The Atlantis Complex

Eoin Colfer is back in limelight with yet another release in the Artemis Fowl series. The latest title – The Atlantis Complex dwells further on Artemis’s personality bringing in one of the oldest LEP foe’s into the plot…none other than the deceased LEP Commander Julius Root’s brother Turnball Root.

The story starts off with Artemis’s secret meeting with Commander Vinyaya, Captain Holly Short and Foaly about a new Earth saving technology he’s built. But all isn’t right with Artemis either for he seems to suffer from a rare illness called the Atlantis Complex, very specific to fairies. The meeting is disrupted with deadly consequences when a rogue Martian probe built by Foaly crash lands on the site releasing deadly killer amorphobots.

Captain Holly and Foaly are caught in dire situation trying to save Artemis and the rest of the world from Turnball and his eccentric schemes at world domination. The story switches between past and present shedding light on Turnball’s history as well as his reason for reprogramming Foaly’s inventions for his greed.

Frankly, I felt that the book was a big disappointment…having read all the books of the AF series with their typical mind boggling yet gripping plotlines…the Atlantis Complex has the most obvious watered down version of a simplistic plot with no big agenda what so ever. Moreover, having been used to Arty’s foul character…the newly reformed Artemis doesn’t seem like himself.

One of the unique aspects of Artemis Fowl is that he’s an evil genius who saves humanity in every series often for a price which I believe is reasonable. So bringing out Arty’s nicety in this book made it sound as if a new character has come in. Its like Artemis lost his unique personality in this book.

Colfer has indicated that this isn’t the last but rather the penultimate book in the Artemis Fowl series. Now that he exhausted using most of the villians in his previous book…the questions remain as to whether Artemis’s character changes for the better or will he be the same endearing character that he was before. Another question that was lurking is who is going to the be ultimate villian of the AF series.

My verdict for this book…not worth buying!

The Lost Colony

Now this is an interesting book in the Artemis series not because the plot features demons in plenty but there is an element of subtle humor imbibed into the story. The story deals with time travel and demons and magic in plenty.

Artemis Fowl visits an Opera to capture a demon that he predicts will appear there at a particular time, and instead finds his plot foiled by another genius, Minerva Paradizo who in liaison with group of thugs abducts the demon called N1. The fairies, Holly and Foaly get the information that Artemis was able to predict the demon’s appearance and obviously pester him for more information. Then Arty and friends break into Minerva’s condominium to rescue the demon only to find themselves in a deeper trouble. The spell holding the demon island Hybras in Limbo (where time is nonexistent) is failing and N1 must find a way to stop the island from collapsing in time. In all the confusion, Artemis and Holly are sucked into Hybras, and during the travel, Artemis steals a bit of magic from Holly.

Once in Hybras, they race through time (ironic isn’t it!!) to re-activate the spell to keep Hybras from collapsing while fighting villains who try to thwart their attempts. In the end, when Artemis and Holly return back to their time they find that 3 years had passed since their departure to Hybras. Artemis has to contend with twin brothers not to mention an older Butler, and well a whole new atmosphere so to say.

I felt that while the story had some different kind of adventure infused, it kind of has a sad ending. For one, I wouldn’t want to live in a world or island suspended in time. I mean Artemis misses 3 years of his life, finds that situation at home has changed drastically. Also from books 4 onwards, we find Artemis undergoing a drastic transformation in terms of character and developing a conscious if only to an extent. Any protagonist should ideally have a proper beginning and an ending but Artemis’s story is sort of a cliff-hanger.

I mean when you read book 1, the author doesn’t upfront give out Arty’s story. Instead, as you plough through 2 books you’ll be able to build his character as well as his family background, whereas its not so with Harry Potter. Now I suppose this was done for a good reason, probably to play around with the character in future books but you can’t possibly keep having so many books in a series. It has to end sometime.

The Opal Deception

Recession is an ugly word and although you think it won’t affect you it ultimately gets to you. In any case, I was feeling so down at work that I thought maybe a blog post might cheer me up.

