Category: Action/Thriller
Artemis Fowl: The Opal Deception by Eoin Colfer
(Cover picture courtesy of Tower Books.)
After his last run-in with the fairies, Artemis Fowl had his mind wiped of his memories of the world belowground. Any goodness he had grudgingly learned is now gone, and the young genius has reverted to his criminal lifestyle.
Artemis is in Berlin preparing to steal a famously well-guarded painting from a German bank. Little does he know that his every move is being watched by his old rival, Opal Koboi. The evil pixie has spent the last year in a self-induced coma, plotting her revenge on all those who foiled her attempt to destroy the LEPrecon fairy police. And Artemis is at the top of her list.
Once again, it’s up to Artemis Fowl to stop the human and fairy worlds from colliding—only this time, Artemis faces an enemy who may have finally outsmarted him…
As I’ve mentioned before, I was a victim of moderate bullying for about five years and the memories of those incidents haunt me to this day. If you had offered to wipe all those painful memories from my mind only a year ago, I would have said yes without a second thought. Now, however, I’m not so sure because as a human, I am nothing more than the sum of my memories. Like it or not, those memories are a part of who I am today and I would be a much worse person without them. So with that in mind, consider what wiping all of Artemis’ fairy memories would do to him.
Well, in The Opal Deception, we find out and it isn’t pretty. Without even the scraps of goodness Holly Short and the other fairies taught him, Artemis has reverted to his default setting: evil criminal mastermind. Did this actually come as a surprise to anyone but the LEP? Probably not. And thanks to their brilliant idea to wipe Artemis’ memory, they are in even worse trouble when Opal Koboi escapes, bent on revenge.
Unfortunately, one of my favourite characters is killed off in this book in a very touching death scene. The plus side is that we get to see more of the eccentric centaur, Foaly, and the kleptomaniac dwarf, Mulch Diggums. Both Artemis and Holly go through significant character development as they join forces once again to stop Opal Koboi, becoming friends again along the way. With a well-paced plot and a satisfying end to the novel, fans will love this fourth installment of the Artemis Fowl series.
I give this book 4.5/5 stars.
Snakehead by Anthony Horowitz
(Cover picture courtesy of Harford County Public Library.)
They murdered his parents. They shot him and left him for dead. And yet Alex Rider thought he was finished with the terrorist organization known as Scorpia. He was wrong. Back, and more dangerous than ever, Scorpia is working with ruthless gangs operating across Southeast Asia. Known as snakeheads, the gangs smuggle drugs, weapons, and, worst of all, people. When the Australian Secret Service asks Alex to infiltrate one of the gangs, Alex accepts for one reason only: to work with the godfather he never knew existed in hopes of learning more about his parents. What he uncovers, though, is a secret that will make this his darkest and most dangerous mission to date.
What is the saddest thing of all?
Wasted talent, of course.
Perhaps I’m getting emotional because I’m watching the last act of Aida as I write this, but the Alex Rider series makes me kind of sad. Anthony Horowitz is an absolutely amazing writer—he can create breath-stopping suspense and throw in some truly unexpected plot twists, but he is wasting this talent on a cliché series. Sure, Alex has a bit more depth by now, but he is still a cardboard cutout. And yes, the plot of Snakehead is exciting, but the ending is predictable: Alex saves the world yet again. The only thing I truly love about this series is the fact that kids who have never read before are discovering the joy of reading, which is something that lasts a lifetime.
The plot of Snakehead is fairly predictable, but there are occasional plot twists, especially at the end. You know that Alex saves the world, but this is another case where the journey is more interesting than the destination. Of course Anthony Horowitz keeps things moving along with his perfect way of balancing dialogue and description. He also informs readers about how horrible smuggled refugees have it, especially when they travel by ship.
Alex isn’t a complete cardboard cutout by Snakehead, but neither is he an exemplary character. He is still far too perfect for a fourteen year old boy, even if his uncle did train him all his life to be a spy. Meeting Ash, his godfather, gives him a lot more depth, but he’s pretty much back to the same old Alex by the end of the novel.
I give this book 3/5 stars.
Ark Angel by Anthony Horowitz
(Cover picture courtesy of BRHS Book Reviews.)
The sniper’s bullet nearly killed him. But Alex Rider, teen superspy, survived—just in time to intercept a kidnapping of billionaire Nikolai Drevin’s son. Drevin’s been targeted by a group of deadly eco-terrorists who think nothing of killing millions to achieve their goals. Unless Alex can stop them in time…
This sixth volume in the Alex Rider series is pretty much the same as the previous five books: Alex goes out on a mission to save the world and succeeds. Again. And all at the tender age of fourteen. Throw in some cliché characters, a few plot twists and a cliffhanger at the end to keep readers hooked and you’ve got the perfect James Bond knockoff series.
