Artemis Fowl (novel)
OCLC 46493219 | | |
813 | ||
Followed by | The Arctic Incident (2002) |
Artemis Fowl is a
Throughout the book, the
Synopsis
Meanwhile,
After being led onto Fowl's ship by Holly's tracker, Artemis tells Commander Root his name so they can find him, and then blows the ship up. An LEP retrieval team is sent to scout Fowl Manor using their
The attempts to gain entry to the manor continue as the LEP recruits an infamous criminal, the
Cudgeon decides to release the troll Holly captured earlier, into the mansion, to force Artemis to allow the fairies to enter and subdue the troll. This backfires, as Butler, aided by Holly's healing powers, defeats the troll. The Fairy Council subsequently strips Cudgeon of his post.
Artemis is finally granted the ransom. The gold is sent in and Artemis asks Holly for a wish: to cure his mother's insanity—she has been living in her bedroom, driven mad by the loss of her husband. Holly grants the wish at the cost of half the gold. The LEP decides to send in a "blue rinse"—a
As Artemis has survived until the end of the time-stop, the LEP is bound by law to leave the remaining gold and depart. In the end, Butler demands an explanation as to how Artemis came up with the idea of using sleeping pills. Artemis explains that he had gotten the idea from old fairy tales, in which human characters never wake up at an inopportune moment for the fairies and had guessed that time-stops were the reason. Concluding that the time-stop forces a being to stay in whichever state of consciousness they were in when the time-stop is started, Artemis uses sleeping pills to break out of the time-stop. Artemis finds his mother has fully recovered from her insanity thanks to Holly's magic.
Themes
Artemis Fowl has a number of underlying themes, but the most essential of these are greed and the
Greed is the first main theme that is introduced into the book,[6] and specifically the desire to obtain gold. In a similar manner to other themes in the book, it changes throughout, becoming less of a focus near to the end of the novel, where Artemis is (grudgingly) willing to part with a large sum of money to help someone else.
The idea of conflict between good and evil is one that is touched upon in the book in a light-hearted manner. Although Artemis sees himself as an evil genius at the beginning of the book,[7] and is portrayed as such, the end of the story contradicts this image when he pays the fairy Holly to help his mother. Artemis's enemies, the fairies, would be "the good side", but their actions call this view into question—they are as determined as Artemis is to achieve their goals. While only some of them are willing to ruthlessly deploy a troll, regardless of the possible danger to life, all are willing to utilise a bio-bomb once Holly is out of the mansion, to eliminate Artemis.[7]
Critical reception
In general, the book received a very positive critical response—in 2004 it received the Young Reader's Choice Award[8] and Garden State Teen Book Award, among other awards.[9]
The New York Post said "Artemis Fowl is great ... a new thriller fairy tale that will grab your interest, no matter your age."[10] and the Library Journal said "Fun to read, full of action and humour, this is recommended for all public libraries and to readers of all ages."[11] Time said, "Artemis Fowl is pacy, playful, and very funny, an inventive mix of myth and modernity, magic and crime",[12] while The New York Times Book Review said that "Colfer has done enormously, explosively well."[13]
However, another Time magazine review criticised the "abysmal" writing and the characterisation, calling Artemis' character "repellent in almost every regard." It concluded that Artemis Fowl is "an awkward, calculated, humorless and mean-spirited book."[16] USA Today's review concluded: "All the familiar action-flick clichés are trotted out: the backstabbing, politically astute subordinate; the seemingly loony but loyal computer expert; the dabs of family loyalty; the requisite happy ending; the utterly unsubtle plugs for the sequel; the big action scenes. ... Resist the hype, parents, booksellers and librarians. This is not the new Harry Potter, nor is it a good children's book."[17]
Adaptations
Film
In 2001, plans were announced for a film adaptation of the series.
Graphic novel
Artemis Fowl: The Graphic Novel is a
Later, in 2019, in promotion of the upcoming 2020 film, Disney released a new version of the graphic novel, this time adapted by Michael Moreci and drawn by Stephen Giplin. It skims over the therapist reports and cuts out the second scene of Artemis and his mother for pacing.
Publication history
- Artemis Fowl (Hardcover). US: ISBN 0-7868-0801-2.
- Artemis Fowl (Hardcover). England and Ireland: Viking Children's Books – ISBN 0-670-89962-3.
- Artemis Fowl (Paperback). England and Ireland: ISBN 0-14-131212-2.
