Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer
Wexford-based author Eoin Colfer has created an Irish fantasy world for the twenty-first century. In his Artemis Fowl series, 'Leprecon' is a job title, and the Lower Elements Police reconnaissance (LEPRecon) officers are part of a fairy force tasked with keeping the existence of the People secret from humans. Unfortunately for the fairies, Artemis Fowl II, a twelve-year-old Irish criminal mastermind, has chosen to use his intellectual powers for nefarious ends. Specifically, procuring fairy gold. Artemis devises a plan to get his hands on the fairies' age-old Book of Magic, to better exploit them. As Artemis attests, he is 'young enough to believe in magic, and old enough to understand how it works.
Artemis and his formidable bodyguard/manservant Butler manage to trap and hold for ransom Holly Short, a LEPRecon officer, at Fowl Manor. They discover that, although deeply-rooted in their magical past, the fairies have made a lot of technological progress while underground, with sophisticated weapons and a Lower Elements Police force determined to outmanoeuvre Fowl. The ensuing siege of Fowl Manor includes the rantings of an apoplectic elf, the machinations of an inventive centaur, and the bodily functions of a wise-cracking dwarf.
Colfer's writing includes laugh-out-loud lines, but also moments of great poignancy. The reader empathises both with the beleaguered fairies and the troubled juvenile criminal mastermind who kidnapped one of their officers. A film based on the book is set to be released in 2020, nearly two decades after it was first published. Be sure to read the book before you see the film! This book is the first in a series of eight, with a spin-off series on the way.
Submitted by Keren
