Rating: Summary: Totally AWESOME!! Review: Whether you like mythical creatures such as fairies, trolls, elves, or not, I recommend this book to you! Artemis is a 12 year old criminal mastermind who is working on his latest scheme in this book. This scheme involves capturing a fairy. Captain Holly Short is an ordinary LEP offiver who gets captured by this evil "Mud Man". You won't want to put this book down as you read about Artemis's every move, and what the LEP commander does to save this officer!!
Rating: Summary: The Subtle Knife-A Brilliant Read Review: If you have not yet baught this book, get out to the shops now and buy it. It is a must read. The way I think of the book can not be said in words.
Rating: Summary: Very well written and very clever Review: I've seen this book compared to the Harry Potter series, this comparison is both correct and incorrect. When people say that this is just riding on Harry Potter's wake they are dead wrong. This book has one similarity with HP; it's fantasy. That's it. Oh yeah, one more thing, the author is amazing. The reason I am reminded of Potter when I read it is not the plot, it's the way the author writes. Very clever plot, lots of twists, and when you read it again you appreciate it even more. The way the author sneaks in information that you need to know, and when it comes up you just take it for granted, there's never a part where the book loses something because it needs to explain it to you. One of my favorite parts of the book is the coded message that runs along the bottom of each page. If you decode it (which isn't too hard, but it takes a few hours) then you get hints about the upcoming book. So if you liked Harry Potter then you have to buy this book. If you thought Harry Potter was OK then you should strongly consider buying this book. If you didn't like HP at all then you might want to wait until it's on paper back or wait until they have it in your library.
Rating: Summary: Swinging in on the coat tails of Harry Potter Fever Review: Although there were some interesting details, this book was difficult to finish. It lacked the good hearted theme of innocence conquers evil that Harry Potter is noted for. There was very little innocence in this book. Artemis Fowl was not a believable character. He was a robotic character with few human characteristics. This prevented me from identifying with the character. Technology buffs may find the book entertaining but if you stop and think about it, fairys are nature loving creatures who dislike the idea of technology. And why would they need technology? They are magical beings. Eoin Colfer is a talented writer and his ideas are interesting but I do not feel this book has the universal appeal of Harry Potter and should not be promoted as a fix for Harry Potter buffs.
Rating: Summary: It really is a good book..... Review: This book (if I do say so myself) is a work of brilliance! the plot was delicious and beutifully fast paced,and there is a healthy dose of humor in it too. It's only draw back is that the story ends!
Rating: Summary: Three Generations Entertained: Review: Colfer's newest work, Artemis Fowl, is a delightful, energetic piece of science fiction posing as fantasy. He introduces technology and asks the age old question, "What if?" Colfer's witty writing style makes this piece a delight for all ages. While recommended for grades 6 and above, due to the reading skills required, this book provides the perfect opprotunity for parents (or grandparents in my case) to read to their children. The plot and clever use of language is sophisticated enough for the reader to enjoy; while the high energy, vivid, even graphic descriptions, fully engage the over eight year old crowd who have outgrown many books they are capable of reading. In my case, reading this book to my 10 year old grandson allowed me to not only spend time with my grandson, but to also elicit giggles from him and his hard to please mother. We were each engaged by the story's wit and pace. Like the Harry Potter books, reading this book causes both reader and listener to ask, "When is the next book coming out?"
Rating: Summary: A wonderfully told, fast moving adventure! Review: I typically read the books I get for my son before I pass them along... I read this one cover to cover non-stop. Mr. Colfer tells a great story that moves at a rapid pace keeping the reader engaged. My son (age 10) loves the book, in fact he's read it three times now. We are anxiously hoping for more adventures featuring Artemis soon!
Rating: Summary: Artemis Fowl Review: An excellent read for anyone. Yes, it does get a bit ahead of itself, but the characters are great. From a fairly new author(at least, I hadn't head of the author before) this book captures the true essance of evil and makes it somewhat good. This time, you're rooting for the bad and the good guys at the same time-and Artemis Fowl is irresistible. He has a good heart deep down...and brains that are obvious. A good mix of high-tech crimal modern world and olden day fairy enchantment world. Artemis Fowl suprised you by his age...and so will I. I'm only 12 also!
