I got this book through NetGalley.
Artemis Fowl, a twelve year old criminal genius, kidnaps Holly Short, an elf, to exchange her for a lot of gold.
Artemis Fowl is not a usual teenager. Even though he is just twelve, he’s already smarter than most adults. Fowl doesn’t seem to care about anybody, but as we read, we find out that this is not exactly true. He loves his mother very much and takes care of her when she’s ill and he misses his father who disappeared some time before the beginning of the book.
Most things about him, like the reasons for his criminal career, remain more or less unexplained. It’s understandable; this is only the first of a series of eight novels.
Due to his young age most of his adversaries underestimate him. They soon learn that this is a big mistake. Artemis Fowl is not someone you can easily trick.
Although sometimes we see how young Artemis really is, I think the plot would have been more realistic with somebody a bit older. Just four years more and his behaviour would have been much more believable.
Even though it is a YA novel and there is no strong language, there are serious death threats and most are not issued by evil people. Several LEP members (Lower Elements Police), who are supposed to be the good guys, are very happy to send a troll to kill a boy and to use a magical weapon to kill everybody in the house to get the gold back.
In this novel what’s good and bad depends on the point of view and nobody is all one or the other.
Artemis Fowl, a twelve year old criminal genius, kidnaps Holly Short, an elf, to exchange her for a lot of gold.
Artemis Fowl is not a usual teenager. Even though he is just twelve, he’s already smarter than most adults. Fowl doesn’t seem to care about anybody, but as we read, we find out that this is not exactly true. He loves his mother very much and takes care of her when she’s ill and he misses his father who disappeared some time before the beginning of the book.
Most things about him, like the reasons for his criminal career, remain more or less unexplained. It’s understandable; this is only the first of a series of eight novels.
Due to his young age most of his adversaries underestimate him. They soon learn that this is a big mistake. Artemis Fowl is not someone you can easily trick.
Although sometimes we see how young Artemis really is, I think the plot would have been more realistic with somebody a bit older. Just four years more and his behaviour would have been much more believable.
Even though it is a YA novel and there is no strong language, there are serious death threats and most are not issued by evil people. Several LEP members (Lower Elements Police), who are supposed to be the good guys, are very happy to send a troll to kill a boy and to use a magical weapon to kill everybody in the house to get the gold back.
In this novel what’s good and bad depends on the point of view and nobody is all one or the other.
this is one of my favorite books...EVER!
ReplyDeletemarius
http://www.mariusreads.blogspot.com
It's one of my favourite books, too :)
DeleteHmmm, I have this one on my shelf but I have a block with MG books and have to be in the mood. I hope I like it, though. It sound like it might have promise.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if it is MG or YA or somewhere in between. It's certainly darker than what I would expect in a MG book, but it's been a while since I read more than one MG book, so I may be wrong.
DeleteI've talked to a lot of people who really liked the Artemis Fowl books, and it looks from your review like the books lived up to the hype. I dunno about me, though. YA isn't exactly my thing. You think I'd still enjoy it, knowing my reading tastes?
ReplyDeleteThis book is a bit different from all the fantasy YA books written recently, probably because it was published in 2001. There is no crazy teenage love story, at least not in the first two and a half books (I'm still reading the third) and the main character is not annoyingly good or completely naive. He's very unlikable at first although this changes later.
DeleteLooking at the books you like, this is different. I think you might enjoy the plot but the language and writing are more for the younger part of YA. The characters are a bit flat and the plot is slow at first if you read this as a stand-alone book. I also think you'd enjoy the second book more than this one.