In this third installment to Eoin Colfer's funny, fast-paced, fairy-filled adventure series, boy genius and arch criminal Artemis Fowl once again can't resist plotting the perfect crime--and, once again, he can't keep from stirring up so much trouble that the fate of the entire fairy world teeters in the balance.

The once hard-boiled Artemis has softened a bit between his bestselling debut and the seat-of-your-pants Arctic Incident, and that trend continues in The Eternity Code: He's still plotting for a billion-dollar-plus payoff for the Fowl family, but now his enemies are human (chiefly Jon Spiro, a ruthless businessman Artemis tries to blackmail using stolen fairy technology) and he has to turn to his old adversary-turned-friend Captain Holly Short and cutpurse dwarf Mulch Diggums for help. The dialogue and action prove as smart and page-turning as ever this time around, with Artemis struggling to bring his faithful bodyguard Butler back from the dead before racing Mission Impossible-style to triple-cross the double-crossing Spiro.

Colfer's young antihero might be getting more likeable all the time, but that hasn't taken the edge off the Tom-Clancy-meets-Harry-Potter action. Artemis has to agree to a memory-erasing "mind wipe" from the People after helping them recover their technology, but only a foolish fan would count Artemis out after this blockbuster "final heist." Book four can't come soon enough.... (Ages 9 to 12) --Paul Hughes

From School Library Journal
Grade 5-8-Antihero Artemis Fowl, now 13 years old, is back. He has used stolen fairy technology to create a supercomputer known as the "C Cube," which will render all existing technology obsolete. He meets with Jon Spiro, head of "Fission Chips," with a proposition. For a price, he will suppress his cube, and allow Spiro time to sell his potentially worthless stocks and buy into Fowl Industries. Spiro double-crosses Artemis, and in the ensuing melee he steals the C Cube and Artemis's bodyguard, Butler, is murdered. The scene is totally out of James Bond; one fully expects to hear the familiar theme music and to see the credits as it concludes. The action does not let up as Artemis teams with the fairy policewoman Captain Holly Short and other companions to bring Butler back to life, and then to retrieve the Cube from Spiro's Chicago fortress. The plot is filled with crosses and double crosses, unmarked vans, and impenetrable security systems. It's exciting stuff, but the writing is often clich‚d at worst, and merely workmanlike at best. Butler's death scene is particularly hackneyed, echoing every overly dramatic death scene one can think of. Still, this latest adventure is sure to be popular with fans of the series.Tim Wadham, Maricopa County Library District, Phoenix, AZCopyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From AudioFile
[Editor's Note: This is a combined review with ARTEMIS FOWL and THE ETERNITY CODE.]--Colfer's series features two complex societies: the wealthy, if felonious, above-ground world of the human Fowl family and the elaborate, technologically advanced underground world of the fairies. Artemis Fowl, the 12-year-old scion of a famous Irish crime family, sets out to restore the ancestral fortunes depleted by his father's supposed death at the hands of the Russian mafia. The young criminal mastermind's plan rests on the kidnap and ransom of a fairy. The ransom demanded will be fairy gold. Into this world of adventure, corruption, and extraordinary technology comes narrator Nathaniel Parker, who has a distinct voice for everyone--from the young Master Fowl to the kidnapped LEPrecon (Lower Elements Police) Captain Holly Short and the astonishing computer genius of the fairy world, the centaur Foaly. Parker creates a complete pantheon of accents and pacing to complement Colfer's worlds. The sequels, in which Artemis--strangely developing what appears to be a conscience--invokes the help of the fairies to save his father (THE ARCTIC INCIDENT) and to rescue both the humans and fairies from the evil Jon Spiro (THE ETERNITY CODE) maintain the impeccable voicing and pacing developed in the first book. The recurring characters are instantly recognizable from one book to the next, encouraging the listener to suspend disbelief and become completely immersed in the escapades, often laced with humor, of Artemis and his various companions. While the pronunciation the Vietnamese surname "Nguyen" may startle some listeners, and the 1940s-style Asian accent is somewhat stereotypical, this does nothing to diminish the rip-roaring adventure. Parker's splendid narration should lead to family listening that might just encourage discussion of truth, friendship, and loyalty. S.G. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

