The Eternity Code (Artemis Fowl, #3) by Eoin Colfer Published by Miramax on May 3rd 2005
Pages: 309
Goodreads
Artemis Fowl is going straight—as soon as he pulls off the most brilliant criminal feat of his career...
At least, that's the plan when he attempts to sell his C Cube, a supercomputer built from stolen fairy technology, to Jon Spiro, one of the most dangerous business in the world. But Spiro spring a trap—stealing the C Cube and mortally injuring Butler. Artemis' only hope of saving his loyal bodyguard is to employ fairy magic; so once again he must contact his old rival, Captain Holly Short of the LEPrecon police.
It's going to take a miracle to save Butler, and Artemis's luck may have just run out....
4.5 Nuts
Of all the Artemis Fowl books this one is my favorite. Why you may ask? I asked myself the same question and I think I finally came up with an answer or two. As a kid I rarely thought about the reasons I liked thing. I just liked them or I didn’t, who cared about why? Obviously that’s not the kind of answer that flies when you’re reviewing a book. So to the best of my ability I will try to explain.
Butler has always been my favorite character. For some reason I have always found myself drawn to the bodyguard, be it because of his skills or the sort of hybrid brother/father/employee relationship he has with Artemis. But beyond the fact that he’s the most skilled bodyguard in the world the man is incredibly kind. He genuinely cares about Artemis, his sister, and even Holly and the other fairies. So a book which begins with Butler and his fate is already something I was highly interested in. Now add in the high stakes, the heisting, and the silliness that always accompanies anything to do with Mulch Diggums and I’m sold.
I love a good heist story. It’s one of the reasons Six of Crows appealed so much to me. I think that came from my love of these Fowl books, particularly this one. Artemis’ plan to take care of Jon Spiro as a threat to the fairies is pure brilliance and one of the best heist stories around. And he succeeds knowing that it will mean losing knowledge of the fairies and his memories of the last 2 years. Perhaps his methods aren’t entirely scrupulous but he is a Fowl after all.
For me this was the true beginning of the Holly/Artemis shipping that accompanied reading these books as I got older. Whether the tension was intensional or imagined by a large number of us, many fans at the time were hardcore into the idea of a relationship between the two. And yes, it did result in some very weird fan fiction in the community. Still, Holly realizing what Artemis means to her and Artemis doing the same (though unromantically) was a high point for us.
Artemis grows a lot between the beginning of book one and the end of this third book, an idea proven by his change during the last chapter of this book. Colfer does a lot with the character over these three books but leaves the impact of it to sit with the reader until now. To me that absolute brilliant writing for such a young aimed book. Colfer has never talked down to his young readers, instead proving their intelligence by treating them respectfully and knowing what they can handle.
I recommend this book for anyone who loves a good heist story (kid or adult), nostalgic older fans of the series, and young new fans-to-be. And their parent of course.
Which is your favorite Artemis Fowl book? Share in the comments.
From my shelf to yours,
Erin
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