Of all the books I’ve read in Artemis Fowl series, the ones dealing with a demented pixie called Opal Koboi are deadly and distressing. I mean that’s how I look at them atleast. So book 4 aptly titled “The Opal Deception” is all about deception left right and center.

The story is Opal Koboi of the Koboi industries is a wealthy pixie who is also demented and is bent on world domination. So she’s shut up in an asylum, and the fairies being technologically advanced conduct DNA tests regularly to ensure she doesn’t escape. But Koboi is an eccentric genius who clones herself and escapes from the prison. She successfully kills Commander Julius Root (our beetroot supporter of Arty) and Holly Short is implicated in the crime but fails to kill Arty Fowl. She then proceeds to put plans in place to start an inter-species war between humans and fairies but is thwarted by Artemis Fowl and Holly.

I felt that this book kind of marks a sort of transition for Artemis from being a total evil jerk to a person with a change of heart. He doesn’t appear to have any malicious intent but rather helps his friends Holly and Foaly in defeating Opal. But the author Eoin Colfer is intent on having atleast one villain at hand to ensure the series’ continuity and who else better than Ms. Opal. For some strange reason, Opal Koboi reminds me of Paris Hilton but then, this is my memory recall.

Between Artemis Fowl and Harry Potter, I’d pick Harry Potter any day for its interesting plot and variations in characters introduced. Artemis Fowl is more like an adventure series where the story is very loosely connected until the last book ‘The Time Paradox’.

The Eternity Code

The 3^rd book in the Artemis Fowl series, Eternity Code takes on a darker turn when Artemis Fowl creates an advanced gadget called C Cube from the stolen fairy technology. The mistake he makes is trying to show it off to an American businessman Jon Spiro who in turn ambushes Artemis and steals it. During the scuffle that follows, Butler takes a bullet to his heart but Artemis quick-thinking saves him. Artemis then takes LEPrecon’s captain Holly Short’s help in magically healing Butler. The healing comes at a price which is Butler ages at a faster rate and his reflexes kind of slow down a bit.

But that doesn’t deter Artemis Fowl who stands by Butler at the hour of his need, and Butler in turn assists the help of his sister Juliet for recovering the stolen artifact. With the aid of Foaly, Holly, Commander Julius Root and the rest of the LEPrecon team including the kleptomaniac dwarf, Mulch Diggums, Artemis races against time and Spiro’s advanced technology not to mention the deviousness to retrieve the C Cube. Ultimately, the fairy people strike a deal with Artemis where he would be let alive despite compromising the People’s security at the price of him, Butler and Juliet undergoing mind-wipes. Artemis agrees to the deal rather generously but we get to know towards the end that Mulch Diggums carries a golden medallion containing a diskette capable of retrieving Artemis’s memories!!

A truly sinister cliff-hanger to an equally dark story! While the series is nothing new, the breath-taking technology and gadgets that Colfer effortless includes in his plots is what makes these books so interesting. The plots are all so well woven and intriguing that unless you have the habit of reading up the ending first, the ending always remains a surprise.

For those who are baffled about the C Cube, it’s a gadget the size of a paperweight. C Cube is a verbally controlled wireless computer that can read any information on any platform, electrical or organic owing to an omni-sensor which virtually renders the current technology obsolete.

The Arctic Incident

The 2^nd book of the Artemis Fowl series, The Arctic Incident is about Artemis’s adventures while he tries to rescue his father, Artemis Fowl Sr. from the Russian Mafia. Parallel investigations are underway from the Lower Elements Police (LEPrecon) regarding smuggling and contraband. One thing leads to another so to say, and Artemis and LEP commander Julius Root strike a deal to help each other. Artemis helps LEP forces apprehend Opal Koboi, a deranged pixie (reminds me of Penguin in the Batman series) and her accomplice Cudgeon while Holly, Foaly and Julius Root help Artemis rescue his father.

I’ve kept the summary very short for this one as the entire book is packed too much with action and, that can’t really be described here. But Artemis fans would’ve enjoyed reading this action packed sequel to The Artemis Fowl. Frankly, this series is for those who absolutely love sci-fi/fantasy filled fiction.