When a twelve-year-old evil genius tries to restore his family fortune by capturing a fairy and demanding a ransom in gold, the fairies fight back with magic, technology, and a particularly nasty troll. - (Baker & Taylor)

Twelve-year-old criminal mastermind Artemis Fowl, heir to the Fowl family empire and centuries-old legacy of scams and underworld machinations, decides to uncover the secret treasure of the Fairy People by stealing one of their magical books, decoding with his computer, kidnapping leprechaun Holly Short, and taking on the entire forces of the fairy kingdom. 150,000 first printing. - (Baker & Taylor)

Artemis Fowl - (HARPERCOLL)

Booklist Reviews

Gr. 6-8. Tell readers to suspend disbelief and read this wild and wacky story for the fun of it. Artemis Fowl is a 12-year-old genius and the scion of a legendary Irish criminal family whose fortune was diminished when Artemis Senior tried to horn in on the Russian Mafia. Determined to restore the family wealth, Artemis Fowl the Second concocts an elaborate plan to relieve the fairies of some of their magical gold by locating and tricking one of them into giving up the fairy's Book, which spells out the history and commandments that govern fairy life. Enter elf Holly Short, the first female officer in the underground LEPrecon (related to leprechaun, of course). Her assignment--to track a rogue troll on the loose in Italy--ends in disaster and leads to her being kidnapped by young Artemis and ransomed for a ton of small, unmarked, 24-karat gold ingots. The result is sheer mayhem, laced with high technology and magical goings-on. Characterizations and dialogue enhance a rollicking tale that will have readers rolling on the floor and eagerly anticipating the planned sequel as well as the movie in the works for 2002. ((Reviewed April 15, 2001)) Copyright 2001 Booklist Reviews

Booklist Reviews

Gr. 6-9. Could this be Artemis Fowl's last caper? His father, who was rescued from the Russian Mafia in Artemis Fowl: The Arctic Incident (2002), seems to have turned over a new leaf. But Artemis resolves to do one last job, a job that involves a supercomputer cube he created with stolen fairy technology. Things go totally awry, however, when his proposed pigeon--a billionaire American businessman--turns the tables and Artemis' longtime bodyguard, Butler, is fatally shot. Artemis puts Butler on ice, literally, and calls on Captain Holly Short of the LEPrecon fairy police for help. The existence of the cube is a threat to the fairy world, and Artemis concocts a convoluted scheme to recover it. As in the previous two books in the series, the action is fast and furious, the humor is abundant, characterizations are zany, and the boy genius works wonders--all of which add up to another wild ride for Artemis' fans. ((Reviewed June 1 & 15, 2003)) Copyright 2003 Booklist Reviews

Horn Book Guide Reviews

A twelve-year-old criminal mastermind, Artemis Fowl brings the fairy folk to their knees when he kidnaps one of their own. The self-conscious revisioning of the fairy world as a sort of wisecracking police force occurs throughout the novel, stealing focus from the one truly intriguing character, Artemis himself. There's a lot of invention here, but it's not used enough in service to the story. Copyright 2001 Horn Book Guide Reviews

Horn Book Guide Reviews

Artemis and Captain Holly Short are at it again, this time attempting to thwart the evil Spiro's theft of an ingenious device Artemis has designed that (inadvertently) puts the fairy world in danger. There's plenty of snappy dialogue, badass posturing, and blow-by-blow fight scenes, but by the end the characters and story are right back where they started, which means that the next book in the series is completely free to do the same thing all over again. Copyright 2003 Horn Book Guide Reviews

Horn Book Magazine Reviews

Meet Artemis Fowl, Harry Potter's Irish evil twin. A twelve-year-old criminal mastermind, Fowl brings the fairy folk to their knees when he steals their sacred book (translating it on his computer), and kidnaps one of their own, demanding gold for a ransom. Yet while the Harry Potter series exposes the magic tucked within the mundane, Artemis Fowl goes the opposite route. These fairies opt for technological gadgets over pixie dust and, if their dialogue is any indication, seem au courant with our cheesy action movies ("Freeze, Mud Boy"). In fact, Colfer informs us, leprechauns aren't the knicker-wearing, shamrock-waving creatures humans think they are. They are actually "an elite branch of the Lower Elements Police," a.k.a. LEPrecon unit. The self-conscious revisioning of the fairy world as a sort of wisecracking police force with friction among the ranks occurs throughout the novel, stealing focus from the one truly intriguing character, Artemis himself. It is a relief to see fleeting chinks in Artemis's James Bond style cool, as when he thinks about his mother, who has become severely depressed and delusional since the disappearance of Artemis's father. Still, the long stretches devoted to the fairy world's maneuverings, which only readers fond of technical detail will find appealing, overwhelm these moments. There's a lot of invention here, but it's not used enough in service to the story, and may well be deployed to better effect in the feature film slated for next year. Copyright 2001 Horn Book Magazine

