Artemis Fowl (Vol 1-3) by Eoin Colfer (Audiobook)

First, the premise (from the publisher): “Twelve-year-old Artemis Fowl is a millionaire, a genius, and above all, a criminal mastermind. 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—they’re dangerous! Full of unexpected twists and turns, Artemis Fowl is a riveting, magical adventure.“

Volume 1: “Artemis Fowl”

The premise of the book is that a 12-year old prodigy seeks to reverse his family’s fortunes with schemes aimed at the fae / “the people.” Though his exploits are worldwide, the majority of the book takes place in / around Ireland.

Pros:

The world-building was well-done, and expertly used existing lore about fairies / the fae / “the people.”
There was plenty of subtle (and some not-so-subtle) humor. This often took the form of an unexpected twist, a la “character x would have done y, if not for z.”
Though the book was filled with an eclectic cast of characters, the voice actor did a fine job narrating each

Cons:

I couldn’t get over the MC’s age; I just found it too implausible that a 12 year old could be that capable. (Also, yes, I understand that this was likely done to appeal to the target demographic of the book: pre-teens and young adults.)
(nit-pick) “But that’s a story for another time,” is a phrase that came up enough for me to notice. I am assuming that these will be addressed in future A.F. novels (of which there are several), but having only listened to the first, I found this a touch annoying.

Conclusion:

This was an interesting listen, with (mostly) believable characters and a fleshed out world. Despite the logically consistent rules of the world, however, I could not look past the MC’s age, which stretched credulity for me.

Check it out here.

Volume 2: “The Arctic Incident”

This book continues the premise of the previous Artemis Fowl book, this time chronicling the MC’s quest to recover his father from the Russian mafia, as well as other trials and tribulations in the fairy world.

Pros:

The book serves as a great summer read, mixing world building, character development, and action set pieces with the author’s wry humor
Fan favorites like Holly Short and Butler return in this book
Though it is virtually always possible to predict where the story is going, the real pleasure is in the how (i.e. how they’ll get out of this one)

Cons:

With the growing cast of characters, the single voice actor has become somewhat less believable. Each of the “main” characters (e.g. Artemis Fowl, Holly Short, etc) have suitably distinct voices, but some of the more minor characters did not.
(nit-pick) The version of the audiobook I had access to had weird chapter divisions, and the last 4 chapters were included and repeated second time even after the audiobook had ended. I am listing this as a nitpick because this issue occurred at the end of the book and didn’t really disrupt my listening experience
(nit-pick) The author makes a point that, “Artemis’ schemes will need to be even more crafty, now that x, y, and/or z has happened.” Not only did he end the previous book this way, but it never really seems to affect the deviousness of the MC’s schemes.
(Spoiler Warning) Frankly, I was disappointed with Opal’s development. For all her genius, she couldn’t see that Cudgel had clear motivation to betray her? For all her success, she couldn’t get over / look past Foley winning the science medal in college? Really, her character arc falls back to a femme fatale stereotype that blames the men around her for her issues? I wanted to like this character, or at least to appreciate her, but I only ended up disappointed.

Ultimately, while I do not think the book was quite as strong as the first, it is still worth of read / listen for fans of the A.F. mythos. I’m curious to see where things will go from here, however, especially with many of the main villains dispatched or otherwise dealt with by the end of the novel.

Check it out here.

Volume 3: “The Eternity Code”

This book continues the premise of the previous Artemis Fowl book, this time chronicling the MC’s attempt to sell fairy technology, and the ramifications thereof.

Pros:

The book shares many of the same pros as the previous works, offering world building, character development, and action set pieces with a garnish of wry humor. As expected with an ongoing series, many fan-favorite characters return.

Cons:

The cast is only growing larger with each work. As such, the lone voice actor has had his work cut out for him. Thankfully, each of the “main” characters (e.g. Artemis Fowl, Holly Short, etc) have suitably distinct voices, but some of the more minor characters did not. Madame Ko’s voice in particular stood out as a caricature.
-(Spoiler Warning) Given that the ending serves as a sort of soft reset on the characters, or at least on Artemis, it’ll be interesting to see where the series goes from here, and how Colfer will mix up the AF formula. I’m listing this as a con because it reads a little bit like a literary “get out of jail free card,” rather than a way to delve deeper into the story of these characters.

Conclusion:

Ultimately, I think those that enjoyed the first two volumes of Artemis Fowl will continue to like the work. Though it is far from perfect, if the premise sounds interesting to you this one is definitely worth a look.

Check it out here.