Self-Isolation #re3 - Artemis Fowl and the Arctic Incident

• Title And Author: Artemis Fowl and the Arctic Incident by Eoin Colfer
• Publisher: Puffin
• Physical, eBook or Audiobook: Audiobook
• Bought, Borrowed or Gifted: Borrowed from local library by BorrowBox
• Length: 306 Pages or 6 Hours 48 Minutes

I read this YEARS ago when the book was first published in hardback with its super-shiny foiled dustjacket. Now, I only read the first three books (I never carried on for some reason. Maybe it was the first cover change when book 4 was first published or maybe I thought book 3 - The Eternity Code - ended in a good place) but with Disney releasing their movie version Artemis Fowl on Disney+ (this was meant to be released in cinemas but with COVID-19 situation, Disney decided to move this to their streaming services and push back release dates for other releases; their live action Mulan and Marvel’s Black Widow), I felt the urge to reread or grab my hands on the audiobook. So, yes, REREAD TIME!!! 

So, The Arctic Incident. After the whole hostage situation of last year, faerie Holly Short of course thinks child genius and criminal mastermind Artemis Fowl is behind the recent goblin gangs planning an uprising. But, for once, Artemis is innocent (hard to believe, I know!) and he has bigger fish to fry: his missing father is being held for ransom by Russian Mafia and he needs to be saved. So, Artemis needs to clear his name, save his father and figure out what’s going on with the People…

#re3 - Artemis Fowl

I read Artemis Fowl years ago - actually, read the first three books in the series. And I really enjoyed them back in the day. But, for one reason or another, I never carried on after the third book - Artemis Fowl And The Eternity Code - in the series. I think there was a cover change or maybe I felt that  it was the right place for me to stop.

But recently, over the past year, I have been wanting to going back and reread Artemis. Mainly the first 2 books - Artemis Fowl and Artemis Fowl and Artemis Fowl and the Arctic Incident - as I have warm feelings about them. Maybe if I get sucked into them again, I will reread Artemis Fowl and the Eternity Code and want to carry on and read the rest of the series that I have missed out on. Plus, with Disney making a movie based on the first book (something I discovered back in the summer), I knew it was time...

But would it still stand up to my memory... I mean, this was firs published in UK in 2001 and a lot has changed. For example - that cover. I hate this cover! I much prefer the original - the shiny gold cover that, if anyone annoyed you, you can reflect light off it and use it as a weapon... if I can find it, will pop it down below somewhere!

Any, let's get past the cover and talk about the book, shall we?

Artemis Fowl the Second is a criminal genius and, at only twelve, is plotting his biggest money making scheme to date. If he's going to restore the family fortune, a bit of kidnapping will have to do.

But to kidnap a fairy?

When Artemis kidnaps Captain Holly Short of the LEP (Lower Elements Police), he doesn't realise that the world he's about to discover has highly armed, highly dangerous and extremely high-tech - fairies that will fight back.

Artemis Fowl might have underestimated them and, in the process, could trigger a cross-species war...

I couldn't help smiling while reread this. I forgot so much detail and yet, remember the basic plotline so I flew through. It was fun, and that's why rereads are a good thing to us readers/bloggers.

I think if I discovered this when I was 12, I would have devoured this series. This could have been my Harry Potter if I was 12 when this first came out. But I was in my late teens when this came, hence maybe one of the many reasons I didn't carry on with this series.

There is one or two things that niggle at me (the timeline in the first few chapters are off - Artemis seems to take place over a series of weeks/months whereas Holly takes place over a night, but there is no telling them apart due to how the scenes are written). Plus, I think it could have a few extra pages due to some pacing.

But, this was fun and I loved returning to this world. I am very much looking forward to read Artemis Fowl and the Arctic Incident in the coming few months (soon!) and, hopefully, this will spur me on to read the rest of the series.