Artemis Fowl - Eoin Colfer

Artemis Fowl
By: Eoin Colfer
Published: 2001
Audiobook Read by: Nathaniel Parker
My rating: Wonderful







When I listened to the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, I liked it so much I decided to get the rest of the books in the series. I discovered that the last of the six books is actually written by Eoin Colfer so I did a little research on him and discovered that he wrote this Artemis Fowl series of children's books. Now, confession time, I got this to listen to with the kids but since I didn't know what it was like I decided to listen to a little bit of it and make sure I approved. Well, after listening to a little bit I couldn't stop and listened to the whole thing!

Artemis is a genius. Artemis is a criminal mastermind. Artemis is fabulously wealthy. Artemis is twelve years old.

Yes, Artemis is only twelve but his genius makes him a far more formidable adversary than age could have done. He knows that his family's fortunes are starting to dwindle since his father's disappearance, so he devises a plot to bolster them. Who can have enough wealth to give Artemis a chance to get what he needs in one shot? The fairies do! But they're just the stuff of myth and legend aren't they? Artemis knows better, and to make him even more dangerous, he knows the secrets behind their magic. All he needs to do is use their own magic and rules against them. The boys in LEPrecon, trained soldiers of the highest degree that they are, don't stand a chance. Artemis is one step ahead of them at every turn. What they see is a foe that is calm, efficient, brutal, and has nerves of steel and ice water in his veins. But is he really that hard? Artemis has his weaknesses but they'll never be able to use them against him.

This book was a masterpiece of imagination! I love the image of fairies, leprechauns, dwarfs and trolls that flies in the face of all the fairy tails. The personalities Eoin gives them are so much fun and so very different from anything we read about in our bedtime stories! I also love the human characters. Artemis, while being a criminal, is still someone you can have sympathy for and his henchmen are also likeable. The plot of the story keeps you guessing and in the end ties up nicely. I was fully engrossed in it from the very beginning!

I listened to the audio book read by Nathaniel Parker. He did a spectacular job with all the voices and his accent was wonderful!

Overall, this is a great book and I wouldn't hesitate to share it with my kids! In fact, I will be listening to it again, with them, and I'm sure I'll enjoy it just as much the second time around!