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| There have been many different covers but this is my favourite one. |
Blurb
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.
Publisher
Disney Press
ISBN
0786817879
Rosy's Scrawlings on Artemis Fowl
Many of you may have heard of this book already due to it being a rather popular children's book. What you might not have been aware of is that it is a bit of a cult favourite for fantasy fans due to the complex and rather original plot and the various technologies available. Plus it is quite funny at times.
While there are a few other evil genii about who sometimes turn good and sometimes don't Artemis is one who is neither evil nor good despite what it says in the blurb. Exploitative and harsh on others, but for a good cause. Have some faith in the boy.
What I liked best about this book was that the real sense of magic needed in children's and teen books was there. And quite strongly so. Also, I loved that it incorporated bits of other languages, made up scripts, odd bits of technological details and a lot of non-human creatures, many not as originally imagined in traditional mythology. There was a real sense of play and that was what hooked me, an adult who reads almost non-stop, to a kids story. Such addiction to a kids book is very rare for me. I never even bothered going near Harry Potter despite being urged to on countless occasions as there wasn't enough extra in there to entice someone who'd read all those story lines. (For Harry Potter uber-fans: I'm not against the series, it just didn't appeal to me as I'd been there and read that in other books when I was young.) So, as you can see, my vote on this book does not come lightly. There are always a few hurdles for me to jump before I obsessively by a children's series and I did end up buying all the Artemis Fowl books, in the shiny covers of course as those were the best by far.
On another note, I also loved that this book and the ones that followed delved into an underground world near the centre of the Earth. This is a classic plot device for having divergent or unassociated civilisations clash, one used in the early establishment of science fiction. At the time most of these books were written as future histories, utopian, dystopian or futuristic fiction as the term science fiction didn't come about until the early 20th Century. But still there were often different people, advanced technologies, calmer societies or ones with flaws that would reveal our own. To have this plot device show up in a children's book made my little heart leap with joy that it was still around and could still influence people.
I'd suggest this book to: Any young child, girl or boy. Any fan of light hearted and easy to read fantasy that's still original and captivating. No matter their age. The great thing about this book is it would be a nice one to read to a young child to get them interested in reading by themselves, as it is pretty fun for an adult and absolutely awesome for a kid. Adults don't have to worry their minds are going to melt into mush from reading below their level of comprehension as there's more than enough to interest them otherwise. Besides, the writing isn't bowing to lesser comprehension skill but rather setting a level to be reached.
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