Jayson’s Reviews > The Lost Colony > Status Update

Notes:
(1) "Then Holly kissed [Artemis] on the cheek. 'That was probably dangerous. You being a pubescent volcano.'
'I’ve got it under control, just about.'"
- If Colfer's genuine about never intending to spark any Artemis/Holly shipping, he's blind to his own work.
- That's a rather risqué innuendo for a middle-grade book.
(2) Seeds are planted for an Artemis/Minerva relationship.
- Shame it never comes to fruition.

Notes:
(1) As a side effect of interdimensional travel, Artemis' index and middle fingers switch places on his hand. I bring this up now because it finally comes into play—this series uses Chekhov's Gun a lot! Now when Artemis points at the villain to make a big reveal, he's giving him the middle finger.
- That's quite a story investment for what amounts to a rude joke.
- Well, at least it's not more fart/poop humor.

Notes:
(1) "Billy Kong understood, all right. He understood that [Minerva] was trying to blind him with science."
- Well, somebody's a Thomas Dolby fan.
(2) Minerva: "Why is [Artemis] helping me? Do you know?"
N°1: "I'm not sure. Holly, our friend, said it was something about puberty. Apparently you’re pretty, though to be honest, I can’t see it myself."
- Dude, not cool! At least make his intentions sound honorable!

Notes:
(1) I mentioned in my first review of this book that it's pretty much a beat-for-beat retread of the first book's kidnap/rescue plot. This time, however, Artemis is on the fairy side, against a female version of himself.
- The idea that opposites attract apparently doesn't apply here.
- It's entirely consistent with Artemis' ego and intellectual narcissism to be romantically attracted to (essentially) himself.

Notes:
(1) Holly: "Just entertain him for a minute."
Mulch: "Entertain him? How am I supposed to do that?"
Artemis: "Use your dwarf talents ... Young children are inquisitive. Eat some rocks. Pass wind."
- How very meta! Colfer's saying the quiet part out loud, that all the fart and gross-out humor is to entertain kids.
- It's ironic, as the sole purveyor of fart and gross-out humor, Mulch opposes his very existence.

Notes:
(1) Demons and imps are affected by silver and the moon, the same as werewolves. Interesting, as fairies in general must be invited into human homes, the same as vampires.
- I wonder if Colfer is just recycling aspects of well-known monster folklore, or if this has historically also been applied to fairies?
(2) Minerva is French, but has an Italian surname and Brazilian ancestry.
- Well and truly cosmopolitan.

Notes:
(1) Artemis: "It's this blasted puberty, Butler. Every time I see a pretty girl, I waste valuable mind space thinking about her. The girl at that restaurant, for instance. I’ve glanced in her direction a dozen times in the past few minutes."
- The girl at the restaurant is only described as having blond curls. To me it's reminiscent of Charlie Brown's Little Red-Haired Girl.
- All signs point to love-interest.

Notes:
(1) So, I guess this is where Disney stopped reissuing the audiobooks with new promotional cover art. Or perhaps they thought half the books were enough to advertise their ill-fated Disney+ film.
- I've mentioned it before, but the American editions have never had consistent covers.
(2) I mostly remember this book as the one where Artemis finally has a love interest, but she never shows up again in the series.