Rating: 
Summary: Stand back, human, you don't know what you're dealing with!
Review: I only discovered this marvelous fantasy series recently, on hearing an interview with the author on NPR, and went straight to the library in search of a copy of this first volume. Artemis Fowl is the twelve-year-old scion of a centuries-old -- and very successful -- Irish family of criminal masterminds. He's a genius and he's dangerous, though there are still touches of the adolescent about him. His bodyguard-butler, a huge but sensitive character named Butler (and the only human ever to have taken on a full-grown bull troll and lived), descends from another family whose members have been in service to the Fowls for so long, they gave their surname to the profession. Artemis is determined to restore the family's sagging financial status by acquiring a very large amount of gold. And where better to obtain gold than from the Little Folk? Enter Holly Short, a fairy, and more specifically, an elf. Also a leprechaun, but that's just her job description: Captain in the Recon section of the Lower Elements Police. The Little People now live far under the Earth, having lost control of the surface long ago to the Mud People (that's us), but have compensated with technological developments far in advance of our own. How Holly becomes the main element in Artemis's kidnapping and extortion plot, . . . ah, that would be telling. But it's a huge amount of fun and the film will be out before long -- and adolescent boys are going to love Mulch the mining dwarf.
Rating:
Summary: Funny and fantastic Fowl!
Review: A couple of friends of mine recommended this book to me over a year ago. They described it as "DieHard with Fairies" and I have to admit I was intrigued so I bought a copy. I just got around to reading it and I hate that I waiting as long as I did. This book was a riot. While Harry Potter, which this series is often compared to, is good hearted and an all around hero, Artemis Fowl is a devilishly clever young man intent on continuing his family's legacy of being fabulously wealthy through less-than-honorable means. With the help of his huge body guard, simply known as Butler, young Fowl has created a plan to randsome money from those elusive folk known as the Fairies. Once he captures one of their people, a fiesty young female named Holly Short, the fun begins. The "people" begin their plans to retrive the captive and Artemis sets his plans in motion. Between Artemis and the Fairies there are enough gadgets to fill up an entire Mission Impossible movie! Eoin Colfer gives the reader an interesting glimpse into the underworld that houses gnomes, trolls and faires and makes a villianish young man likeable. He is an interesting writer and well worth following. If you are biding your time until "The Order of the Phoenix" comes out, give this book a try. Though Harry and Artemis are quite different, they make great reading for both old and young alike.
Rating: 
Summary: My Godson loved it.
Review: I had given my 12-year-old godson the Harry Potter books and loved those. When I first heard about the premise of Aretmis Fowl I knew I had to buy them for him, too. We recently went on vacation together and the only books my godson brought on the trip were his school books for homework and Artemis Fowl.
Rating: 
Summary: Artemis Foul indeed - dreadful book
Review: The comparisons with J. K. Rowling's creation may be seen as a lack of imagination, but have only been helped by the news that Artemis Fowl's life is to be portrayed in a movie. The Potter phenomenon grew quite rapidly, but Artemis Fowl seems to have leaped to the top with just one jump. True, Artemis Fowl has yet to reach Potter's sales figures, but when you do a deal with the faeries, what do you expect? No doubt the movie will also leapfrog Artemis Fowl's earnings, just as long as there are no flatulent dwarves around. But does Artemis Fowl really need the money? When we first meet him, we learn that he has been jetting all over the world in his bid to find a copy of the Book that lays down the laws for Fairies. With a huge manservant called Butler by his side, armed with a vast array of expensive weaponry, Artemis finds his prey in Ho Chi Minh City. It is here that Artemis first demonstrates his guile and his great knowledge of chemistry. With the whole resources of Fowl Manor behind him, Artemis Fowl is one privileged boy. He is, after all, only twelve. There is no Hogwarts to distract him from the travails of life at home (namely a mad mother in an