Book Review: Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer

Synopsis: Artemis Fowl kidnaps a Fairy special agent and ransoms her back for leprechaun gold.

I wasn't sure what I was going to think about this book going into it. My wife read it and enjoyed it (though she had a problem with inconsistancies in the Fairy environmentalism).

I rather enjoyed it myself. Halfway through, I wasn't sure how it was going to turn out. The reason is simple: Artemis Fowl is a villain. One of the basics of writing is that the first character you become grounded in is the "focal character." This is the character who defines whose side you should root for. In many cases (typically in formulaic thrillers), this character is murdered by the villain (then you go, "Okay. That's the bad guy. Anything opposing him is good."). The effect is strengthened when the focal character is also an eponymous character. The brilliant thing is that Artemis Fowl, after whom the book is named, is the villain.

You start the book on his side, wanting him to succeed. Then you are put into the point of view of Holly Short, and get to know the LEP Recon. These are the good guys. And they're not Dudley-Do-Rights who deserve a mouthful of crow. They are flawed, but then you start rooting for them.

About halfway through there's a moment of realization that you're rooting for both sides.

I was worried because it's hard to pull off a loss in a novel without alienating your audience. And this book sets up so you can't help but root for the loser. Without spoiling the ending, I have to say I wasn't disappointed.

I also should note that I rather liked Colfer's take on the fey creatures. There's nothing there we haven't seen before, but his take is fresh. Though I don't think there's really a way a centaur could do some of the things Foaly does, and Mulch drops into potty humor readily.

And on the Fairy environmentalism, it is inconsistant in two things. With the environmental concerns Holly expresses against humanity, there should be no place for either petrol (gasoline) engines or the bio-bomb in Fairy society.