SPOIL-FREE SUMMARY
When a loved one falls ill, Artemis has to travel back in time to prevent his younger self from destroying the one thing that can cure that person. But he doesn't just have to deal with his younger self but a crazy man set on killing animals.
CAST OF CHARACTERS
Artemis is still the same character and doesn't seem to be developing. He is constantly apologizing for past sins.
Holly's character does develop slightly, as we learn about her mother. And how she died, and how she developed a hatred for humans. Oddly, this is never revealed to Artemis. This could have easily developed their relationship.
Butler doesn't travel back in time with Artemis and Holly, so there is mostly the past Butler. He is reluctant to follow all of younger Artemis' orders. But the most he does is offer advice, he never parents his charge.
Younger Artemis is annoying and selfish, to contrast the newer Artemis.
Kronski is our villain, a nutty man who hates animals for some reason.
THE EXTINCTIONISTS
Colfer crosses over into cartoony territory, I am afraid. No one who poaches endangered species does it for any noble cause, they do it for money. And the fact that Colfer expects us to believe someone so stupid as to have these beliefs would actually exist is laughable.
I don't know why he wouldn't see this, as he has demonized businessmen in the past for their love of profit above all else. Not that that didn't often come off as cartoonish as well, but it was more believable then this.
It's sad, because this could have easily been avoided. Poachers are real, so why not portray them as they are?
ANOTHER DECEIT-SPOILERS
Artemis tells a great lie to Holly and eventually has to reveal it to her. It wasn't believable. Artemis still feels like he can't trust Holly to break rules for him? Not after all they have been through?
I have read five Artemis Fowl books and already dealt with the major flaws in Artemis' character. Perhaps since the lie is so big, Colfer thought the reader wouldn't remember, we've been down a similar road already.
In the “The Eternity Code” when Arty lied about having to cut off Spiro's finger. It might have felt like nothing to me, but Colfer clearly thought it was the moral question of our time the way he made Holly go on about it in righteous indignation. Or when Arty lost his memory in “The Lost Colony” and demanded payment for his services.
We get it. Artemis has many moral failings.
There is one scene later, where Holly thinks she would have helped Arty, even if he had not lied to her. But then she doubts herself, perhaps realizing how self righteous she is. Unfortunately, she never tells Artemis he didn't have to lie. So this goes nowhere.
WHERE'S MINERVA?
It seems Colfer realized the drastic mistake he made when he wrote Minerva in “The Lost Colony”. Because in this book, she isn't so much as acknowledged to exist. I am glad he responded to feedback, which I can only presume was largely negative. But even so, he should have written about her absence, after pushing her so strongly. She waited years for him to return, as Butler alluded to at the end of the last book.
Colfer could have easily mentioned the fact that Artemis and Minerva were far too alike to get alone, and if anything had developed into rivals, rather then friends or boyfriend and girlfriend. Oddly, he didn't even do that.
HOLLY & ARTY-SPOILERS
I can only conclude that after responding to the negative feedback about Minerva, Colfer realized what the fans wanted: Artemis and Holly to get together. Unfortunately, Artemis is a child, and Holly is an adult. So Colfer turns Holly into a child, to give the fans a taste of what they wanted. Without actually getting it. I think this was a little extreme, and might never have happened if he hadn't created Minerva and had such a strong reaction to her.
I for one, recognized that Holly was to be a mentor character to Artemis, not a love interest (if I read the whole series as a kid, I might have agreed with many of the other fans).
But there would be an obvious way to make it work. Have years pass, show Artemis as a young adult, and Holly still the same age. Have him catch up to her. He could have perhaps done this at the end of the series. So it was odd that he did this instead. Oddly, it kind of felt like fanfiction to me.
YOUNGER ARTEMIS
We seem to be exploring the same theme over and over again: Artemis is still evil. And since we can assume he has developed, we just have to face his younger, more evil self.
It is as if Colfer is running out of ideas and cannot think of ways to develop Artemis. Instead of allowing him to face problems where he chooses new behavior over his old behavior, he just keeps reminding the reader of Artemis' faults, and mankind's as well.
I wish we could explore more of the fairy world, because they would be far more interesting. I feel as though we have only skimmed the surface of their moral problems and their past.
WHAT WOULD YOU DO?-SPOILERS
The main plot is that Arty killed an endangered lemur, making it extinct and it's the only thing that can save his mother. It sounds bad, but he doesn't kill it for fun; he doesn't even kill it. He catches it and sells it to someone who wishes to kill it. And Artemis does all of this, to fund a mission to rescue his missing father. If I had to make one species go extinct to save a parent, I would do it in a heartbeat. In fact, I would make multiple species go extinct if that was my only option. And I would only feel bad about it for minute. Because human lives are worth more than animals. It seems quite obvious to me, as I suspect it does to most people.
But when Artemis reveals this, Holly treats him as though he has announced he killed a person. Her reaction is comically out of proportion. Unfortunately, Colfer's tendency to make her self righteous is used once again.
Artemis was just a child, whose mother had gone nuts and whose father had never been close to him anyway. The fact that Holly had no sympathy for him was completely crazy.
HUMOR
There are some funny moments where Artemis notes how ridiculous his younger self sounds. But again, this kind of feels like fanfiction.
Artemis' little brothers were actually quite amusing and seeing him interact with them was entertaining.
CLIMAX
Back in the present, they have to face a different enemy than Kronski. There is twist and I can't say I wasn't taken aback at it. But I am starting to wish that Colfer was better at villains, and would create more instead of recycling the same one over and over again. Arty shows his ability to fly a plane, which is a different side of him, as well as risking his own life and revealing a small secret.
CONCLUSION
Colfer bends over backwards to please his fans and apologize for Minerva. But the romantic relationship feels like fanfiction and carries no weight, as Holly returns to her normal age in the end. Also, Artemis doesn't seem to be developing at all. We've fallen back into the same pattern: Artemis does something deceitful and Holly is shocked and self righteous. If you love Artemis Fowl, it's still worth reading though. I give “The Time Paradox” three stars.
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