Keywords: Action, fantasy(ish), explosions, male protagonist, female protagonist, crime, magic, villainy, anti-hero, strategy, 8-book series, first book.
Ah, Artemis Fowl. He’s technically a villain, but you can’t help but admire him. After all, he’s clever, quick-witted, and he has a large vocabulary! What’s not to love?
Well, he did kidnap a fairy to collect a ransom, so…let’s just say that he’s a complicated protagonist!
This book is the first of an 8-book series about Artemis Fowl II and his somewhat evil adventures in the world of magic. What’s so interesting is that the main character is a villain. You don’t see that very often in books, especially middle-school books. This kind of character is called an ‘anti-hero‘. It can seem a bit strange at first to root for a villain, but as soon as you know that this character shouldn’t be a role model, it can be very enjoyable! We all have a villain inside of us, after all.
This book is about Artemis’s plan to kidnap a fairy and collect the ransom. The magic world lives underground, hiding from humans. Nobody knows about them; nobody but Artemis. Armed with a secret magic book, he’s able to exploit the fairy rules for his own gain. The fairy he kidnaps, though, is much stronger than he expects. Holly Short, the first female captain in the magic police force, does everything she can to fight back. What follows is an epic battle between fairies and Artemis Fowl which takes place at Fowl’s mansion in Ireland. There are explosions, trolls, and farting dwarves – everything an amazing battle needs!
This book is a thinker. It’s the type that will need concentration, as the strategies of Fowl and the fairies can be quite intricate. There’s backstabbing and double-bluffing galore! If you’re into strategic thinking and outsmarting people, this is definitely the book for you!
As this is a fantasy/action book with plenty of thought-provoking scenes, both fantasy-loving Felipe and big thinker Louise recommend Artemis Fowl.
Mostly English 