attic - is Colfer trying to appeal to Gilbert and Gubar?), but his comfortable lifestyle has created a certain boredom that needs to be quashed. A degree of isolation has meant that Artemis has had to teach himself, and he's as original as only a self-teacher can be. It doesn't help that he has come from a long paternal line of thieving Fowls. Artemis's father got mixed up with the Russian Mafia and has vanished, and his mother, Angeline Fowl, has not been the same since. Butler is more of a companion to Artemis than a substitute father, but the presence of his sister Juliet means that there is quite a family atmosphere in Fowl Manor. But to what extent will Artemis's plan place them all in danger? For Artemis desires no less than to kidnap a fairy... Into his path buzzes Captain Holly Short of the LEPrecon unit, his legendary nemesis (or so we're told - there are a few hints of future adventures). Since Artemis has managed to decrypt the Fairy Book, he is able to keep one step ahead of the LEPrecon unit sent to rescue Holly. Commander Julius Root, although always the most critical of the experimental female attachment to the squad, shows an admirable sense of loyalty to her when he decides to lead the rescue from the front, even although he was far more active five hundred years ago. Assisted and hindered by a techno centaur called Foaly, Root leaps into action. But will his ties with the captured agent compromise the operation? Dysfunctional families seem to be an integral part of children's fiction at the moment. Harry Potter's parents were blasted by Voldemort, and Artemis has seemingly also lost his mother and father. Artemis's mother seems to spend most of the novel drugged on sleeping pills, whilst Natalie's father in Katherine Roberts' 'Spellfall' spends most of his time drunk. Angeline Fowl's drugged state forms an integral part of the plot, and Natalie is also kidnapped and fed sleeping pills in 'Spellfall'. Away from his parents though, Artemis doesn't muck around with spells like Harry Potter or Natalie, he mixes chemicals together. There is something very unsightly about a hero who uses drugs to get his way. He poisons the drunken fairy at the beginning of the book, and tranquilizes Holly Short with curare and succinylcholine chloride. Curare has been used by South American Indians as a poison to dip their darts into while hunting, whilst succinylcholine chloride too has been used to murder. It's just as well that these chemicals aren't very easy for your average kid to get hold of. Perhaps Artemis's self education on the net is not such a good idea after all.
Artemis's moral ambiguity does not make him an easy hero. Harry Potter is not a paragon of virtue either, but his character works much better. You spend more of the novel rooting for Holly and Root than Artemis, because you don't really want Artemis to get away with his villainy. Eoin Colfer may think that villains are more interesting than heroes, but that's a cliché for actors, not authors. Who out there ultimately ends up rooting for Iago? Someone who's prepared to risk the lives of his friends and cross species war that could engulf the entire planet? So Artemis may not like whaling ships, but Katherine Roberts' critique of the same practice was a lot more powerful in Song Quest, and a lot more imaginative to boot. Eoin Colfer's knowledge of myth is very good however, and he's not afraid to make his own adaptations and inventions, like Mulch Diggums, the aforementioned flatulent dwarf. But you can't help thinking that the movie is going to be released during the Yuletide season. No matter how reminiscent Artemis's representation of Santa Claus is, you can hardly wave off the sprig of cynicism induced by ending the novel on Christmas Day. Artemis Fowl is ultimately more 'Temple of Doom' than 'Raiders of the Lost Ark', with its sporadic, gruesome action. It just as well that trolls have the patience to wait for dramatic interludes whilst they bloodthirstily hunt down their prey. There are plenty of hints for sequels to come - we can only hope that Colfer will produce an 'Empire Strikes Back' rather than a 'Return of a Jedi'.
Rating:
Summary: A magical book
Review: I decided to read Artemis Fowl only because there was no new Harry Potter book coming soon. When I started to read I realized that I was going to love the book. It is magical and fun. I already read the first two and just today I got the third. I already started reading it and I can assure you that it is going to be great.
Rating:
Summary: Killer!!
