Artemis Fowl (series)

Artemis Fowl is a series of eight science fiction fantasy novels written by Irish author Eoin Colfer, featuring the eponymous character, Artemis Fowl II. A teenage criminal mastermind, Artemis captures Holly Short, who is a Fairy and a captain of the LEPrecon (Lower Elements Police Recon), in the first book and holds her for ransom to exploit the magical Fairy People and restore his family's fortune. In the sequel, Artemis Fowl: The Arctic Incident, he allies with the Fairies to rescue his father from the Russian Mafia. The series introduces Artemis as an anti-hero and the fairies' enemy, but as the series progresses, he assists the Fairies in resolving conflicts with worldwide ramifications, with Artemis' character developing and changing throughout the chronology. The series concluded with Artemis Fowl: The Last Guardian, released July 2012.^[1]

The series has received positive critical reception and generated huge sales. It has also originated graphic novel adaptations, and a film adaptation is currently in the writing process.^[2][3]

Series overview

Main series

Artemis Fowl

Artemis Fowl is the first book in the Artemis Fowl series. It follows the adventures of Artemis Fowl, a twelve-year-old criminal mastermind, as he kidnaps a fairy for a large ransom of 24 carat gold.

Artemis Fowl: The Arctic Incident

Artemis Fowl: The Arctic Incident is the second book of the series. It follows the rescue of Artemis' father Artemis Fowl I from the Russian Mafia, alongside the battle against the B'wa Kell goblin gang who have allied themselves with brilliant but maniacal, evil genius Opal Koboi.

Artemis Fowl: The Eternity Code

Artemis Fowl: The Eternity Code covers Jon Spiro's theft of the fictional C Cube and its recovery.

Artemis Fowl: The Opal Deception

The fourth book, Artemis Fowl: The Opal Deception, covers pixie Opal Koboi's second attempt at world domination, after her first unfruitful attempt in the second novel. Koboi convinces Giovanni Zito, a fictional environmentalist, to send a probe into the ground,which could lead to the uncovering the fairy world,thrusting the city haven for faries into human clutches.The book follows how Artemis and his now-close friends rush to prevent uncoverance of this secret and an encounter which could lead to fairy armageddon.

Artemis Fowl: The Lost Colony

Artemis Fowl: The Lost Colony involves bringing the demon island Hybras back from "Limbo," with the help of N°1, a powerful demon warlock.

Artemis Fowl: The Time Paradox

The sixth book of the series, Artemis Fowl: The Time Paradox, was released in the United Kingdom on 7 August 2008 and in the United States on 15 July 2008. Artemis' mother, Angeline Fowl, becomes ill with Spelltropy, and the only cure lies in the brain fluids of the silky sifaka lemur, the last of which Artemis killed when he was ten to procure money to fund the expedition to search his dad. N°1 sends Artemis and Holly to the past, where Artemis must battle his former self to recover the last silky sifaka lemur before the younger Artemis kills it in a business transaction with Damon Kronski, the leader of the Extinctionists. Things get more complicated when Opal Koboi is revealed to be controlling the Extinctionists, feeding on the fluids of many extremely rare animals, in order to grant her special abilities and extraordinary prowess in certain fields. The chase finally leads to the two Artemises reaching an agreement, whereupon they are teleported to the future. Near to the ending it is revealed that Koboi possessed Angeline Fowl.

Artemis Fowl: The Atlantis Complex

Artemis contracts Atlantis Complex, the fairy equivalent of a combination of obsessive compulsive disorder, extreme paranoia, and multiple personality disorder.^[4]

Artemis Fowl: The Last Guardian

The final book of the series, Artemis Fowl: The Last Guardian, was released on 10 July 2012.^[5] Opal Koboi opens the Berserker's Gate, a portal located on the Fowl estate, behind which dwell the spirits of Fairy soldiers, the last victims of the Battle of Tallite, the final blow in the war that sent the People underground.

Other works

• Artemis Fowl: The Graphic Novel is a graphic novel adaptation of the first book, and was published on 2 October 2007.
• Artemis Fowl: The Arctic Incident: The Graphic Novel, an adaptation of the second book, was released 11 August 2009.^[6]
• Artemis Fowl: The Eternity Code: The Graphic Novel, an adaptation of the third book was released 9 July 2013.^[7]
• Artemis Fowl: The Opal Deception: The Graphic Novel, an adaption of the fourth book, was released 15 July 2014.^[8]

Published 4 October 2004, The Artemis Fowl Files is a companion book to the series.

Electronic Arts has brought the first six books in the series to the Nintendo DS and Nintendo DSi as parts in its Flips kids' range which was released 4 December 2009.^[9]

"Artemis Fowl: The Seventh Dwarf" is a story written for World Book Day^[10] set between the first and second books.

The audiobooks were narrated by Nathaniel Parker.^[11] Adrian Dunbar and Enn Reitel narrated certain versions from different audiobook companies.

