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.
Rating: Summary: ^_^ Arty! Review: I was a bit taken aback when my aunt gave me this book. Im a rabid Harry Potter fan and had heard this book was a lot like Harry Potter. It's acutaly nothign like Harry, but i had it's own special charm. I just loved Artemis. He's evil and nasty...and I just loved him! For those who like Draco Malfoy (Harry Potter's enemy) or just a great book, this is for you.
Rating: Summary: great adventure Review: Twelve-year old genius Armemis Fowl decided to refill the family coffers by learning the language of fairies and kidnapping one for its gold. Artemis sucessfully captures fairy Captain Holly Short Short holding her for ransom against trolls,special assault teams and technology. The droll prodigy uses technology and his faithful butler to repel the fairy police and outwit obstacles.
Rating: Summary: What An Awful Mess! Review: I can't believe the praise being showered on this book. It's a disaster. I can't imagine anyone wanting to read anymore about Artemis Fowl. He is a nasty, nasty little boy. The only way I'd ever like to read more about him is if the adventures involve him being given a good smack or two. First of all, as many people have pointed out, these books have absolutely nothing in common with "Harry Potter", and it's a shame to see all books being lumped into a pile of "Fantasy? Must be Harry Potter-like". Especially books like this, which is so absolutely undeserving of the comparison it's rather pathetic. Second of all, I understand that Colfer was trying to form a dashing "anti-hero" in Artemis. It didn't work. I was never rooting for Artemis to get away with his plan, I never admired his "daring". All I wanted was for him to get caught, embarrassed, and punished. He was a ungrateful, obnoxious, and very trying on the nerves. And I didn't for *one second* buy that he was 12 years old. But all though Artemis was the most unbelievable and detestable character, all characters had huge flaws. I was never satisifed with why Holly helped heal Butler. OK, Juliet was "innocent" (really, though, the only reason Holly sympathized with her was because she was also a female surrounded by males.) but Butler sure wasn't, so why did Holly heal him? Ah, so he could be in the sequel, of course! Holly herself wants nothing more than be considered a productive, first-class LEPrecon officer, yet she neglects powering her magic up for years. Why would she, "the test case", do that, knowing it could cost her everything she's fought for? Ah, just so she could be captured to further the plot, because it can't develop on it's own because it has no logic or sense, of course! There were NO characters to care about or believe in. (but I must admit, I at least had *feeling* for Artemis. I hated him passionately, and I really didn't give a hoot about any of the other characters one way or another.) Finally, this book was just poorly written. It was filled with over-the-top unbelievable language that hurts the ears with the sheer awfulness of it. The descriptions of the fairie technology were complicated and yet somehow still vague and it all sounded like it had been filtered through a "Hollywood Action Movie Generic Dialogue Generator 2001". For instance: "Ambition had a price, and that price was friendship." For God's sake, "Pearl Harbor" has lines with less clunk. Stop the comparisons with "Harry Potter". It's a disgrace to Harry. That series is filled with heart, logic, truth, and real magic and to compare them to stupid swill like this is a shame. If only I could give theis book ZERO STARS! If only I didn't notice it was published, in part, by Mirmax, thus making me realize I'll someday have to sit through previews for the insipid "Artemis Fowl" movie! If only there wasn't going to be more of this stupidity! Don't spend your money or your time on this irritating and poorly written book. I sure wish I hadn't.
Rating: Summary: Not HP, but real good Review: I thought that this book was very good. The author was telling the truth when he said, "die hard with fairies." LOL It's got action, and the end is really surprising. Artemis is a cold hearted 12 year old that wants to take over the world. Kinda reminds you of Salem on Sabrina, no? Anyways, he captures fairy cop Holly Short in order to get the fairy technology to take over the world. Ransom is a ton of fairy gold. Her cop squad comes to rescue her, and with Foaly, Root, and the rest of the LepRecon Unit, they make this story believable. I highly recommend it!
Rating: Summary: good book Review: If you like fantasy, harry potter, gohsts, youll love Artemis fowel Artemis fowl is a genius, a criminal mastermind, and a millionaire the most shocking thing is hes only twelve years old But when he kidnaps captian Holly Short of the LEPrecon unit he dosent know what hes dealing with. In a great scheme to restore his families fortune Artemis Fowl makes a very amusing tale.
Rating: Summary: A work of intelligence and adventure. Review: This book couldn't be pried out of my hands until it was over! I love the unique combinations of Fantasy and adventure. The intelligence level of Artemis was another unusual element. I'm waiting for the sequel, and the movie.
Rating: Summary: Passing the time Review: I found this book to be very entertaining and more importantly a way to pass the time until Harry Potter book 5 comes out. I found it had an original plot and although it was not written perfectly it was a satisfying weekend read. I recommend reading it.
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