Artemis Fowl (Artemis Fowl, #1)

by Eoin Colfer

Artemis Fowl is a 12-year-old millionaire, child prodigy and criminal mastermind. After his father's disappearance and the deterioration of his mother's mental health, he plans to save his family from bankruptcy and reclaim his family fortune after he discovers that fairies are real.

Artemis Fowl is an interesting character. He's a genius and a mastermind, but instead of using his abilities for good, he turns to a life of crime and evil. He's always one step ahead and he's the type of genius who leaves hints about his plans in the hope that other people with figure them out and try to stop him. While he does some terrible things that no normal 12 year old would even consider and has questionable motives, he still has limitations - weaknesses and lines that he won't cross. I'm excited to continue the rest of the series and witness his gradual change from villain to hero.

The other characters - Butler, Juliet, Commander Root, Foaly and Mulch are interesting and lovable characters, but for the most part, they are quite one dimensional with rare glimpses of character depth under the surface. I'm hoping that they become more developed characters in future Artemis Fowl books. This reread of Artemis Fowl also reminded me about my love for Captain Holly Short, the first female officer in the LEPrecon division.

The Fairy World that Eoin Colfer creates in Artemis Fowl revolves more around science. The fairies live underground because humans have polluted the planet surface to such an extent that it's become poisonous to them. There's elves, dwarfs, trolls, goblins, sprites, centaurs and pixies. The world that Colfer creates is quite interesting and the technological advancements and gadgets are quite cool. However, Colfer tries too hard to push his eco-friendly agendas in Artemis Fowl

I'm obviously not the intended target market for the Artemis Fowl series and Artemis Fowl feels quite juvenile and I'm not a fan of toilet humour and low verbal insults, but I still have fond feelings towards a series that I loved when I was younger.