Kirkus Reviews

A 12-year-old Irish crime lord takes on the realm of Faerie to recoup his family fortune in this madcap leap aboard the Pottermania bandwagon. Having done his homework, thanks to a fairy manual extorted from an alcoholic sprite in Ho Chi Minh City, youngFowl and his omnicompetent butler, Butler, not only seize the equally aptly named Holly Short, feisty member of LEPrecon (an elite unit of the Lower Elements Police) for ransom, but are well prepared when her pointy-eared compatriots rush to the rescue with a combination of old magic and futuristic high technology. In the ensuing battle, fought as much with wits as weapons, Fowl proves himself a brilliant strategist, if not quite as dastardly or self-confident as he'd like to be, and thanks to what amounts to a magical technicality, he comes out of the dustup alive, with a half-ton of fairy gold, and even a wish (which he puts to good use). Though the violence occasionally turns brutal, Fowl and Short make splendid, well-matched rivals, supported by an inspired cast that includes huge rogue trolls, malicious goblins, an irreverent techie satyr, and kleptomaniac dwarf Mulch Diggins—all of whom are likely to reappear in sequels that are even now underway. Readers familiar with Sherlock Holmes, as well as an array of modern fantasists from Roald Dahl on, will find plenty of homage paid in this savagely funny page-turner.First printing of 100,000; $250,000 ad/promo; film rights to Miramax; author tour Copyright Kirkus 2001 Kirkus/BPI Communications.All rights reserved

Library Journal Reviews

Colfer is already well known in Britain for his popular children's books. The quirky characters and delightful humor of his latest work will undoubtedly delight American readers as well. Artemis Fowl, 12-year-old criminal mastermind and consummate self-server, is out to win fame and restock the dwindling family fortune. The wealthy Fowls, underworld moguls, have fallen on hard times with the disappearance of Artemis's father and the questionable sanity of his depressed mother. Having discovered the true existence of fairies and their magic, Artemis foments a wicked plot to steal their gold. Coercing a fairy on the skids to show him her book of magic, he manages to crack the code and acquaint himself with fairy magic and technology. But Artemis realizes that he needs more bargaining power, so he kidnaps the fairy, Capt. Holly Short of the LEPrecon (Lower Elements Police Reconnaissance) Unit, intending to ransom her for the gold. As the book progresses, readers suspect that this child prodigy is perhaps not so foul as he seems, nor are the good fairies quite so wonderful after all. Fun to read, full of action and humor, this is recommended for all public libraries and to readers of all ages. [The publisher, jointly with Hyperion Books for Children, is promoting this to the young and adult fans of Harry Potter. Ed.] Jennifer Baker, Seattle P.L. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

Library Journal Reviews

Ireland's Saltee Islands are the setting for this novel of derring-do and high adventure from the author of Artemis Fowl (Hyperion. 2009. 277p. ISBN 9781423124528. pap. $7.99). While in our world, the Saltees have been largely uninhabited, in Conor's time (the 19th century) they are a sovereign nation, ruled by a popular king. Conor is the beloved companion of the Princess Isabella until the day he discovers a plot to overthrow his monarch and is tossed into prison for his trouble. There he plots his escape by air, building a personal flying machine. All the while the princess and Conor's family believe him dead, and the architect of the conspiracy against them grows ever more powerful. Whereas Artemis Fowl II (the 12-year-old criminal protagonist of the popular series) requires some warming up to, Conor is a hero from the first. And whereas that series played on fairy legendry (you gotta love the LEPrecon squad), this one creates a history for an Irish nation that never was. In either realm, Colfer is a master storyteller, whose gift for blarney knows no bounds. "35 Going on 13: From Eire With Love", BookSmack! 3/17 (c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Publishers Weekly Reviews

