The Arctic Incident (Artemis Fowl, #2) by Eoin Colfer Published by Hyperion Books on May 1st 2004
Pages: 277
Goodreads
Artemis rushes from Ireland school to Russia where the Mafiya kidnapped his father. Captain Holly Short of LEPRecon against fairies interrupts him. This time he may have to join the fairies instead of battling them.
3 Nuts
Don’t let the 3 nut rating fool you, this is not a bad book by any means. For me 3 nuts is average, and that’s what this addition to the Fowl series is. Average.
See, Artemis Fowl 1 is new and exciting, the start of an incredible adventure. Book 3 has such high stakes right from the beginning for characters we actually know. This one? Well it just pales when you stand it up against the two. Sure stakes are high for Artemis’ father but we don’t actually know Artemis Fowl Sr.
That being said this book is this pretty good. For one it calls back to the first book in the series in both villain motivation and suspicions of the main characters. Second the villains, all of them, are pretty great. The human ones, as usual, are a bit stupid but most adult humans in this series are. Seriously, Colfer, got something against adults?
Just like book one and every other Artemis Fowl novel, The Arctic Incident features the dwarf bum related humor that kids love. Seriously, what 12 year old boy doesn’t love fart jokes and other butt related humor. And yet its done so well, and surprisingly tastefully, I think even adults will be able to appreciate it and find it humorous.
I only wish this book was a bit more up where the rest of the series is as far as scope and such. The goblin rebellion stuff is interesting but a lot of the human world stuff doesn’t really hold my interest. It didn’t even when I was younger. I don’t want to see human criminals, I want Holly and Artemis to show us the wonders of fairies. I mean why would Root care about Artemis’ father? It just doesn’t do much for me.
That being said it does feel a bit like reading two different stories. One is set in fairy world and the other in the human. They don’t really mesh that well into one story. Once the goblin story is over it feels like the human stuff is just extra. Like there’s too many endings. But maybe that’s just me but I found it distracting.
As usual, the narrator for the audiobook (who does all the Artemis Fowl audiobooks) has a great performance. His accents are wonderful, his voice is soothing, and I love to listen while laying back or while doing chores. Some books don’t lend themselves to both.
I recommend this book for all middle grade readers and their parents, especially readers who get bore easily. The action will keep them engaged.
Do you remember reading this book? Share your thoughts in the comments.
From my shelf to yours,
Erin
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