humanity is completely unaware of. Along with his trusted bodyguard Butler and Butler's sister Juliet, Artemis hatches a plan to take back what he believes to be rightfully his.

Hidden in the subterranean depths of earth exists a parallel community of various creatures including fairies, dwarves, goblins, and trolls that have triumphed by means of civilisation and technology well past what humanity has built. Rather ironically referred to as "The People," this collection of various creatures once lived side by side with humans, until they came to the conclusion that humanity is the very definition of exponential avarice, and in order to survive, sealed themselves off from humanity. Part of the problem is that security threats to themselves still exist, which has lead to the creation of a special police type force called LEPrecon, dedicated to concealing The People from humanity and arising to any such problems that threaten the stability of their world. Amongst them is a fairy named Holly Short. Holly is the first female officer in the force and looking to make a name for herself. She is later kidnapped by Artemis and held for ransom, bringing about a troop-load of fairy special forces to lay a siege on Fowl manor.

Eoin Colfer has written a richly fun novel here with some really cool characters and excellent world building that feels real and purposeful. Artemis Fowl himself is such a badass anti-hero, and it was rewarding to discover him as a character, alongside the rest of the cast. The only real problem with the book is it's length, but it's satisfying so it can be overlooked, because the story feels so rewarding to undertake. The beginning of the series looks very promising.

Rating: 4.5/5

...more

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May 14, 2009 Meridyforgot rated it did not like it · review of another edition

To be honest I haven't read the whole book, and there is a slim chance that I might try to continue and so I post this review.

The problem is that the onslaught of cheap jabs at the "barbarian humans" destroying the earth is becoming extremely irritating. And miraculously Ireland is still nice and green, but give those humans a few hundred years and it will be destroyed. Please. It completely distracts from the story. Why do we have to spoon feed children dogmatic propaganda? Don't get me wrong. ...more

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About Eoin Colfer

Eoin Colfer

10,259 followers

Eoin Colfer (pronounced Owen) was born in Wexford on the South-East coast of Ireland in 1965, where he and his four brothers were brought up by his father and mother, who were both educators.

He received his degree from Dublin University and began teaching primary school in Wexford. He has lived and worked all over the world, including Saudi Arabia, Tunisia and Italy. After the publication of the A ...more