Book Review and Series Review: Artemis Fowl: The Time Paradox

I looooooooove the Artemis Fowl series. This is one of my favorite series of all time, and I just read the 6th book in this stupendous series. It's still awesome, even after the 6th book. What makes this series for me is the characters that Eoin Colfer created from the get-go. These same characters come up in every book, and I wouldn't have it any other way. We have Artemis (or Artie to his friends), the genius mastermind who used to be an evil genius mastermind. Now he's older and kinder, but still a mastermind (although his need to dominate comes out once in awhile). Captain Holly Short, is the feisty fairy who has a Tom Cruise Top Gun side (she goes maverick). Butler is Artemis' faithful manservant, who has the reflexes of a lynx but the heart of a teddy bear. Foaly the centaur who works on the fairy technology but can't help but admire Artemis' brain. And of course, the lovable Mulch Diggums, a dwarf with enough energy in his stocky legs and mouth to dig a tunnel through almost anything (although you DON'T want to be behind him when it all comes out). This cast of flawed characters is the magic juice that makes this series work. 

Let me set this up for you. In book one, Artemis was still the genius, criminal mastermind. He can hack any computer and can win any mind game you try. He has the brains, and Butler has the brawn. Together, they are unstoppable. Artemis needs money. Before you think he's greedy, just know that his Dad is missing in the Arctic somewhere and his Mom is a basket case. Artemis had to get tough! Okay, he's a little greedy, but somewhat unhappy, too. Like any unhappy person, he doesn't realize how unhappy he is and just wants to rule the world.

His plan is to find a fairy, get the book that all fairies carry, copy all the pages, and find out how he can steal fairy gold. Then he will have enough funds to put all of his schemes into places, including finding his father. Everything goes according to plan until he picks Captain Holly Short of the LEPrecon as the fairy to kidnap for ransom. The LEP aren't the sweet, beautiful fairies of tales told in the storybooks. These are the roughest, toughest fairies you've ever seen. They have gadgets that James Bond never dreamed of. They have Foaly, a centaur who has the the hooves to invent the gadgets that will keep the humans in their place. Artemis has no idea what's in store for him.

It's the perfect combination of science fiction, fantasy, and humor. These books are laugh out loud funny, and I never get tired of reading them. In each of the succeeding books, Holly and Artemis pair up, sometimes as rivals, sometimes as allies, with Butler, Mulch, and Foaly always playing parts. There are other minor characters that come in and out as well.

By book 6, Artemis has found his softer side. He has his Father back, and he's turned over a new leaf to go straight. He's also an older brother to twin boys and wants them to have the innocent childhood he never had. His mother has once again taken ill. He tries to heal her himself with the fairy juice he has acquired from his time in the time vortex, but it just makes her worse. Now she has a virus that has long ago been cured. The only cure to this illness is the juice of the brain from a silky sifaka lemur, which is an extinct animal. Artemis knows this because he himself killed the last one back in his evil days. He calls in No. 1, a demon warlock with great powers, to send himself and Holly back in the past to stop his greatest nemesis yet: himself four years ago. Sound complicated? You bet. But Colfer's writing keeps the reader from getting too lost. Artemis only keeps use a step or two behind.

The books are good, safe reads for anyone over the age of 10. But older teens will get a kick out of these, too. There are some scenes of violence that could disturb some readers, but the majority of the reading in this series is simply fun and intense.