Customer Reviews

The Arctic Incident (Artemis Fowl, Book 2)

5 star:		(57)
4 star:		(32)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Having eaten my way through the first book like a dwarf burrowing through loosely-packed earth, I found this one slightly slower going. My new favorite genius-millionaire-criminal mastermind is now a teenager and he's not as tough and full of brass as he was in book one.

Cut him some slack though, his mommy's back to normal, and ready to start trying to control his life, and he's just discovered that his dad is still alive, and being held for ransom by the Russian Mafiya in a nuclear submarine graveyard. Even geniuses have their limits.

Captain Holly Short isn't having a good time either. After Artemis successfully procured half of the Recon ransom fund in book one, she's been given a "time-out" doing stakeouts for smugglers for the Customs and Excise Department. It seems that someone is organizing the dim-witted goblins to do some good old fashioned gun running, and of course, our intrepid heroine lands herself in the middle of the melee.

Opal Koboi is a new character, a pixie with talents to rival the resident geek Foaly the Centaur, and has absolutely no scruples whatsoever.

Someone has been re-engineering laser guns to work with regular AA batteries, and Holly feels that Artemis is involved. Artemis would rather get along with the process of rescuing his father, but after an interrogation proves Holly incorrect, they team up as an unlikely pair of secret agents to solve both problems.

What follows is action galore, as the book accelerates to warp speed, and even Artemis is forced to be a hero, albeit a puny little one. Each of our favorite characters from book one takes center stage at one time or the other and even Mulch becomes a leading dwarf with a pivotal role.

The story ends with a crazy rescue plan that goes terribly wrong, until girl power again triumphs over rotten luck.

A wonderful follow on from the first book, and an encouraging preview to the third.

Amanda Richards, October 6, 2004.

This is the second book in the "Artemis Fowl" series, and it starts a little after all the things that happened in the first book in the series, that is a kidnapping and general mayhem. "The Artic Incident" just gives us the opportunity of getting to know better quite a few of the characters we already like, and lets us participate in another adventure that curiously enough involves another hostage (of another species this time, though), high-tech gadgets and more mayhem :)

Artemis has changed, but only a little: he still is a willful 12-year-old criminal, intelligent, very rich and intent on having his way no matter what. Despite his opposition, his mother sent him to a boarding school, and he is there when he receives a message telling him that his supposedly dead father is very much alive, and held for ransom by the Russian Mafia. Ironically enough, this time Artemis will need the help of the fairyfolk to rescue his father. The problem is that most of them detest him, especially his former hostage Captain Holly Short. How will Artemis solve this "little" inconvenient?.

As if that problem weren't big enough, there is also another little matter that must be taken into account: the goblin attempt to dominate the fairyworld, with human help. Throw in a lot of deceit, some violence and a certain amount of espionage, stir, and you will have an explosive situation that Artemis must worry about because... how can the fairies help him, even if they wanted to, if they face an overthrow of their government by violent means?.

All in all, I think your kids are highly likely to love this book (that's essential), and you won't die of boredom if you read it to them (hey, that's very important too). Recommended!!!

Belen Alcat

"The Arctic Incident" gives fans of Eoin Colfer's smash mega-hit "Artemis Fowl" more to savor. More witty writing, more sarcastic characters, more over-the-top action, and more of everyone's favorite 13-year old criminal mastermind.

Set essentially a year after the first novel, Artemis is chafing from getting one of his heart's desires -- the return of his beloved mother's sanity. Who wouldn't rather have their mom lucid rather than delusional? Not Artemis, even though her return to normalcy has wiped out Artemis' beloved autonomy. So young Artemis opens the novel in boarding school with a hilarious encounter with an overmatched guidance counselor. (Really -- how much guidance does a criminal mastermind need?)

A counseling session is cut short when a ransom email arrives, hinting that Artemis' departed (and presumed, by many, to be dead) father is alive in the Russian Arctic. Young Artemis instantly commences a rescue mission . . . a rescue mission with a vengeance, to be sure.

But this would not be an "Artemis Fowl" novel without the faerie world. Our heroes, Captain Holly Short and Commander Root are back, as is the centaur computer genius Foaly, uncover what appears to be a goblin plot to smuggle contraband weapons. And this plot has a more sinister intent, one hidden even from the goblins . . .

And what else would an escaped dwarf thief, Mulch, do besides hang out in Los Angeles, stealing Academy Awards?

In many ways, none of the characters have changed. Short is still a derring-do pilot and field agent. Root is still in a perpetual fury. Butler, the bodyguard, is back, with a penchant for cracking skulls. Foaly is still as caustic as he is brilliant. And so on and so forth.

Outlandish plot twists, fueled by Colfer's astounding imagination, keep the pages turning fast and furious. Will the goblins be thwarted? Will Artemis save his father? Will the ultimate villain be caught?

Count on losing several hours of sleep as you read "just one more chapter." Count on laughing out loud at brilliant dialogue and terrible puns. And count on reading "The Arctic Incident" again.

Enjoy!

1. Artemis fowl is a boy prodigy who lives in a mansion.Since his father's recent dissaperence Artemis was forced to grow up w/o a dad. But there might still be some hope to save his father. Will he be able to save his father or will his father die? Find out By steping into the world of Artemis Fowl.

2. I really liked this book. My Favorite part is when Artemis got an e-mail from the kidnappers.It excited me so. 3. the irony was when Artemis had shot his father in the arm. 4. I would reccomend this book to people who like fantasy.