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. (May) Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

Publishers Weekly Reviews

Even better than The Arctic Incident, this third fantasy thriller starring Artemis Fowl pits the 13-year-old criminal mastermind against his most cunning adversary yet-American billionaire Jon Spiro, owner of the high-tech firm Fission Chips. Artemis Fowl's father, while recuperating from the brush with death he suffered in the last installment, makes a stunning announcement: he wants the family to turn over a new leaf and hew to the straight and narrow. Fortunately for readers, Artemis has other plans. "One last adventure, then the Fowls could be a proper family," he decides. After all, what could go wrong? Everything, as it turns out. Artemis's scheme to extract one metric ton of gold from Spiro, in exchange for keeping the C Cube-a beyond-state-of-the-art computer he's built using pirated fairy technology-off the market, backfires spectacularly. In order to save Butler, his bodyguard, and set things back to rights in the fairy world, Artemis joins forces with Butler's sister Juliet and drafts the help of the usual suspects (elf captain Holly Short, computer-geek centaur Foaly, flatulent dwarf Mulch Diggums). Once again, Colfer serves up a high-intensity plot involving cryogenics and a mobster mentality as the action hurtles toward the climactic break-in at Chicago's Spiro Needle. Agile prose (Jon Spiro is "thin as a javelin" ), rapid-fire dialogue and wise-acre humor ("Goblins. Evolution's little joke. Pick the dumbest creatures on the planet and give them the ability to conjure fire") ensure that readers will burn the midnight oil to the finish. (The ending leaves the door wide open for yet another sequel.) Ages 12-up. (May) FYI: A one-day laydown on May 6 and a 10-city author tour are planned. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information. #

Publishers Weekly Reviews

In the second and third books in the series about the 13-year-old criminal mastermind, he proves he has a heart after all (in the former), and, in the latter, craves one more adventure before he turns to the straight and narrow. "Rapid-fire dialogue and wise-acre humor ensure that readers will burn the midnight oil," said PW in a starred review of Eternity Code. Ages 10-up. (May) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

School Library Journal Reviews

Gr 5-8-Twelve-year-old genius Artemis Fowl decides to reinvigorate his family fortunes by kidnapping a fairy and demanding its gold. Having obtained and decoded the Book, a tome containing all of the fairies' secrets, Artemis captures an elf named Holly Short and holds her captive at his family mansion in Ireland. However, he hasn't reckoned on the resources and cunning of the LEPrecon Unit, an elite branch of the fairy police force, whose members will stop at nothing to rescue Captain Short. It seems that the wicked ways of the Mud People (humans) have driven most of the magical creatures underground, where a gritty, urban fairy civilization is flourishing. The fairy characters are mouthy and eccentric, but Artemis is too stiff and enigmatic to be interesting; the story bogs down when the focus is on him. The combination of choppy sentences and ornate language will appeal to some readers, although not necessarily to Harry Potter fans; the emphasis here is more on action (some of it gory), technology, and deadpan humor than on magic, and only one character (Artemis) is a child.-Eva Mitnick, Los Angeles Public Library Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

School Library Journal Reviews

Gr 5-8-Antihero Artemis Fowl, now 13 years old, is back. He has used stolen fairy technology to create a supercomputer known as the "C Cube," which will render all existing technology obsolete. He meets with Jon Spiro, head of "Fission Chips," with a proposition. For a price, he will suppress his cube, and allow Spiro time to sell his potentially worthless stocks and buy into Fowl Industries. Spiro double-crosses Artemis, and in the ensuing melee he steals the C Cube and Artemis's bodyguard, Butler, is murdered. The scene is totally out of James Bond; one fully expects to hear the familiar theme music and to see the credits as it concludes. The action does not let up as Artemis teams with the fairy policewoman Captain Holly Short and other companions to bring Butler back to life, and then to retrieve the Cube from Spiro's Chicago fortress. The plot is filled with crosses and double crosses, unmarked vans, and impenetrable security systems. It's exciting stuff, but the writing is often clichéd at worst, and merely workmanlike at best. Butler's death scene is particularly hackneyed, echoing every overly dramatic death scene one can think of. Still, this latest adventure is sure to be popular with fans of the series.-Tim Wadham, Maricopa County Library District, Phoenix, AZ Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.