Review: Let me tell you, this is one of the wittiest and most captivating books I have ever read. Anyone saying otherwise is either delusional or didn't actually read the book. You can't even compare it to Harry Potter. It's like comparing apples and oranges. As a reader full-fledged adult fantasy, I can say that I wasn't expecting much. I was in for the surprise of my life. You can basically gather the premise of the book from other reviews, but I have one detail I would like to add to the sizable list of positives: realism. None of the other young adult fantasies I've read have even had remotely as many diverse characters as in this book. From Foaly, the paranoid centaur, to Mulch Diggums, a kleptomaniac dwarf, all of the characters have a trait that makes them unique, like Juliet's love of wrestling. All other fantasies for teens insinuate that bad people are the enemy. Every main character is a dogooder, or a troublemaker who is a dogooder at heart. However, this book shows that "bad people" aren't necessarily bad, Artimus Fowl himself shows signs of morals and human emotions later on in the book. So... READ IT!
Rating:
Summary: Fairy Fantastic
Review: Did you ever wonder what fairies were like? Well if you read Eoin Colfers Artemis Fowl you might get an idea. This book has fairies that fly around on jet wings and have triple barrel guns. Also a human kidnaps one of the fairies. How will the fairies get their friend back? Find out by reading this book. I liked this book because it has a lot of creativity and funny situations. Out of four stars I would give this book 4 stars. I think that the author's purpose of writing this book was to tell what he thought about fairies.
Rating:
Summary: Artimis Fowl? Have you heard the name?
Review: This book is one of the best things you can do to please yourself and others. It is a great hit at middle schools and other grades. All ages have read this book and are pleased with it but not as much as I. lIke most of you I have become a fan of the Harry Potter books and is waiting the arrival of the next book. I needed a book similar in style so I took a leaf out of a friends book and opened this one. I could not belive that I finished it within two days. I wanted to read the rest of Artimis Fowl's books so I went and read all three and none were disapointing.
Rating: 
Summary: The book's tagline is right: "Stay back, human."
Review: I was attracted by the amount of publicity given to Artemis Fowl's books. I gave in, and, interested as I am in children's literature, I bought the first one. I was strongly dissapointed to find out such a weak story, with forgettable and trivial characters, and the tiresome and unconvincing blend of technology and so-called magic. Even more dissapointed I was when I realized that Artemis Fowl himself gets less story time than many "supporting" characters (believe me, I almost counted the pages he appears in), thus making him the less developed character among the main ones. The use of witty and catchy phrases by many characters makes a lame impact, and unwillingly diludes the idea that Artemis is the genius in the book. I am hesitant about buying the second book, really. Besides the unnecesary use of useless characters, worn-out phrases, and artificialy-exposed situations, the quality and the narrative of the book DOES NOT compare at all with works by authors related to children's literature such as Eva Ibbotson, Lemony Snicket (Daniel Handler), C. S. Lewis, Phillip Pullman, or yes... J. K. Rowling, just to name a few. I had the constant feeling that this book was written by demand, I mean, as a job, not as a work of inspiration (almost as if it were written to compete with other children books, just to hit on the pocket of book readers). Yes, it does have "some" (if little) of the folklore of the Irish lands (the author was born in Ireland), but it's twisted view of those mythical places does not render or really made me see or imagine an alternate universe under our human noses. If I can be of some help, trust me, this is not a wise pick, but then again, one must read of everything. Hopefully, someone else will have the same view as I am, and reconsider his or her thoughts about surrendering to such a poor written book. "Stay back, human. You don't know what you're dealing with." This is the tagline of the book. It was also probably ment for Eoin (pronounced "Owen") Colfer's kind of writing, as someone in merchandising realized his lack of hability with words, demonstrated in this piece.
Rating:
Summary: Waiting for Potter still?
Review: If you are a fan of Mr.Potter or not you will enjoy the Artemis books. This will entertain you and keep you flipping the pages. This story is original and futuristic. It makes you forget your worries. So read and enjoy!
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