Artemis Fowl is about a boy searching for his father who was kidnapped by the Mafiya after a shipwreck. While looking for his father, Artemis was stopped by the LEP (fairy police). The LEP believed Artemis was working with the goblins to defeat them by giving them softnose lasers. After detirmining that Artemis was not involved with the softnose laser incident, he and LEP worked together to stop the goblins and save his father. While they were gone a war began and Opal Koboi (the maker of LEP's weapons) who was behind the whole plot with the goblins turned off LEP's weapons (the goblins started to shoot at Artemis and members of the LEP who were with him). Meanwhile at LEP headquarters it was complete chaos and everyone was hiding wherever they could.

I liked the book Artemis Fowl because it was full of adventure and surprises. I also liked it because I like books with war or rescuing. I think other people would like to read this book it is very good and exciting. I would highly recommend to read this book. It was good for people who like different creatures.

I read the first book maybe a couple of years ago, in my own langauage (Spanish) and I tried to find it translated until I learned that the prints runned off the shelves. Well, then, let's read in its original language.

But definetly I was not prepared for the richness of the novel, yes, it goes beyond a fairy tale; Mr. Colfer has gone to a different level with this book, which I would not recommend to those who cannot think "out of their boxes" and pretend to read these books the way they would read Tin Tin or any other children literature; at some point I found a very bitter review sayin that this is not a children's book (and compared it to Harry Potter) what can I say is that this kind of book, definetly recquires more maturity for its reading than just a couple of words (I am also a big fan of the Potter stories) it is just that comparing it to another book is what people do mostly instead of discovering the greatness among the pages and the great texture of the characters

I definetly recomend all the saga to all readers that are looking for a smart story, very well writen and with that fantastic Irish sense of humor, and of course, the great sense of nature-loving feelings that Mr. Colfer inherits to Artemis

Many of us may find fairies suitable only for those reality-denial people, but, just think, what if...??

Edmundo

Mexico City

I really liked this book it was filled with action and had a great plot. I loved how child-genius Artemis Fowl slowly began to change from evil to practically a friend.

Artemis is in the middle of having a psychologist interrogate him when he gets a phone call from Butler. Artemis hurries out and finds out that had been sent a video of his father tied to a chair in the middle of a snowstorm. He has been kidnapped be the Russian mafia!! Artemis knows he has to do something to save him, before the Russians decide to get rid of him in a different way other than handing him over to his Irish family. But Butler, being a giant Eurasian bodyguard who did a lot of things (probably mostly illegal) before he became Artemis bodyguard 13 years ago, knows a lot about kidnapping negotiations. He says that the mafia will take the money but they're not going to let the hostage or the family live to tell about them. You know what that means. So the only way Artemis can see of rescuing him is to get the help of the underground fairy people who also need his genius help to defeat Opal Koboi and Brior Cudgeon with their army of goblins as they try to overthrow the LEP. So for once Artemis, Butler, Holly, Mulch, Foaly, and Commander Root are all on the same team. Along the way Artemis saves Holly, his father, and the whole fairy population (with the help of his strong, dependable, companion Butler of course) What makes it all worse is that the whole goblin uprising was blamed on Foaly on the whim of Opal who detests the centaur.

I loved this story and how Artemis conquered his lack of respect for other people and realized that he is not the only important person in the world. And Holly helps him to discover he has some good in him and he needs to show it more often. The Arctic Incident was great and was filled with heart stopping action, devious plots, framing, and a lot of horrible bodily functions from Mulch, who has become attached to Artemis (and vice versia). This book also had a lot of Eion Colfer's sarcastic humor that helps to make the books so irrisistable. I would give this book 100 stars if it was possible.

This is the second book in the series, still an amazing book like the first one. We come back to everyone's favorite child mastermind, Artemis Fowl, but things are different this time.

Taking one year after the first book, we find young Artemis at a school in Ireland. He soon receives an email, showing a small, unclear footage of a man who appears to be his own father, who has been missing and presumed dead for many years of his life. At the same time a crisis is happening underground in the complex fairy cities, where a goblin gang is making attacks against the city, and surprising the LEPrecon with their clever tactics, tactics that are much too clever for goblins. Captain Holly Short returns to meet up with Artemis and his butler, but this time to join forces, instead of plotting each others death.

The book is still filled with plot twists, action, adventure, mystery, and even some comedy all thrown together into one book by the author Eoin Colfer. I highly (highly!) suggest reading this book. It is a well written book, and especially if you like fantasy novels, this is a book that all ages can enjoy.

-Tim F.

The book I read Artimis Fowl the Arctic Incident, By: Eoin Colfer. Some of the main characters were (and there is quite a lot): Artemis Fowl, Butler, Foaly, Commander Root, Captin Holly Short, Opal, and Mulch Diggms. I highly recommend this book to other people. This book has a lot of funny parts, but still retains its excitement and adventure. I liked thes book because it was intense and calm with a lot of fantasy at some points in the book, but its always awsome.

The best part of the book was when Mulch told Artemis to squeeze his big toe to launch a BIG fart at a goblin commander. There were no bad points in the book that I didn't like. Artimis Fowl the Arctic Incident is the second book in its series. I would rate this book 10/10.

This book was amazing. Artemis Fowl was the smartest boy in any book. The plots and schemes always went with a thrilling time. I recommend that you should read this thrilling story.