From Booklist
Gr. 6-9. Could this be Artemis Fowl's last caper? His father, who was rescued from the Russian Mafia in Artemis Fowl: The Arctic Incident (2002), seems to have turned over a new leaf. But Artemis resolves to do one last job, a job that involves a supercomputer cube he created with stolen fairy technology. Things go totally awry, however, when his proposed pigeon--a billionaire American businessman--turns the tables and Artemis' longtime bodyguard, Butler, is fatally shot. Artemis puts Butler on ice, literally, and calls on Captain Holly Short of the LEPrecon fairy police for help. The existence of the cube is a threat to the fairy world, and Artemis concocts a convoluted scheme to recover it. As in the previous two books in the series, the action is fast and furious, the humor is abundant, characterizations are zany, and the boy genius works wonders--all of which add up to another wild ride for Artemis' fans. Sally Estes
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

FROM OUR EDITORS

The Barnes & Noble Review
The teenage criminal mastermind Artemis Fowl is back -- and better than ever -- in the third installment of Eoin Colfer's bestselling series.

Fowl's father returns from prison a reformed man, and he's made Artemis promise to keep clean. But going straight will have to wait until Artemis can pull off one final scheme: get paid to keep his newly created "C Cube" -- a device that can control all human technology -- off the market for one year. Artemis approaches Jon Spiro, a wealthy (and shady) Chicago entrepreneur, but when Spiro swipes the cube and shoots Artemis's loyal bodyguard, Butler, Fowl contacts his old LEPrecon friends for help. After seeing to Butler (and taking on a new bodyguard, Juliet), Artemis heads to Chicago with Captain Holly Short for a sneak attack against Spiro. The plan is genius, to say the least, and in the end, Butler turns out a different man while Artemis returns to familiar roots.

Colfer has done it again, spinning an Artemis exploit that matches the action and suspense of the first two Artemis Fowl books. Twists and turns get better as Artemis schemes his way into Spiro's lair, and the novel slaps readers with a mind-spinning finale. Like a fine wine, Fowl's brilliance gets better with age. Matt Warner

ANNOTATION

After Artemis uses stolen fairy technology to create a powerful microcomputer and it is snatched by a dangerous American businessman, Artemis, Juliet, Mulch, and the fairies join forces to try to retrieve it.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Artemis Fowl is going straight￯﾿ﾽas soon as he pulls off the most brilliant criminal feat of his career...

After being held prisoner for five years, Artemis Fowl's father has finally come home. He's a new man￯﾿ﾽan honest man, much to Artemis's horror. He makes his son promise to give up his life of crime, and Artemis has to go along with it. But not until he has completed one last scheme.

Artemis has constructed a super-computer from stolen fairy technology. Called the "C Cube," it will render all existing human technology obsolete. He arranges a meeting with a powerful Chicago businessman, Jon Spiro, to broker a deal for the C Cube. But Spiro springs a trap￯﾿ﾽhe steals the C Cube and mortally injures Butler. Artemis knows his 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 fairy police.

It is going to take a miracle to save Butler, and Artemis's luck may have just run out...