Rating: Summary: It is a mistake to call this "The next Harry Potter" Review: I know this has been said before on this list, but it is important to understand that the only people calling this book "The next Harry Potter" are those Penguin trying to catch some of Harry's glory because they refused to buy Rowling's book in the first place.Harry Potter was something kids discovered for themselves, and it spread though word of mouth based on its own merits. Attempts by media empires to market "Artemis Fowl" can never be anything more than hype. Many reviewers, particularly children, seem to like "Artemis Fowl" a great deal, and so I can only suppose that the book is connecting with its readers. However, the attitude is decidedly mixed and I don't think it could ever achieve the heights of popularity Harry Potter now enjoys. Don't get me wrong- there are many things I like about "Artemis Fowl." It is wildly exuberent and savvy. It has such a sense of double-barrelled techno-anarchy that it is like reading a game of Tomb Raider. While I read it, I swore I could hear U2 playing "Elevation" in the background. It name drops all the latest cool gadgets in nearly every sentence, and so speaks to the brand-sensitive and cyber-aware youth of today, people who probably would not touch Harry Potter in thier lives. But there are two many inconsistancies in its tone and message. For a book that claims to despise the polluting, careless way of modern life, it is too in love with technology. The fairies, who are supposed to be guardians of the earth, live in a polluted, overcrowded hellhole far worse than anything humans could create. And what about Artemis? Are we supposed to like this budding Brighton bomber? He is not a child- he is a 12-year old adult. He is self centered, arrogant, callous and cruel. He has power, which children also want, and he lives freely in an adult world. But I would never want children to look up to him. The fact that he is Irish and fond of Semtex is too close to the headlines for comfort. The author, for all his interest in Irish mythology, seems to have very little knowledge of it or that of any other country (Artemis is a woman's name, from the Greek moon godess- the male form is Artemus). JK Rowling uses mythological sources in all of her books from Fluffy, based the Greek guardian of Hades, Cerberus, to Sybill Trelawney (the Sybils were Greek prophetesses at Delphi). The closest we get to that level of complex wordplay in "Artemis Fowl" is the childish "LEPRecon"- not particulalry sophisticated.
Rating: Summary: Not Harry Potter, but worth a look Review: Artemis Fowl, the latest in a long line of criminal masterminds, plots to restore his family's fortune by stealing some of the immense wealth hoarded by fairies. Finding a fairy is hard enough. Extorting gold from them is even harder-in fact, no one has ever succeeded in keeping fairy gold. And the fairy he chooses to abduct for ransom is someone to be reckoned with...a well-trained member of the LEPrecon, a sophisticated police unit of the fairy world. But the fairies have never met someone like Artemis and his bodyguard, Butler. Artemis is well-connected, clever, technologically savvy, shrewd, and astute. He has rarely been thwarted. His name is feared by underworld figures everywhere. Few have dared to cross him, fewer still have survived the encounter...Did I mention that he is twelve years old? Colfer has constructed a humorous, clever, edgy tale centered on a boy who's best described as a mix of Einstein and Michael Corleone. He's greedy, amoral, smug, and fiercely competitive; yet beneath the tough exterior is a heart of a twelve-year-old boy...and beneath that he's greedy, amoral, and smug. He's not someone who's an ideal role model for kids; hence, this book is recommended to people Artemis' age and above. Adults and older children will love some of the author's clever inventions, such as the way that fairies travel to the surface, and the mix of magic and technology employed by their society. Younger kids will like the sometimes crude humor, such as the way dwarves tunnel through the earth (hint: soil goes in one end...and out the other...sometimes explosively) and the action. A brisk pace and some neat plot twists (such as the one involving Artemis' mother at the end) keep the reader's interest, but parts of the book lag. The reader may adopt a "get on with it" attitude during the slow sections. Some language, more than one would expect from a children's book, though nothing really bad-just the "h" and "d" words. Butler makes for a good supporting character, and provides temperance to some of Artemis' occasional juvenile fits. He's also the boy's conscience...but only to a certain degree. Holly Short, the kidnapped fairy, is tough and bright. None of the characters are extremely well-developed, though that may change in the following novels-more are planned, and Colfer has already sold the movie rights. An extra challenge lies in figuring out the code listed at the bottom of each page. Older fans of Harry Potter may like this, and adults will find it a pleasant diversion.
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