Book Review: Artemis Fowl: The Opal Deception by Eoin Colfer

Title: Artemis Fowl: The Opal Deception
Author: Eoin Colfer
Published: 2005
Publisher: Puffin Books
Pages:
From: Barnes and Noble

It didn’t take me long, from when I began Eoin Colfer’s novel Artemis Fowl, to remember why I was attracted to the series as a child transitioning into teenage-dom. Colfer somehow manages to create a magic within his stories, a magic that attracts, possibly repels and definitely leaves a mark.

Artemis Fowl: The Opal Deception, the fourth of an eight-part series, is a continuation of a fantastic world created by Colfer. The novel focuses on, as you probably guessed by the title, the comeback of Opal Koboi, a vengeful pixie attempting to take revenge on those who wronged her in previous plot lines. However, the plot is nothing like those previous ones.

This novel is different than the others because it took Artemis back to his somewhat former self after being mind-wiped. The interesting emotional changes readers saw in Artemis, going from cold-hearted criminal to a teenager second-guessing the reasons behind his decisions, were not continued exactly in this novel — at least, not in a similar fashion as in the other novels.

My only concern is the constant action throughout the novel tends to take away from some of the necessary character development. Holly Short, the police captain involved with nearly every single Artemis Fowl case, gives glimpse of what’s going on in her head, but to be honest, we don’t really know much about her aside from Julius Root, her commander, is the closest thing she has to family. I have always been curious as to what her back story is, so hopefully Colfer will continue with any further character development in the next few books, and take away the action just a smidgeon.

Otherwise, I loved this novel. The whole series is a fresh take on fantasy from a child’s point of view, and being able to be part of that fantasy, even just as a reader, is a wonderful experience. I enjoy being whisked away to whatever country, above or below ground, Colfer decides to take the reader, and then taking in all the funny quips from the characters, the new technology always popping up or the devious plots floating around a villain’s head.

For more Artemis Fowl, read Colfer’s whole series, starting with Artemis Fowl, and ending with Artemis Fowl: The Last Guardian. Also, check out the series at Barnes and Noble or Amazon, or get the comic book versions at either store also.