Category: Fantasy
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.
The Mirror of Merlin
(Cover picture courtesy of Open Library.)
There is something wicked in the swamplands on the magical isle of Fincayra—an encroaching evil intent on destroying the land—and only young Merlin possesses the power to stop it.
Together with Hallia, the deer-woman Merlin has fallen in love with, he must embark on a journey through the haunted land that will test his knowledge and his courage to find his stolen sword.
But then Merlin discovers a magic mirror capable of altering a person’s destiny—and the visage he finds within the glass is someone he never imagined he’d see…
What if you could go back in time to talk with your younger self and warn him/her about impending danger? Or what if you could look into a mirror as a teenager and see the person you will become? Well, that’s what the mysterious mirror in the middle of the Haunted Marsh allows Merlin to do. But first he must travel to the very centre of the swamp with the deer-woman he loves in order to retrieve the sword Nimue stole from him.
“Mirrors, I assure you, can cause more pain than broadswords, more terror than ghouls.”
The novel’s prologue starts out with a haunting observation from Merlin looking back on his youth and it definitely sets the tone of the entire novel. Filled with mystery, despair and tragic prophecies while still managing to captivate readers, The Mirror of Merlin is my second-favourite book in The Lost Years of Merlin series, only surpassed by the first novel.
T. A. Barron’s world-building is second to none in the world of fantasy fiction. Filled with creatures from Celtic mythology as well as completely new creatures, it contains more diversity than many mainstream novels. Just the way all people are filled with both light and dark, Fincayra is populated with dark creatures like marsh ghouls but balanced out with good creatures like the ballymag. This is a nod to Merlin’s parentage as well; his evil father and his good mother give him a sort of symmetry.
Readers will cheer for Merlin every step of the way through his difficult quest and will be thrilled as more familiar elements from the Arthurian legends fall into place.
I give this book 5/5 stars.
Fire Star by Chris d’Lacey
(Cover picture courtesy of Great Books by Doshisha International Readers.)
There is a fire star coming, signalling a time of new beginnings. A time for dragons to rise again.
A research trip to the Arctic and a contract for a new book—life can’t get much better for David Rain. But as soon as David finds himself in the icy climes, he begins to write his legend of bears, dragons, and the mysterious fire star. Soon he realizes that his tale is beginning to mirror real life, and that an old enemy is on her way to meet him. Can David thwart her terrible plan? Or will his world be destroyed forever?
After hinting at it in the first book and explaining a little bit in the second book, Chris d’Lacey finally gives readers a full explanation about the origin of dragons—both the clay kind and the real ones. As it turns out, Liz Pennykettle was hiding quite a few things from both David, her tenant, and Lucy, her own daughter. This time, it’s going to cost her dearly as the scheming Gwilanna returns, with one thing on her mind: returning dragons to the world.
The thing I like most about Fire Star is how much depth the characters have. We see David behaving more like a college student now that he’s temporarily out of the Pennykettle house and around Zanna, the quirky goth girl he loves. Their relationship is believable, but it’s also unusual because they seem to be complete opposites. This definitely makes for weird chemistry, but it works very well.
Filled with plot twists and turns, especially at the end, Fire Star is—to use the cliché—absolutely riveting. It’s surprisingly fast-paced for a children’s novel, which makes it an enjoyable read for both children and tweens. I would definitely recommend it.
I give this book 5/5 stars.
Memnoch the Devil by Anne Rice
(Cover picture courtesy of Midshelf.com.)
In Anne Rice’s extraordinary new novel, the vampire Lestat—outsider, canny monster, hero-wanderer—is snatched from the world itself by the most dangerous adversary he has ever known: Memnoch, a mysterious being who claims to be the Devil. He is invited to be a witness at the Creation. He is taken like the ancient prophets into the heavenly realm and is ushered into Purgatory. Lestat must decide if he can believe in the Devil or in God. And finally, he must decide which, if either, he will serve…
I really didn’t see why so many people were upset about this novel until I actually read it a few times. Now, however, I can see why it has been deemed offensive—or even blasphemous—and why Anne Rice, now a born-again Christian has repudiated her Vampire Chronicles. Especially since this one. Memnoch the Devil doesn’t tell the conventional church-approved story of Satan’s fall from heaven. No, it is Satan, or Memnoch, who tells his side of the story.
From a theological perspective, this is a very interesting book. In it, Anne Rice has combined both old and new Christian ideas from many denominations with a bit of Jewish theology. Memnoch’s justification for his rebellion reminds me very much of the character of Satan from John Milton’s Paradise Lost. Without getting into all of the nasty little details, let’s just call this novel experimental theology and leave it at that, shall we? I’m not going to bring my personal beliefs into this review.
From a less biased, more literature-focused perspective, Memnoch the Devil is not exactly the greatest novel ever written. Lestat is a cardboard cutout by now, the plot is slow and predictable and Memnoch is the only redeeming thing, character-wise. Memnoch is complicated, yet sympathetic in a bizarre way if you put your religious beliefs aside while reading this. But other than Memnoch, this novel doesn’t have much going for it.
As usual, my warning: Memnoch the Devil contains mature content including bad language, explicit sex scenes and violence. Personally, I would not recommend it for anyone under the age of 14, but it really depends on the reader’s maturity level.
I give this book 2/5 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.