Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer
Jun. 28th, 2008 06:44 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
quippeThe Blurb On The Back:
Artemis Fowl. You've probably heard the name.
If Internet rumours are to be believed, he's responsible for every major crime of the new century. If you haven't heard of young Artemis, then you're lucky. You'll sleep better not knowing that someone like him is out there. But if you must know, if your curiosity is eating away at you, as it did at me, then let's start at the beginning ...
In this, the story of Artemis's first encounter with the fairy People, you'll find out how he hatched a plot to restore his family's fortune. You'll read how he discovered a world below ground of armed and dangerous fairies, farting dwarfs and mind-blowing technology. And you'll learn how, by kidnapping Captain Holly Short of the Lower Elements Police, Artemis almost triggered a cross-species war.
Eoin Colfer's real skill in this book is his ability to take you into a world without ever really sitting down and explaining things to you. Information comes out in drips as the story is told, sometimes with events or information coming after the salient point in the plot. It's a device that might put off younger or less confident readers as it does involve having to work hard and trust where the author is taking you. The narrative conceit is that this is written by a third party observer after the fact. It's a device that doesn't always come off (e.g. it rests on the narrator knowing what is going on in character's heads when he couldn't possibly), but the pace is such that you don't really mind.
Artemis is billed as an anti-hero, someone who sets out to kidnap a fairy so he can get a ransom of gold. His motivation is to restore the family fortunes, but given the amount of travelling he does and the technology in his home, it's difficult to see how his fortunes need rebuilding. Colfer is careful to give Artemis vulnerabilities and doubts, particularly where his mother is concerned and I found those scenes between Artemis and his mother to be very touching.
The novel marries technology and fantasy by virtue of the fairies being a technologically advanced species. Colfer shows attention to detail with the gadgets and weapons that are used and the portrayal of magic and technology feels very natural. I particularly enjoyed his depiction of dwarves (which is disgusting but made me laugh) and also the goblins and I'm looking forward to seeing more of both in future books. In terms of characters, he's included some classic tropes. Root is the classic police captain, stressed and shouty but secretly caring about his officers. Holly is resourceful and determined and deeply devoted to her job. For me, the best characters were those of Foaly the centaur, who teases the officers and Butler, Artemis's tough and unquestioningly loyal stooge whose family has always served the Fowls.
The story moves along at a cracking pace and there are some character and species attributes put into the back of the book to give readers something to refer to if they ever get lost. There isn't any particularly deep moral or message to the story, but that doesn't make it any less entertaining and I think that the skill that's gone into it will make it appealing to both adults and children.
The Verdict:
It's not perfect, but it's very entertaining and the writing is good enough to make me want to read more of this world.
If Internet rumours are to be believed, he's responsible for every major crime of the new century. If you haven't heard of young Artemis, then you're lucky. You'll sleep better not knowing that someone like him is out there. But if you must know, if your curiosity is eating away at you, as it did at me, then let's start at the beginning ...
In this, the story of Artemis's first encounter with the fairy People, you'll find out how he hatched a plot to restore his family's fortune. You'll read how he discovered a world below ground of armed and dangerous fairies, farting dwarfs and mind-blowing technology. And you'll learn how, by kidnapping Captain Holly Short of the Lower Elements Police, Artemis almost triggered a cross-species war.
Eoin Colfer's real skill in this book is his ability to take you into a world without ever really sitting down and explaining things to you. Information comes out in drips as the story is told, sometimes with events or information coming after the salient point in the plot. It's a device that might put off younger or less confident readers as it does involve having to work hard and trust where the author is taking you. The narrative conceit is that this is written by a third party observer after the fact. It's a device that doesn't always come off (e.g. it rests on the narrator knowing what is going on in character's heads when he couldn't possibly), but the pace is such that you don't really mind.
Artemis is billed as an anti-hero, someone who sets out to kidnap a fairy so he can get a ransom of gold. His motivation is to restore the family fortunes, but given the amount of travelling he does and the technology in his home, it's difficult to see how his fortunes need rebuilding. Colfer is careful to give Artemis vulnerabilities and doubts, particularly where his mother is concerned and I found those scenes between Artemis and his mother to be very touching.
The novel marries technology and fantasy by virtue of the fairies being a technologically advanced species. Colfer shows attention to detail with the gadgets and weapons that are used and the portrayal of magic and technology feels very natural. I particularly enjoyed his depiction of dwarves (which is disgusting but made me laugh) and also the goblins and I'm looking forward to seeing more of both in future books. In terms of characters, he's included some classic tropes. Root is the classic police captain, stressed and shouty but secretly caring about his officers. Holly is resourceful and determined and deeply devoted to her job. For me, the best characters were those of Foaly the centaur, who teases the officers and Butler, Artemis's tough and unquestioningly loyal stooge whose family has always served the Fowls.
The story moves along at a cracking pace and there are some character and species attributes put into the back of the book to give readers something to refer to if they ever get lost. There isn't any particularly deep moral or message to the story, but that doesn't make it any less entertaining and I think that the skill that's gone into it will make it appealing to both adults and children.
The Verdict:
It's not perfect, but it's very entertaining and the writing is good enough to make me want to read more of this world.