Anthony Horowitz really is a talented writer, especially when it comes to writing action novels, but he seriously needs to tone down the cliché. I know that most of his audience, being tweens and young teens, does not care that the Alex Rider series is predictable, but Horowitz could at least make an effort to change things up once in a while. True, I would rather that young adults be reading something rather than nothing at all, but that’s no excuse for lazy characterization.
As for the plot, it’s incredibly fast-paced with a couple of twists and a good cliffhanger at the end. Anthony Horowitz balances description, interior monologue and dialogue perfectly for an action novel. More experienced readers will be able to predict the ending, but then again I think everyone knows that Alex is going to save the world. The main reason for reading this book is the heart pounding journey, rather than the predictable destination.
I give this book 3/5 stars.
Artemis Fowl: The Eternity Code by Eoin Colfer
(Cover picture courtesy of Book Advisers.)
Artemis Fowl is going straight—as soon as he pulls of the most brilliant criminal feat of his career…
At least, that’s the plan when he attempts to sell his C Cube, a supercomputer built from stolen fairy technology, to Jon Spiro, one of the most dangerous businessmen in the world. But Spiro springs a trap—stealing the C Cube and mortally injuring Butler. Artemis’s only hope of saving his loyal bodyguard is to employ fairy magic, so once again he must contact his older rival, Captain Holly Short of the LEPrecon fairy police.
It’s going to take a miracle to save Butler, and Artemis’s luck may have just run out…
Despite its sad beginning, The Eternity Code is my favourite out of all of the books in the Artemis Fowl series. In the third book, Eoin Colfer has given Artemis a significant amount of character development, raised the stakes even higher than before and added just enough humour to balance it all out.
First off, the characters in The Eternity Code are amazing. We see the more vulnerable side of Artemis, the softer side of Holly and more of the obnoxious side of Foaly. Characters who have only made minor appearances in the first two novels, like Juliet Butler and Commander Root get a lot more page time and one of my favourite characters, the kleptomaniac dwarf Mulch Diggums is back. Mulch Diggums’ biting wit (pardon the pun) takes centre stage in the scene where he taunts Jon Spiro’s two big dumb henchmen. I love this line in particular:
“Mulch groaned. If stupidity were a crime, these two would be public enemies one and two.” (Pg 273)
A fast-paced plot, amazing characters and great humour…what more can you ask for? Well, after the cliffhanger ending, you’ll be begging for the fourth book, Artemis Fowl: The Opal Deception.
I give this book 5/5 stars.
Artemis Fowl: The Arctic Incident by Eoin Colfer
(Cover picture courtesy of Sarah’s Reviews.)
Artemis is at boarding school in Ireland when he receives an urgent e-mail from Russia. It is a plea from a man who has been kidnapped by the Russian Mafiya: his father. As Artemis rushes to his rescue, he is stopped by a familiar nemesis, Captain Holly Short of the LEPrecon fairy police. But this time, instead of battling fairies, he is going to have to join forces with them if he wants to save one of the few people in the world he loves.
The Arctic Incident is the second book in Eoin Colfer’s bestselling Artemis Fowl series and it really improves upon the first novel. It picks up with a plea from Artemis’ father, who has been missing for the past two years and because of this, we really see the side of Artemis that is still a twelve-year-old boy. This vulnerable side gives him a lot more depth and makes him much easier to relate to than he is in the first book. Holly Short, who joins him on this quest after he helps the LEP with the goblin rebellion, is also given more depth. Her dislike of Artemis is evident (he did kidnap her after all), but by the end of the novel she has warmed up to him a lot more. The dynamics of their ‘friendship’ are very interesting and Eoin Colfer plays up this “unlikely friends” angle a lot, much to his readers’ delight.
As for the plot, well, what can I say? There’s always a sense of urgency and the point of view switches at all the right places to keep the novel moving along very quickly. Seeing the story from a few different perspectives is really interesting because each one is so unique. when it comes to switching writing styles quickly, Eoin Colfer is king.
The characters and plot are excellent, but what I love most about The Arctic Incident is all of the technology the fairies have developed. In most fantasy, creatures that have magic are far behind in science and technology, but this is definitely not the case. The Neutrino 2000, the Moonbelts and even the suits the LEP use for above-ground missions are truly amazing. Yet it’s magic, not science, that heals Holly when she’s badly hurt in Russia. This combination of science and magic is probably my favourite part ofThe Arctic Incident.
I give this book 4.5/5 stars.