Film adaptation

In 2001 plans were announced for a film adaptation of the series.^[12] Miramax Films was named as purchasing the film rights, with Lawrence Guterman signed to direct.^[13] In 2003 Colfer stated that a screenplay had been finalized and that casting was due to start the same year, but expressed skepticism over whether or not this would come to pass.^[14] Colfer also revealed the film was in pre-production.^[15] The film remained in development and was assumed to be in development hell until 2011, when it was reported that Jim Sheridan was interested in directing the movie.^[16][17]

In July 2013, Walt Disney Pictures announced that an Artemis Fowl film covering the events of the first and second novels of the series would be produced by Disney and Harvey Weinstein of The Weinstein Company, with the screenplay developed by Michael Goldenberg (Peter Pan, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix). Robert De Niro and Jane Rosenthal signed onto the project as executive producers.^[18]

On September 1, 2015, Variety reported that Kenneth Branagh had been hired to direct the film for Disney, with Irish playwright Conor McPherson as screenwriter and Judy Hofflund as an executive producer.^[3] Eoin Colfer confirmed this in a video to Artemis Fowl Confidential,^[19] and spoke with RTE Radio 1 about meeting Branagh several times to discuss this prior to the announcement.^[20]

Major characters

Artemis Fowl

Artemis Fowl II uses his intelligence to build his family fortune through crime. This stems from his family, who have been criminals for generations.^[21] Artemis is cold, cynical and often outright ruthless in his manipulation of people for his own ends. Following his father's presumed death at the hands of the Russian Mafia, and his mother's subsequent descent into madness, Artemis stopped attending his boarding school, assumed control of the Fowl criminal empire and embarked on a two crime spree to restore the family fortune and fund Arctic expeditions to rescue his father. His investigation into the supernatural eventually lead him into contact with the People in the first book. Due to a strict upbringing, and a lack of any intellectual equals to ground him, Artemis is distant from everyone, even his best friend and bodyguard Butler. He is very pale with raven black hair and blue eyes. In The Lost Colony, he and Holly Short switch eyes, leaving him with one blue eye and one hazel eye. Artemis is famed for his intelligence; he claims to have the "highest IQ tested in Europe", but is also known for a lack of coordination and athletic ability.

Butler

Butler is the Fowl's loyal manservant and Artemis' bodyguard, and accompanies him around the world on his adventures. He is the third most skilled martial artists on the planet (the first is a monk on a Pacific Island and the second is his uncle, the deceased bodyguard of Artemis Fowl I), a formidable marksman and has immense experience of the criminal underworld, often providing help for his charge through his many contacts. He also has a little sister, Juliet, who appears in some of the books. Butler is rendered clinically dead temporarily in The Eternity Code, but is rescued by the ingenuity of his principal and the healing powers of Holly Short.

Holly Short

Holly is a determined, forthright elf and the only female captain of LEPrecon, the recon division of the LEP (Lower Elements Police). Holly is three feet tall and slender, with nut brown skin and crew-cut style auburn hair. She has helped Artemis save the world on countless occasions, and is one of Artemis's only friends.

Foaly

Foaly is a centaur, technical genius, and computer geek. He works for the LEP, the fairy authorities, and is in charge of preventing humankind from discovering the fairy civilization. He designs most of the weaponry, wings, and other technical gadgets that the LEP use, such as the 'Iris Cam'. His sarcasm and talkative nature often annoys LEP officers, though his greatest pleasure outside of his engineering is aggravating the notoriously bad-tempered Commander Root. He 'hitches' or marries a centaur named Caballine in 'The Lost Colony' while Captain Short and Artemis are in Limbo, and apparently has foals. He had a rivalry with the evil Opal Koboi.

Opal Koboi

Opal is a deranged, paranoid pixie whose dream is world-domination and the destruction of the LEP. A prodigy, she built Koboi Laboratories, a technology company, which she used to crush her father's company. Featured in several of the Artemis Fowl books as the main antagonist. She detests Foaly, as he won a science competition in college over her, and she believes the judges chose Foaly instead just because he was male.

Mulch Diggums

Mulch is a kleptomaniac, criminal dwarf who has been involved in crime for about 300 years. When considered with the average Dwarf life span he is not that old, making him nice and spry, a good advantage for a criminal. He once was a mining dwarf, but later decided that stealing from Mud Men (in other words, humans) suited him much better. Because he has stolen from 'Mud Men' Mulch no longer has any significant magic powers of the usual fairy, however he has retained the gift of tongues, and has even shown his ability to speak 'American Dog' in the Artemis Fowl: The Arctic incident. He insists that humans were stealing from fairy-kind and the earth and that he is simply taking them back or repossessing the items. In the early books, he assisted the LEP against Artemis Fowl, although later, he sides with Artemis Fowl. But eventually, when the fairies and Artemis are on stable ground, he joins forces with The People on many adventures, acting as a LEP helper at the beginning of The Time Paradox.

Julius Root

Julius Root was the Commander of the reconnaissance branch of the LEP, and was in charge of all activities related to the tracking of those who leave fairy civilisation, to prevent them making contact with humans. Known for his ruddy face (hence his nickname, "Beetroot") and extremely short temper, he led the LEPrecon on missions until Koboi killed him using an explosive in The Opal Deception and framed Holly Short. He taught Holly to do what is right, even if it means to stop being a LEP captain and instead become an admiral, being confined to deskwork. However, Root also seems to have been a lot like Holly Short when he was younger; a book states that Holly Short had recently beat the speed record, a speed record that had been set 500 years ago by Julius Root. Julius Root seemed to hate it when Foaly called him by his first name. Julius Root also had a brother, Turnball Root, who was the main antagonist for the seventh book.

Themes

Colfer has said in interviews that the series is about Artemis growing up.^[22] Themes of greed, trust, and the difference between good and evil are also present in the books.

Critical reception

Colfer summed up the series as "Die Hard with fairies."^[23] Critics call the series "the new Harry Potter",^[24] although Colfer does not agree.^[25] Kate Kellaway of The Observer called the first book "a smart, amusing one-off. It flashes with hi-tech invention – as if Colfer were as much an inspired boffin as a writer".^[25] Time.com said, "Artemis Fowl is pacy, playful, and very funny, an inventive mix of myth and modernity, magic and crime",^[26] while The New York Times Book Review said that "Colfer has done enormously, explosively well".^[27]

See also

References

External links

• Official website
• Official UK website
• Eoin Colfer's website
• The Artemis Fowl Wiki
• Artemis Fowl Confidential – Fan Site