Nowhere near as good as the original series
A return to the world of Artemis Fowl with all new characters and villains. Myles takes after Artemis in brainpower. Beckett is like an all powerful kid Butler. The twins are kidnapped, and need to use every tool at their disposal to free themselves.
I really liked the first few Artemis Fowl books. He made a very interesting character as he worked his way from selfish criminal prodigy to a somewhat morally conscious being. Holly Short and the fairy's side of the story was also really absorbing. I have fond memories of the first few books.
This book tried to build on all that history and top it. AF had some revolutionary tech, but they were reasonably feasible. But in the decade since those books, the tech evolved into sentient AIs, really weird human villains, and super smart/super strong 11 year old twins. It was reasonable for Butler to be so powerful, but it's a little too much for an 11 year old to take down entire teams of professional assassins in an eye blink. I can believe in child prodigies, but that together with another character's super strength was too much for me.
I get that this is fantasy. It's supposed to be outside the normal realm of possibility. But even fantasy has borders, and this one went too far for me. It was like reading some exaggerated superhero comic. I didn't connect with any of the characters, because nothing they did was normal or relatable.
Maybe I'm not the right audience for this book. It might be best for a young sci-fi/superhero/fantasy fan. There's a lot of action and a lot of punny humor.
I received a copy in exchange for an honest review.
I really liked the first few Artemis Fowl books. He made a very interesting character as he worked his way from selfish criminal prodigy to a somewhat morally conscious being. Holly Short and the fairy's side of the story was also really absorbing. I have fond memories of the first few books.
This book tried to build on all that history and top it. AF had some revolutionary tech, but they were reasonably feasible. But in the decade since those books, the tech evolved into sentient AIs, really weird human villains, and super smart/super strong 11 year old twins. It was reasonable for Butler to be so powerful, but it's a little too much for an 11 year old to take down entire teams of professional assassins in an eye blink. I can believe in child prodigies, but that together with another character's super strength was too much for me.
I get that this is fantasy. It's supposed to be outside the normal realm of possibility. But even fantasy has borders, and this one went too far for me. It was like reading some exaggerated superhero comic. I didn't connect with any of the characters, because nothing they did was normal or relatable.
Maybe I'm not the right audience for this book. It might be best for a young sci-fi/superhero/fantasy fan. There's a lot of action and a lot of punny humor.
I received a copy in exchange for an honest review.