Empowering Bright & Gifted Children

 

Author: Eoin Colfer

Interest Level: Middle Grades (4-8)
ATOS Reading Levels: 5.0-5.7
AR Points: 9.0-13.0
Publisher Recommended Age: 10+
Publisher: HarperCollins/Miramax/Hyperion
Book Type: Paperback or Hardcover, as listed with each book

 

 

Artemis Fowl is a series of fantasy novels written by Irish author Eoin Colfer, starring the teenage criminal mastermind Artemis Fowl II. The series is written in half-serious language, alternating dark moments with humorous ones, a style favored by a number of popular children's authors, including J. K. Rowling (Harry Potter) and Roald Dahl (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory).

 

Artemis, the main character, is a ruthless and extremely intelligent young criminal whose main goal is the acquisition of money through a variety of often illegal schemes (although his values change towards the 5th book). The author summed up the series as: "Die Hard with fairies."

 

There are six books in the series. A film based on the series is also in development, although most details are unclear.

 

 

Book Group Guide: Click here for Reading Group Guide for "Artemis Fowl" by Eoin Colfer

 

 

 

From a strikingly original new voice in fiction comes the story of Artemis Fowl, a very unusual hero. Artemis combines the astuteness of Sherlock Holmes with the sang-froid of James Bond and the attitude of Attila the Hun. But even Artemis doesn’t know what he’s taken on when he kidnaps a fairy, Captain Holly Short of the LEPrecon Unit. These aren’t the fairies of bedtime stories. These fairies are armed, and they’re dangerous. Artemis thinks he’s got them just where he wants them, but then they stop playing by the rules...

 

KLIATT: "It’s fun to watch Artemis outsmart everyone around him, and middle school readers are sure to enjoy it.”

 

 

Artemis is at boarding school in Ireland, when he suddenly receives an urgent video e-mail from Russia. In it is a plea from a man who has been kidnapped by the Russian mafia -- a man Artemis had never thought he would see again: his beloved father. As Artemis rushes to the freezing Arctic Circle to rescue his father, he is stopped by a familiar nemesis, Captain Holly Short of the LEPrecon fairy police. But this time, instead of battling them, he’ll have to join forces with Holly, Commander Root, Mulch and the rest to save one of the few people in the world whom he loves.

 

 

Ever the resourceful young criminal mastermind, Artemis has found a way to construct a supercomputer from stolen fairy technology. Called the “C Cube,” it will render all existing human technology obsolete. Artemis then arranges a meeting with a Chicago businessman, Jon Spiro, to offer to suppress the Cube for one year in return for gold, his favorite substance.

 

But the meeting is a trap, and Spiro steals the Cube and mortally injures Butler. Artemis knows his only hope to save Butler lies in fairy magic, so once again he is forced to contact his old rival, Captain Holly Short of the LEPrepcon fairy police. Miraculously, Butler is healed, but there is a catch: he has aged fifteen years. Thus, Butler’s infamously ditzy sister, Juliet, is called in as Artemis’s bodyguard. Together, they travel to Chicago to steal back the Cube and ensure that Jon Spiro is put out of business—permanently.

 

Publishers Weekly (Starred Review): "Readers will burn the midnight oil to finish."

 

KLIATT Reviews: "The combination of fantasy, action and humor make for another page-turning adventure, with lots of snappy dialog and technology along the way."

 

 

Criminal mastermind Artemis Fowl is back . . . and so is his brilliant and dangerous enemy, Opal Koboi. At the start of the fourth adventure in the Artemis series, The Opal Deception, Artemis has no memory of the fairy people and has returned to his unlawful ways. He is preparing to steal a famous Impressionist painting from a German bank, having no idea that his old rival, Opal, has escaped from prison by cloning herself. She’s left her double behind in jail and, now free, is exacting her revenge on all those who put her there, including Artemis.

 

Meanwhile in the Lower Elements, Opal has planted a trap for Captain Holly Short and Commander Root of the LEPrechon fairy police. Tragedy ensues, and Holly is framed for a heinous crime she did not commit. Instead of staying around to defend herself, Holly rushes to the surface to rescue Artemis. But before Holly and Artemis can get away, Opal arrives and abducts them both. Faced with a world he does not believe in, Artemis may have finally been outsmarted. . . .

