Well I was going to review Girl with the Dragon Tattoo...

... as a partner post to Chris' (very impressive) review this week. However! The latest Artemis Fowl was released and my dad was very kind and brought it home for me. So really, I HAD to read it before finishing girl with the dragon tattoo... I had to.

I also acknowledge that this, being a definite children's book, probably shouldn't really have a place in the heart of a nineteen year old girl who's at university and considers herself... well... relatively mature. (Stop laughing)

But there's something about fairies, and there's something about Artemis Fowl that had my own mother (sob) trying to steal the book from me while I got her a coffee. Those who have read at least the first book will know that the basis of the series is the title character's tangles with the (literally) underground fairy civilization.

(Basic introduction to series follows, skip if already frustrated with me talking about the previous books) Artemis Fowl was first introduced to us as an Irish heir to a criminal empire, and a boy genius. His basic personality means that he knows he is cleverer than anybody, and thus is better than everybody. Without spoilers, the necessary characters are him, his gigantic bodyguard known as Butler, Butler's sister Juliet, and Artemis' long suffering mother. Upon discovering the existence of the fairies, Artemis hatched a plan to exploit them and return the Fowl empire to the greatest in the criminal world. This was attempted by kidnapping Captain Holly Short or the LEP (Lower Elements Police) recon. Yes, a leprechaun, by job description. And there's Foaly, the LEP's tech... centaur... guy, with intelligence that rivals Artemis' own. Basic characters introduced, and without spoilers, the books follow many adventures during which Artemis and the fairies get somehow messily involved with each other.

(Back to book 7) The Atlantis Complex begins with Artemis showing up in the Tundra of Iceland, preparing a meeting with the LEP bigwigs (and Holly and Foaly) to propose a way of preventing global warming using illegal (and very clever) methods. Oh, wait... Butler's not here? No, he's not. Unfortunately Artemis has developed something the fairies know as (title!) the Atlantis complex, which means that due to guilt over his various misdeeds, he has developed a form of OCD and multiple personality disorder, and driven by paranoia, has sent Butler to Mexico on a wild goose chase. The new Artemis is terrified by the number four, and only feels secure around the number five. And when little biological fairy robots fall from the sky, another personality takes over.

Orion is pretty funny, if only because he's so ridiculous. Artemis' alter ego is a sappy romantic obsessed with Holly, and who thinks of Foaly as nothing more than a "noble steed". Enter, of course, a horrible messiness involving incarcerated prisoner Turnball Root. Commander Root's brother who has an elaborate (and destructive) escape plan in action. Driven by the desire to reunite with his human wife, Turnball is pulling out all the stops and going after the lives of those that pose a threat.

Without going much further into plot, I'll start by saying that this book is different to the others before it for a couple of reasons- firstly, the end isn't a resolution. Whereas the other books ended very completely, perhaps so Eoin Colfer could stop writing them whenever he wanted, this book finished with several loose ends, and as Artemis himself says, "This adventure was different." The villain isn't a total nut, but a person with whom the reader (and our heroes) can sympathize, and the relationships between the protagonists remains complicated and undefined. Nothing is resolved on a personal level, though the overall world is saved for now. The ending also has me a little saddened, though technically it's still good-guys-save-the-day. In my opinion the books have matured in the way Harry Potter did; the original Artemis Fowl audience is growing up, as is Fowl himself, so the plot becomes more complex,the characters less Black-and-White, and the themes more mature. As with Harry Potter, Artemis Fowl is on many levels a brilliant piece of adult fiction as well as children's. I can only speculate as to why the books haven't been made into a film, though in my opinion keeping them in book form is a good idea, simply because I don't want my characters ruined (grin).

The books have matured, but The Atlantis Complex doesn't lose the series' staple witty humour and sheer brilliant character interaction. The book still pokes fun at itself, and the banter between characters is still as sharp as ever, though the progression of friendship is evident. Colfer's characters are so complete, that even the different ways they deal with Artemis' problems is perfect. Foaly and Mulch's insensitivity, Butler's despair at losing his friend, and Holly's frustration over the whole situation is surprisingly realistic. Even Artemis doesn't break character himself, when clearly irritated at his own actions his thoughts have to make you laugh as he takes a rather bizarrely pragmatic and logical approach to his own instability.

An example of why I love this book (and series) is pretty much demonstrated in a short piece of dialogue between Butler and Juliet, wherein Butler is talking about Artemis' paranoia. On why Artemis thinks his three year old brothers are conspiring against him:

     " 'Artemis doesn't trust Myles and Beckett? That's just ridiculous. 

     What terrible acts of sabotage are three-year-olds supposed to commit?'

     Butler grimaced. 'Unfortunately, Myles contaminated one of Artemis's 

     Petri dishes when he wanted a sample for his own experiments.'

     'That's hardly industrial espionage. What did Beckett do?'

     'He ate Artemis's hamster.'... 'Well, he chewed on his leg for a bit.' "

That extract proves no point. I just thought it was hilarious.