About the Author
Eoin Colfer is a former elementary school teacher who became a publishing phenomenon with the New York Times bestsellers Artemis Fowl and Artemis Fowl: The Arctic Incident. Previously he had written several other bestsellers in Ireland, including The Wish List and Benny and Omar.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

In the second and third books in the series about the 13-year-old criminal mastermind, he proves he has a heart after all (in the former), and, in the latter, craves one more adventure before he turns to the straight and narrow. "Rapid-fire dialogue and wise-acre humor ensure that readers will burn the midnight oil," said PW in a starred review of Eternity Code. Ages 10-up. (May) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Children's Literature - Susie Wilde

The most exciting growth I've seen lately is in Eoin Colfer's protagonist, Artemis Fowl in his latest installment, Artemis Fowl in The Eternity Code. Though there isn't a huge chronological jump, Artemis has matured and so has the series, which now has a depth it once lacked. The less mature Artemis was cocky, risked everything easily, was ready to conquer the world. His thinking was black and white and the books had more action and techno glitz than substance. There are several factors that make the change in Artemis believable. His father, transformed after a near-death experience, is no longer the power-player capitalist. The elder Fowl's motto has switched from "Gold is power" to "I want to be a hero and will you make the journey with me?" If that weren't threatening enough, Artemis has to snatch Butler, his stand-in parent and protector, from the jaws of death. These are the times that try a bratty boy's soul and Artemis, caught in a surprise attack, wonders if he has the clout he once imagined he wielded. Artemis has changed before, but never convincingly. In this third book, he still schemes and there is plenty of action, but his reflections have made him respectful and he seems a more genuine character. 2003, Hyperion, Ages 9 up.

VOYA - MichaelLevy

Thirteen-year-old master criminal Artemis Fowl has promised his father that he will go straight, but not before he has celebrated one last illicit triumph. Fowl wants to make an under-the-counter deal with Jon Spiro, a Chicago businessman with serious mob connections. The boy has created a new super-computer, the C Cube, using illicit fairy technology, and he has convinced Spiro that the machine would do serious damage to his financial empire if Artemis sells it to competitors. Instead, he proposes accepting a bribe from Spiro to keep the new computer off the market. The businessman turns the tables, however, ambushing Artemis, stealing the device, and leaving the boy's faithful and heretofore impregnable bodyguard Butler mortally wounded. To save Butler's life and recover the C Cube before Spiro can use it to dominate the world, Artemis must contact his old enemy and unwilling ally, Captain Holly Short of the LEPrecon fairy police, for aid. He must also get help from Butler's half-trained sister Juliet, a decidedly loose cannon, and a foul-mouthed dwarf thief named Mulch. Readers who made the first two Artemis Fowl books bestsellers will also enjoy this latest installment, which again features Colfer's trademark broad humor, engaging if flat characters, and high-speed action, not to mention the unlikely mix of magic and technology. The series continues to be a good read but lacks the depth found in the fantasies of Diana Wynne Jones or J. K. Rowling. VOYA Codes: 3Q 5P M J (Readable without serious defects; Every YA (who reads) was dying to read it yesterday; Middle School, defined as grades 6 to 8; Junior High, defined as grades 7 to 9). 2003, Hyperion/Miramax, 309p,

KLIATT - Paula Rohrlick

To quote from the review of the hardcover in KLIATT, January 2004: In his third outing (following Artemis Fowl and Artemis Fowl: The Arctic Incident), 13-year-old criminal mastermind Artemis Fowl has promised his newly reformed father that he'll go straight too. But there's just one last job that needs doing...Artemis has created a supercomputer called the C Cube, based on stolen fairy technology, that will make all human technology obsolete. He meets with a Chicago businessman named Jon Spiro to arrange a deal for it, but instead Spiro steals the C Cube and shoots Artemis' bodyguard, Butler. Artemis will need fairy magic to save Butler, so he must once again turn to his old enemy, Captain Holly Short of the LEPrecon fairy police, for help. The combination of fantasy, action and humor makes for another page-turning adventure, with lots of snappy dialog and technology along the way. The continuing escapades of this junior James Bond are bound to have great appeal, based on the huge success of the previous volumes (film rights have been sold); buy several copies. Make sure to point out to readers that there is a code encrypted into the cover illustration: can they crack it to discover the secret message? KLIATT Codes: J*—Exceptional book, recommended for junior high school students. 2003, Hyperion, 304p., Ages 12 to 15.

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