In this funny thought-provoking story, a rich boy-genius criminal mastermind takes on the fairy world, but this is not the fairy world we often think about. This is a high-tech group of races that live deep underground. At stake is a staggering amount of gold. Now, Artemis is amoral, but seems to become distinctly evil by the end of this novel, adding tension to this novel.
Though this is written for young teens and preteens, older fans of young evil geniuses will enjoy this and will sometimes ponder it.
A cipher runs the length of the book for those codebreakers who want to tackle it. Fortunately, its solution is not needed for understanding the story. The cipher has a very tiny twist that makes it interesting.
Artemis Fowl (available in several editions) is part of a series that continues with a variety of adventures & characters. In these we see Artemis embrace his evil nature and resist his evil nature. We also see some girls get involved in the action. The first three novels in this series can be found in Artemis Fowl: The Criminal Mastermind Collection (paperback). The series should be read in order.
Parental concerns: There are a few things parents might want to consider. Consideration is not a bad thing. Remember, by checking out the book, you get to read it first; it is pretty funny. For my part, I found the series OK for my son. I was not so sure for me. The hero is an evil criminal mastermind, in a child-like sense. Should I be hanging out with a criminal mastermind? Also, in the battle between Artemis and his fairy enemy Holly, I wanted both to win. I don’t think this is a relativistic view of right and wrong, though; Artemis is wrong. So, how come I wanted Artemis to win? I do like him. And the dwarf’s method of digging tunnels is so alimentary, sometimes with explosive results at the, uh, exhaust end! Should I be reading such rude bottom humor? And then every once in while there is the rare ideological comment that migh
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