 

ALA Booklist: “Plenty of action as well as great humor and clever plot manipulations. Characters are once again fully realized, and fans will eagerly enter into the spirit of the action.”

 

Publishers Weekly (Starred Review): “Agile prose, rapid-fire dialogue and wise-acre humor ensure that readers will burn the midnight oil to the finish.”

 

VOYA: "As with the other books, this one is well-written with a fast-moving, gripping action adventure plot. . . A most enjoyable, almost perfect novel."

 

School Library Journal: "The humor and creativity carry the narrative through the tight spots and impossible situations."

 

 

Ten thousand years ago, humans and fairies fought a great battle for the magical island of Ireland. When it became clear to the fairy families that they could never win, they decided to move their civilization underground and keep themselves hidden from the humans. All the fairy families agreed on this, except the eighth family, the demons. The demons planned to lift their small island out of time until they had regrouped and were ready to wage war on the humans once more.

 

However, the time spell went wrong, and the island of Hybras was catapulted into Limbo, where it has remained for ten thousand years. Now the tainted time spell is deteriorating and demons are being sucked back into the present space and time. The fairy council is concerned about this and is monitoring any materializations. But when the spell’s deterioration accelerates, the materializations become unpredictable. Even the fairy scientists cannot figure out where the next demon will pop up.

 

But someone can. Artemis Fowl, teenage criminal mastermind, has solved temporal equations that no normal human should be intelligent enough to understand. So when a confused and frightened demon pops up in a Sicilian theater, Artemis Fowl is there to meet him. Unfortunately, he is not the only one. A second, mysterious party has also solved the temporal equations, and has managed to abduct the demon before Artemis can secure him.

 

Once again, Artemis will have to pair up with his old comrade, Captain Holly Short, to track down the missing demon and rescue him, before the time spell dissolves completely and the lost demon colony returns violently to Earth.

 

 

Artemis's mother has contracted a deadly disease--and the only cure lies in the brain fluid of African lemurs. Unfortunately, Artemis himself was responsible for making the lemurs extinct five years ago. Now he must enlist the aid of his fairy friends to travel back in time and save the lemur. Not only that, but he must face his deadliest foe yet: his younger self.

 

 

USA: New York Times, Best-Selling Series (Artemis Fowl)
USA: Massachusetts Children’s Book Award, Master List 2003 (Artemis Fowl)
USA: Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books, Blue Ribbon Award (2001) (Artemis Fowl)
USA: Publishers Weekly, Best-Seller (Artemis Fowl)
USA: Texas - Lone Star Reading List (2002–2003) (Artemis Fowl)
USA: Book Sense, Best-Seller (Artemis Fowl)
USA: USA Today, Best-seller (Artemis Fowl)
USA: ALA, Popular Paperback for Young Adults (2002) (Artemis Fowl)
USA: New Jersey - Garden State Teen Book Award (2004) (Artemis Fowl)
USA: People Magazine, Top 10 Picks 2004 (Artemis Fowl)
USA: New York Times, Best-Selling Series (The Arctic Incident)
USA: Book Magazine, Best Book of the Year 2002 (The Arctic Incident)
USA: New York Times, Best-Selling Series (The Eternity Code)
USA: Bank Street, Best Book of the Year 2004 (The Eternity Code)
USA: Oppenheim Toy Portfolio, Book (The Eternity Code)
USA: CCBC, Best Children’s Books of the Year selection (The Eternity Code)
USA: New York Times, Best Seller (The Lost Colony)
USA: USA TODAY, Best Seller (The Lost Colony)
USA: Book Sense, National and Regional Best Seller (The Lost Colony)
USA: Book Sense, Children's Pick, Winter 2006-2007 (The Lost Colony)
USA: Disney Adventures, Book Award Winner (The Lost Colony)
USA: Book Sense, #1 Children’s Fiction List (The Opal Deception)
USA: Publishers Weekly, Best Seller (The Opal Deception)

 

 

Eoin Colfer is a former elementary school teacher whose Artemis Fowl series has become an international bestseller. He is also the author of Airman, Half Moon Investigations, The Legend of Spud Murphy, The Legend of Captain Crow's Teeth, The Wish List, and the New York Times Best-seller The Supernaturalist.

 

He lives in Ireland with his wife and two children.