Artemis Fowl (1999)
Artemis Fowl is a 1999 artemis fowl book written by Eoin Colfer.
Twelve years old, obscenely rich, and short on scruples, Artemis Fowl is the last heir to a criminal dynasty. With his father vanished and his mother unwell, the boy sets out to rebuild the family fortune by robbing the one population wealthy and hidden enough to matter: fairies. These are not the fairies of picture books but an armed, high-tech underworld, and Artemis abducts one of their best, Captain Holly Short of the LEPrecon unit. His hulking bodyguard Butler stands ready for the fallout. The fairies, it turns out, do not negotiate quietly. Eoin Colfer crosses heist thriller with modern folklore, and lets the villain be the hero.
Quick answers
What is Artemis Fowl about?
Twelve years old, obscenely rich, and short on scruples, Artemis Fowl is the last heir to a criminal dynasty. With his father vanished and his mother unwell, the boy sets out to rebuild the family fortune by robbing the one population wealthy and hidden enough to matter: fairies. These are not the fairies of picture books but an armed, high-tech underworld, and Artemis abducts one of their best, Captain Holly Short of the LEPrecon unit. His hulking bodyguard Butler stands ready for the fallout. The fairies, it turns out, do not negotiate quietly. Eoin Colfer crosses heist thriller with modern folklore, and lets the villain be the hero.
When was Artemis Fowl published?
Artemis Fowl was published in 1999.
Who made Artemis Fowl?
Artemis Fowl was written by Eoin Colfer.
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A few thoughts on Artemis Fowl
Fans of a boy genius running rings around a hidden organization should try Men in Black, which mines the same comedy of a secret, gadget-heavy world policing itself. The Kingsman films share the sleek-spy swagger and dry wit. For young schemers outfoxing grown-ups on screen, Spy Kids lands close.
Kid geniuses who out-plan and out-tech the professionals
Twelve years old and already running his family's criminal empire, Artemis Fowl plans his fairy heist with the cool precision of professionals twice his age. These stories share that same thrill: a kid, a crew, or a lone operative whose planning and nerve outclass the trained adults sent to stop them, gadgets included.
Hidden, high-tech worlds policing themselves right under human noses
The fairies Artemis robs are not the picture-book kind, they're an armed, high-tech underworld hidden beneath the surface with its own police force answering to nobody human. These stories run on the same secret: a whole civilization tucked out of sight, self-governed and heavily armed, that surfaces only when it has to.
Fantasy worlds where ancient magic runs on very advanced technology
Holly Short's LEP unit runs on magic wired straight into hardware, weapons and shields built from the same currents that power spells. These fantasy worlds treat magic the same way, as a resource that gets engineered, weaponized, and issued to a guild or an army rather than left to wander around untamed.
