Artemis Fowl
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- $7.99
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- $7.99
Publisher Description
Twelve-year-old Artemis is a millionaire, a genius-and above all, a criminal mastermind. But 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 the bedtime stories-they're dangerous!
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
We couldn’t get enough of this odd novel full of fairy fisticuffs and run-ins with dwarves, goblins, trolls, elves, and other fantastic creatures. The first instalment in Eoin Colfer’s madcap crime-meets-fantasy series introduces us to 12-year-old antihero Artemis Fowl, the surviving scion of a family known for its shadiness. In the hopes of restoring his hereditary fortune, Artemis plans to plunder fairy reserves by holding an elite elvish cop for ransom. Tarantino-meets-Tolkien antics ensue. Colfer’s devilishly witty banter and wacky genre mash-ups neatly balance the heavy material (a mentally ill mom; a presumed-dead dad) in this smart, delightful YA read.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Colfer's (Benny and Omar) crime caper fantasy, the first in a series, starts off with a slam-bang premise: anti-hero Artemis Fowl is a boy-genius last in line of a legendary crime family teetering on the brink of destruction. With the assistance of his bodyguard, Butler, he masterminds his plan to regain the Fowls' former glory: capture a fairy and hold her ransom for the legendary fairy gold. However, his feisty mark, Holly, turns out to be a member of the "LEPrecon, an elite branch of the Lower Elements Police," so a wisecracking team of satyrs, trolls, dwarfs and fellow fairies set out to rescue her. Despite numerous clever gadgets and an innovative take on traditional fairy lore, the author falls short of the bar. The rapid-fire dialogue may work as a screenplay with the aid of visual effects (a film is due out from Talk/Miramax in 2002) but, on the page, it often falls flat. The narrative hops from character to character, so readers intrigued by Artemis's wily, autocratic personality have to kill a good deal of time with the relatively bland Holly and her cohorts, and the villain/hero anticlimactically achieves his final escape by popping some sleeping pills (it renders him invulnerable to the fairy time-stop). Technology buffs may appreciate the imaginative fairy-world inventions and action-lovers will get some kicks, but the series is no classic in the making. Ages 12-up.
Customer Reviews
Good
Definitely geared towards a younger crowd, but good none the less.
Permet une bonne introspection sur nos réactions aux différences
J’ai relu ce livre après avoir lu Axiom’s End de Lindsay Ellis et An Remarkably Foolish Endeavour de Hank Green. Les notions de luttes sociales sont moins directement présentes dans Artemis Fowl, mais les interactions entre les fées et les humains, et les aperçus de la société féerique peuvent faciliter l’introspection. Les thèmes écologiques sont aussi pertinents.
Great
As usual a fantastic book, which isn't unusual coming from Eoin Colfer.