- Artemis Fowl (Paperback). US: ISBN 0-7868-1707-0.
- Artemis Fowl (Paperback). US: ISBN 1-4231-0515-X.
References
Citations
- ISBN 0-14-180286-3.
- ^ Atkinson, Fran (2 October 2005). "A way with the fairies". The Age. Melbourne. Retrieved 1 September 2008.
- ^ "Artemis Fowl Official Site". Archived from the original on 8 February 2008. Retrieved 15 March 2008.
- ^ "MonkeyNotes" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 5 September 2008. Retrieved 1 September 2008.
- ^ Bookrags. Archived from the original on 3 October 2008. Retrieved 1 September 2008.
- OCLC 46493219.
- ^ a b "Book Notes". Archived from the original on 13 February 2009. Retrieved 1 September 2008.
- ^ "YRCA Past Winners". Pacific Northwest Library Association. Archived from the original on 5 January 2011. Retrieved 3 February 2011.
- ^ "Artemis Fowl Reviews". Archived from the original on 8 February 2008. Retrieved 4 April 2007.
- ^ Smith, Liz. "New York Post". Archived from the original on 12 February 2008. Retrieved 4 April 2007.
- ^ "Artemis Fowl". Media Source Book Verdict. Retrieved 17 March 2013.
- ^ Shields, Elinor (7 May 2011). "A Magical Myth". Time. Vol. 157, no. 18. Archived from the original on 30 October 2010. Retrieved 24 March 2012.
- ^ Maguire, Gregory (17 June 2001). "Children's Books". The New York Times. Retrieved 24 March 2012.
- ^ Kellaway, Kate (13 May 2001). "Elf and happiness". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 23 March 2012.
- ISBN 0786808012.
- ^ Gray, Paul (21 May 2001). "A Case of Fowl Play A less magical book tries to horn in on Harry Potter". Time Magazine. Vol. 157, no. 20. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
- ^ Donahue, Deirdre (1 May 2001). "Despite the hype, 'Artemis Fowl' is no 'Potter'". USA Today. Retrieved 17 March 2013.
- ^ Court, Ayesha (8 August 2002). "Author's 'Fowl' play includes sequel, movie". USA Today. Retrieved 5 February 2013.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Miramax Has Rights To Make Movie of Book Artemis Fowl'". Star-News. 19 February 2003. Retrieved 5 February 2013.
- ^ Goodnow, Cecelia (16 May 2003). "A moment with ... 'Artemis Fowl' author Eoin Colfer". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Retrieved 5 February 2013.
- ^ "Irish fantasy role raises Saoirse's elf esteem". Irish Independent. Retrieved 5 February 2013.
- ^ "Artemis Fowl Film Attracts Director Jim Sheridan And Star Saoirse Ronan". Bleeding Cool. Retrieved 5 February 2013.
- ^ Fleming, Mike Jr. (29 July 2013). "Hell Freezes Over; Harvey Weinstein Teams With Disney On 'Artemis Fowl'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 30 July 2013.
- ^ "Disney announces dates for new Star Wars movies, MCU Phase 4, and more". Polygon.com. 7 May 2019.
- ^ Nordine, Michael (18 September 2017). "'Artemis Fowl': Everything You Need to Know About Disney's Adaptation of the Beloved Young-Adult Series". IndieWire. Retrieved 25 May 2018.
- The Wrap. Retrieved 30 July 2019.
- ^ Welk, Brian (3 April 2020). "'Black Widow' Moves to November as Other MCU Films Shift Back to 2021, 2022". The Wrap. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
- ^ Spangler, Todd (17 April 2020). "'Artemis Fowl' Premiere Date on Disney Plus Set as Movie Goes Direct-to-Streaming". Variety. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
- ^ Weatherbed, Jess (19 May 2023). "Disney will remove over 50 shows from Disney Plus and Hulu this month". The Verge. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
- ISBN 978-0786848812.
- JSTOR 30139659.
Sources
- Colfer, Eoin. (2001). Artemis Fowl. Viking Children's Books. Paperback: ISBN 0-670-89962-3
External links
- Official website
- Artemis Fowl Book Covers From Around The World
- Artemis Fowl Confidential's Graphic Novel Page – Containing example frames from the graphic novel, proof copy covers and more information
- Artemis Fowl Confidential Interview with Giovanni Rigano, the artist.