Review: Artemis Fowl

Artemis Fowl
By Eoin Colfer, read by Nathaniel Parker
Published 2004 by Listening Library

I'm pretty sure this book has been on my radar ever since it was first published (which was 2001 for the print version). Recently, I found the first five books on Overdrive and downloaded the audio versions to my iPod for my commute. I just finished the first and I have to say, I'm very disappointed.

Artemis Fowl is your basic evil genius. Oh, except he's only 12. But he doesn't let his age stop him from hatching an elaborate plot to steal fairy gold which involves a kidnapping. But the fairy he kidnaps isn't just your ordinary fairy - she's Captain Holly Short, an officer in the LEPrecon Unit. This book had been recommended to me by a few different people and it also just seemed like one of those series that endures, so I figured there had to be a good reason. After finishing the audio version, I'm underwhelmed. I expected this book to be funny, clever, fantastical and interesting. I don't think I laughed at all. I could see parts where the book wanted to be funny, but it just didn't work for me. I also found most of the plot to be convoluted and boring. I wanted it to be so much more than it was. Sadly, this was a fail for me. Needless to say, I deleted the other audio versions I had downloaded without listening.