SUMMARY
The Artemis Fowl series has both strength and weaknesses. I know it looks like it has far more weaknesses than strengths, but I just write more about the aspects I dislike. Perhaps because I had such high hopes and really loved the character of Artemis Fowl. This is full of spoilers throughout.
STRENGTHS:
LIKABLE CHARACTERS
One of the strongest points for the series are the likable characters that are distinct and often humorous. Artemis Fowl is still one of my favorite characters. He is smart but often lacking common sense. Sarcastic but also awkward in a charming way. He has a desire to be loved by his parents and have a normal relationship with them.
Holly was likable when she wasn't preaching or her victimhood wasn't being touted. She was a good contrast to Artemis as she is physical and action orientated. And unlike Butler, she doesn't have a hard time disagreeing with Artemis.
RELATIONSHIPS
There are interesting relationships. Mostly between Holly and Artemis. Holly learns to respect Artemis as well as he her. And they eventually become friends and Holly even evolves into a mentor figure.
I liked the relationship between Root and Holly as well. I thought upon introducing Root he was going to be portrayed as a sexist (since Colfer paints the LEP as sexist) but he is much more experienced than Holly and very much like a father figure.
GOOD HUMOR
I found many characters amusing, such as Foaly and Mulch. Even Artemis and Butler on occasion. I loved the scene in “The Arctic Incident” where Artemis is talking to his shrink and pretends to be confiding in him, only to end up mocking him in the end.
Or the story that Butler gives to the police about sun bathing and falling off the roof, but managing to grab a mattress before he went over.
ORIGINAL WORLD
I liked the Original and detailed world, specifically the technology that was presented. Magic is very much like science in the series. It was this aspect that made the world feel real. The only thing missing was a more detailed history of fairy kind, including their sins.
PACING
Well paced plots thanks to switches in perspective. There was always at least Holly and Artemis' perspectives going on. And when they were together, we always had others, like Mulch.
PLOT TWISTS
Some unique twists and well placed foreshadowing. There were often moments where Colfer hinted that something was up, but wouldn't reveal anything. This definitely kept me interested. Often times the climax was clever and not revealed until the last minute.
ORIGINALITY
Original idea, to have the main character originally be the villain in the story. Artemis was always the bad guy, but he was sympathetic. This was what kept me rooting for him even through his many moral failures. There was a promise by Colfer that Artemis could be something more, something amazing. But being neglected by his parents he had rotted away on the inside.
WEAKNESSES:
CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT
Characters don't ever really develop. Colfer's attempt at making Artemis become more moral is cold and impersonal. Instead of saving the planet from it's fluctuating climate, he should have just made Artemis learn to be more kind. But Artemis is simply never presented with the chance.
Holly stays stagnate as well. She is still blaming mankind for every problem, and never seeing past the end of her nose. All of this, well halfway though the series. It was tolerable at first (because I expected her to change) but her constant self righteous lectures to Arty get old pretty fast.
Juliet reveals her feelings of inferiority but then never addresses it again. It isn't just left open ended. It is as if it never happened.
Artemis' mother never develops when she learns the truth about Artemis. This should be an earth shattering truth, but it doesn't change anything.
FAMILY TIES
Artemis' never feels as close to his family as he is supposed to be. We see him become emotional about them, but don't really get any scenes with any meaningful interactions. This is understandable, as they are initially presented as a mentally ill mother and missing father.
After his father was rescued at the end of “The Arctic Incident” we finally start to see a relationship develop in “The Eternity Code”. An unsure one, where Artemis isn't sure about the change in his father, if it's sincere, and how it will affect him. But it seemed promising. Colfer devoted a good portion of the book to it, causing me to believe this was important to him.
Unfortunately, what I expected to be an ongoing development vanished after that. The parents become a foot note, having little impact on Artemis. They are a nuisance at the best of times. At the worst, they are non existent.
A FRIEND FOR ARTY
We stay with the same main characters and don't really add new ones. Or if we do, they are not all that important in later books (I am thinking of N°1). Artemis never gets a peer, someone to keep him tethered to the human world and keep him grounded. Someone to show him how normal people think. It was such a crucial aspect that needed to be developed, I thought perhaps even Colfer recognized this. But when he invented Minerva, a twin to Artemis, I realized he didn't see the need at all.
BAD VILLAINS
quite likable. But I never hated his villains, only found them annoying. The only reason they didn't bother me was often because they were not even revealed until the book is halfway through..
POLITICS
Colfer's politics can make for self righteous lectures on how evil humans are. Usually he does this through Holly, and her character suffers because of it. But this starts to effect the actual story in “The Atlantis Paradox” and rears its ugly head in the ending of “The Last Guardian”.
BAD HUMOR
Some of the humor is really bad. Often times, we get adults that are cartoonishly stupid (like in a childrens' cartoon). Most of the time, that's the only sin Colfer is guilty of. Although he can come off mean spirited sometimes, as in the case of making fun of someone he perceives as pathetic (see Billy Kong). Colfer just tends to go overboard, not realizing when a comic element takes away any levity previously attained. This is a series where people can die.
CONSISTENCY
Lacking consistency. In the last two books, Arty keeps getting demonized as though he has never done anything moral in his life. If that were so, why do they keep going to him for help?
Also, Runes are mentioned in “The Atlantis Paradox” as the villain uses them on Holly to control her. But it's never explained why Arty has never learned about them or why he has never been told in all of the other books.
Holly even puts a Rune on Arty to protect him in “the Last Guardian”. Why did she never do this before? Artemis has always been helpless when it comes to his physical abilities.
Early one it's mentioned that the pressure underground would Kill any human, but in later books, Arty and Butler both get to go to Haven.
After Butler is injured in “The Eternity Code” we are told he will never be Arty's body guard again. And then we forget that, and in every book afterwards...he is still Arty's body guard.
JULIUS ROOT-SPOILERS
There was never a replacement for Julius Root. The woman who replaces him is barely in one book, then she is unceremoniously killed off in “The Atlantis Complex”. Trouble Kelp is in the book some, but never with any real authority.
CONCLUSION
Colfer created an original world with distinct and likable characters. Not to mention good paced stories and some unique plot twists. And although the series starts great, it never fills its potential. The reason I enjoyed the first four books so much was because I still thought Arty would develop, as well as Holly. But they never do. If anything, the same lessons get learned over and over. By the fifth book, I was still hanging on.
By the time the “The Time Paradox” came around and Arty still didn't trust Holly, I was fed up. We had already dealt with the trust issue in “The Eternity Code” with the cutting off of the hand.
I still love the character of Artemis Fowl for what he could have been. He had so much potential. I give the Artemis Fowl Series “three stars”.
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