Book Log 14/2012 Eoin Colfer: Artemis Fowl

[jacey]

The first outing for this twelve-year-old super-villain genius who despite his best (or worst) intentions can't quite bring himself to be utterly evil. Artemis is left in sole charge when his father goes missing and his mother descends into her own insulated fantasy. Feeling that it's up to him and his bodyguard/sidekick/retainer, the large and dangerous Butler, to restore the family fortunes Artemis targets fairy gold, via the kidnap and ransom route. But his plans begin to unravel when he captures a fairy, Captain Holly Short of the LEPrecon Unit, (Lower Elements Police Reconnaissance). The Lower Elements (magical creatures) live underground, having been driven there by the Mud People – the humans – and intend to stay unnoticed by those on the surface. There's Holly's captain, the gruff Julius Root, and the centaur Foaly who is the fairy police version of James Bond's Q, i.e. the man (centaur) with the gadgets and technlogy.

Artemis bites off more than he can chew when the fairies come after Holly, armed with a time-bubble, a troll and a dwarf who burrows underground much like an earthworm does, ingesting the rock in his way and excreting it behind him. (There are rather too many fart jokes – though maybe not if you're a ten year old boy.)

I didn’t like Artemis at first, but gradually we see that despite trying very hard he's not a cold hearted villain and I did warm to him a little by the end. There was another issue I found a little off-putting. Colfer hammers the environmental message a bit too hard, hits it with a brick, in fact. The Mud People are destroying the earth and only the fairies have respect for the planet.

I like reading (good) children's books and though I don't think the Harry Potter books are particularly well written they did catch a wave and were equally readable by adults and children. Despite it's huge commercial success, Artemis doesn't really do it for me. I might try one more just to see if this series improves after the first one, but I'm not bubbling over with eagerness.

Comments

[heleninwales.livejournal.com]

I couldn't even finish the first Artemis Fowl book. It was just not my thing, but then I don't like Roald Dahl either.

The really interesting thing about the children's literature course I'm doing at the moment is how strongly some of the books divide opinion. Of the recent ones, some love Junk (Melvyn Burgess novel for teens about heroin addiction), others (like me) hate it. Ness's Monsters of Men (latest Carnegie winner) is also a bit of a love/hate book. I haven't actually got to MOM because it's volume 3 of a trilogy, but I gave up on book 1 because I thought the worldbuilding was crap. Some people have said they found the ideas fresh and original, but I felt there was nothing new and I'd see the themes done better elsewhere.

I think you've already read Hunger Games, but that seems to be more favourably thought of, though it's not actually a set book for the course, but with the film out now, people are reading and talking about it.

Have you read any of the Anthony Horowitz books? Alex Rider wasn't bad (as sort of young James Bond), but didn't grab me enough to make me buy the rest of the series. I thought I would like The Power of Five more and it was definitely better written, but he seemed to be doing a Steven King for youngsters and the number of pointless deaths was too high for my taste.

Otherwise, on a completely different tack, I enjoyed stephanieburgis's Kat book and will buy the next as soon as this course is over and I can read purely for pleasure again. Other YA books I have enjoyed recently are The Penderwicks and the Jasper Fforde Dragonslayer books.

[birdsedge.livejournal.com]

I enjoyed Hunger Games, though the first book was definitely the best. The last one was a bit depressing because Katniss was so passive for the early part of it. And though it was realistic because people do grow apart I still thought she settled for the pairing at the end. (Sorry trying not to spoiler it.)

Junk doesn't sound like something that would grab me. I haven't read the Horowitz or the Ness. Stephanie Burgis's Kat books are on my to-read list. I hadn't noticed the Jasper Fforde Dragonslayers, but I love his Thursday Next, so I'll have to take a look.