About the Author

Eoin Colfer is the New York Times best-selling author of the Artemis Fowl series, Airman, Half Moon Investigations, The Supernaturalist, Eoin Colfer's Legend of... books, The Wish List, Benny and Omar; and Benny and Babe. He lives in Ireland with his wife and two children.

Reviews

Gr 5-8-Rollicking good fun, this recording of Eoin Colfer's second Artemis Fowl adventure (Hyperion, 2002) loses nothing in the translation to audio. Artemis Fowl, a 13-year-old genius criminal mastermind, mounts an unswerving crusade to rescue his father, who is being held for ransom by the Russian Mafiya, no matter what the cost. Artemis, and his trusty manservant, Butler, recruit several members of the LEPrecon Fairy Police, including Captain Holly Short, the first female fairy officer, to launch a no-holds-barred plan in this story that is a mixture of high-tech spy novel and fantasy, combined with sidesplitting humor. The non-stop action ranges from Ireland to The Lower Elements-the Fairy world-to the Arctic Circle. Nathaniel Park does a fabulous job differentiating among characters, using numerous accents and intonations to good effect. Listeners new to the series will have no trouble following the story, but will probably want to read or listen to the first installment, Artemis Fowl (Listening Library, 2004) as well as the third title in the series, Artemis Fowl: The Eternity Code (Listening Library, 2004).-Charli Osborne, Oxford Public Library, MI Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Rocketing readers back into a world of modern fairies (they pack heat and wear motorized wings), Colfer here reunites 13-year-old antihero Artemis with his former kidnap victim, Captain Holly Short, an elf officer with the LEPrecon (Lower Elements Police Reconnaissance) squad. As the erstwhile arch enemies join forces to squelch a power-hungry pixie's coup attempt in one world and to rescue Artemis's long-missing father in another (he's being held for ransom by the Russian Mafiya), the boy proves he has a heart after all, even as he builds his reputation as a world-class criminal mastermind. Once again, the roller coaster of a plot introduces a host of high jinks and high-tech weaponry as Colfer blends derring-do with snappy prose ("The broad grin disappeared like a fox down a hole") and repartee ("Hey, Mulch, if you listen really hard you can just about make out the sound of nobody giving a hoot"). The resulting fantasy hosts memorable characters, many of whom (such as the flatulent dwarf Mulch Diggums) reprise roles that helped attract fans to the first adventure. The author ratchets up the body count in this return engagement (perhaps too steeply for some tastes), and the high-concept premise may be a tad slick for others, but Colfer's finger is firmly on the pulse of his target market, and along with extra helpings of sly humor ("The sprite's breathing calmed, and a healthy green tinge started to return to his cheeks") he delivers a cracking good read. Ages 10-up. (May) FYI: The one-day laydown date for this novel is May 3. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.