I Meet Artemis Fowl
Although I didn't enjoy meeting Artemis Fowl, a diabolical twelve-year old, and wouldn't recommend him as a role model, I can sympathize with his having too much time on his hands and not enough constructive attention from his parents. I normally don't read fantasy, but I have to admit Artemis Fowl held my attention.
I was immediately lured into the realm of the fairy world by the intriguing plot of this book. It engaged me and kept me wondering what would happen next. I was also intrigued with the characters -- both human and fairy. Each character has a definite personality that humans can relate to. Each character seems to grapple with moral issues, unless it is an amoral character (dwarf, troll). Even in the world of the fairies we see politics at work and those who are politically motivated are willing to destroy others in their attempt to climb to the top.
Artemis Captures Holly
I was able to identify easily with Holly Short, the elf/fairy/leprechaun and protagonist in this book. She felt a bit discriminated against as the first female officer in LEP's (Lower Elements Police) Recon unit. She was a bit behind in attending to her Ritual. That meant her magic was not fully there and that she was unshielded and could be seen by humans. Her commander, Root, discovered this while she was tracking a troll and was seen. Root then sent her to perform the Ritual, and that landed her in Ireland.
Unfortunately, Artemis captured her before she could finish the Ritual which would restore her magic. She neded to pluck an acorn where "full moon, ancient oak and twisted water meet. And bury it far from where it was found." She had the acorn, but had not had the chance to bury it yet. So she was still unshielded and without her magic when Artemis kidnapped her and held her prisoner in the Fowl estate.
The Plot
The plot is complicated and I won't reveal all of it. It is the moral issues in the book that fascinate me. Fowl is a child prodigy who had managed to steal and copy the Golden Book containing the rules the fairies had to follow. He had found a way to translate the fairy language in which it was written. He did this so he can get his hands on the gold he believes the fairies hoard. Holly has to abide by the fairy rules, and Fowl uses his knowledge of them to keep her imprisoned. Meanwhile, a fairy Retrieval team has been sent to rescue her.
Besides Fowl himself, Holly is guarded by Butler, Fowl's mammoth body guard, and Butler's younger sister, Juliet, who is not too bright. Holly has a certain amount of sympathy for Juliet, and that sympathy almost gets her killed. Fowl has demanded a ransom of a ton of gold for Holly's release. Holly cannot leave a human house without human permission (according to the rules). Holly managed to pound through the floor of her cell to bury her acorn and obtain her magic and shielding and take advantage of Juliet's laziness and addiction to wrestling programs on TV to distract her and escape the cell.
Holly and Fowl know that the house is in a field where time has been stopped for six hours to buy the fairies a longer night, since they can't handle daylight above ground. At the end of the time field, a "blue rinse" will destroy every living thing in the house --including Holly if she's still there. The idea is to get Holly out, destroy the others, and then go back after the gold, since only living things are destroyed.
A Dwarf and a Troll Precipitate a Crisis
Troll Courtesy of Pixabay, Public Domain, Modified on PicMonkey |
"A life is a life."
I won't reveal the ending, but it did involve more dialog between Holly and Fowl. We are left with the impression that Artemis is not quite so sinister at the end as at the beginning. Near the end, Holly tries to prevent her people from detonating the bio-bomb that will kill the humans, intervening for the innocent Juliet, insisting that "A life is a life."
Image of Fairy Courtesy of Pixabay It is sized to share to Pinterest. |
I'm not familiar with the Artemis Fowl series, but you certainly have piqued my curiosity. I don't read much fantasy either, however on the rare occasions that I do, I'm usually surprised how much I enjoy it. Appreciate your excellent review!
ReplyDeleteI read the book because at the time I was selling children's books that were on school reading lists, and I wanted to know more about them so I'd know which ones I'd want to carry. There's a lot in the book that would make for good discussions.
DeleteI'm not familiar with the Artemis Fowl series, but you certainly have piqued my curiosity. I don't read much fantasy either, however on the rare occasions that I do, I'm usually surprised how much I enjoy it. Appreciate your excellent review!
ReplyDeleteUp until I read this about all the fantasy I'd read was by C.S. Lewis or Tolkien. This was very different from those books.
DeleteThis does sound like a very intriguing book with some very interesting characters. I haven't read anything by Eoin Colfer, so I appreciate the introduction and the recommendation.
ReplyDeleteSupposedly there's a movie in the works, and it would make a great movie. The characters are indeed interesting.
DeleteMy daughter is a big fan of ~ and artist in ~ the fantasy (and Sci Fi) world (and of fairies) and is probably already familiar with the Artemis Fowl series. I'll have to ask her what she thinks of these books from her artistic perspective . Sounds quite interesting.
ReplyDeleteShe probably is familiar with this. I'd be interested in her opinion.
Deletethat would make a very interesting movie!
DeleteThis sounds like a series of books my son would be into, he loves fantasy in all shapes and sizes. Might be too juvenile or maybe not....thanks for a great review.
ReplyDeleteThank You for sharing the valuable information.Its very helpful to me.
ReplyDelete