Customer Reviews

The Arctic Incident (Artemis Fowl, Book Two)

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

In the previous story of Artemis Fowl, we have a boy with a sick mother and a lost (presumed dead) father. The family happens to have a history of thievery, and Artemis takes advantage of his position in the most peculiar way: by going after Irish myths, which just so happen to contain a certain amount of truth. One of which is the existence of elves and "LEPrecon" gold. Things didn't go the way he had hoped, but in the end, Artemis was victorious.

Story overview:

Artemis is a year older and a little wiser. In fact, for a thirteen-year-old, his IQ has no equal, but he is still a child and the desire to find his father continues to burn. One day, while frustrating the school's psychologist, Artemis receives a call from Butler, his faithful body guard and closest friend. Artemis learns that his father was captured by the Russian Mafia and is being held for ransom.

Thankfully for Artemis, several leagues underground, the LEPrecon is experiencing troubles of their own when goblins show up with outlawed weapons. Captain Holly Short suspects Artemis as their supplier, but soon discovers his innocence. The situation puts Artemis in a good position to offer aid to the LEPrecon in return for their help with his father.

Things go from bad to worse as the true minds behind the attacks are discovered by Foaly--the intelligent centaur in charge of technology--but a little too late, as Foaly is setup to take the blame for the incident. With help from the dwarf, Mulch Diggums; Artemis; Commander Julius Root; and Butler, put away their differences to try and save the Lower Elements and Artemis's father.

My thoughts:

I was surprised that I actually liked this book better than the first one. The story took on an entirely different plot scheme from the last novel, and was even more exciting. Both are page turners and worthy of a good mention. I will for sure be putting the third novel on my list of must reads. As of now, a seventh book is scheduled to be released on July 20, 2010, so I have some catching up to do.

Things to consider:

There is very little I would consider questionable in this book. Safely share this with your twelve-year-old, teens, and even your peers. Enjoyable for all ages.

James D. Maxon

Author of, [...]

Manga and speculative fiction reviewer:
[...]

Irish criminal mastermind Artemis Fowl has discovered a fairy race underground. He has extorted gold from them and the fairy police- LEPrecon
have been on his tail ever since for supplying power cells to the Goblin gangs. This thread continues from the previous book on 'Artemis Fowl'.

But that's not the half of it. The Russian Mafia are holding Artemis's father to ransom in the Arctic Circle. On top of that - an evil pixie plans the destruction of the fairy civilization, and Artemis realizes that even a wicked genius needs help sometimes. They can come from the most unlikely places...

Colfer made this story fast, humorous and very exciting. From mind-wipers to laser guns through battery-powered crafts and anti-radiation suits, it makes gadgets from James Bond's Q look like child's play.

I like the futuristic gadgetry that Colfer invented; it gave me a rather cool imagination of how these new weapons could come to use. For example, there are 2 types of mind-wipes, 1. that wipes out any previous events 2. wipes out the total memory; Neutrino 3000, is a laser gun that vaporizes stuff .. and so on.

I'd highly recommend this book to kids and teens who have a vast imagination, like in cartoons, and action packed story with genius twists. Read on, but things are about to get frosty!

-Prithvi VI, Edison, New Jersey

Deep in a wintry lake in Russia lies a freighter with tons of cargo along with the multi-millionaire Mr. Fowl, Artemis' father. With no warning at all, the back of the freighter is blown to parts. In a matter of minutes, the ship sinks taking everyone with it, including Mr. Fowl. Back in Ireland everyone thinks that Artemis' dad is dead, but Artemis still senses that his dad is still out there. So he calls up an old friend: Captain Holly Short. She has her own problems though. Someone is supplying the goblins with AA batteries to power one of the most powerful weapons underground. The worst part, the goblins are planning a full-blown attack on the underground city of Haven. Here's the fishy part though, the goblins aren't even smart enough to turn on a light switch. Holly knows that someone else is behind this, but who? Will Artemis ever find his father? Will the magical creatures stop the goblin attack on Haven? Read the book to find out! Second book in the series. I highly recommend it!

The evil boy-genius criminal mastermind is at his evilest at the start of this funny and action-packed story. However, in Artemis' search for his father his heart does warm. A little bit. So does that of his fairy-cop enemy, Holly. A little bit.

The Arctic Incident is the second novel of the Artemis Fowl series which starts with Artemis Fowl, where I have a longer review. The series should be read in order.

Artemis Fowl is set on an estate outside the city of Dublin, Ireland and in Arctic Russia. At the beginning of the book, it is made clear that Artemis' beliefs that his father, Artemis Fowl Senior, a wealthy Irish crime lord, was alive, is correct. When his ship, the Fowl Star, sank in his attempt to bring 250,000 cans of soda to the Russians, Artemis Fowl Sr. was found alive and has been held prisoner for the past two years by the Russian Mafia. At the beginning, the Mafia has decided that it is time to negotiate a ransom for Artemis Senior. The price is very high and the deal is under a time limit. This would not be a problem except just as Artemis is ready to get going; he is kidnapped by "The People" a race of fairies living underground. It seems that members of the goblin's secret organization, B'wa Kell, have been found with human sources. Since goblins are basically idiots, it becomes clear that someone not remotely related to a goblin is operating the fiendish scheme. Artemis is immediately blamed and is taken prisoner by Holly Short (Holly Short, a captain of the LEPrecon (Lower Elemental Police Reconnaissance) an elite force trained in dealing with the "Mud People" (humans) along with his trusty bodyguard, Butler. After it becomes clear that Artemis is innocent, they are recruited to locate and demolish the goblins connection in exchange for their services in gaining the release of Artemis Senior. Working under enormous time pressure, their task is accomplished, but when Holly and her superior Commander Root, set out to fulfill their part of the bargain, a takeover occurs underground in the land of "the People." Foaly, the tech expert, who is also a centaur, is accused of heading up the revolution. Holly, Julius, Foaly, Artemis Jr., and Butler race against time to save The People from an evil dictator and save the life of Artemis Senior.
I highly recommend this book for anyone who likes an interesting book that you just cant seem to put down once started

I didn't discover the delight that is the Artemis Fowl series until a week ago, when I read Artemis Fowl (Artemis Fowl, Book 1) in one day. So, of course, I had to pick up a copy of THE ARCTIC INCIDENT right away, to see if it was as good as the first. It definitely is, and in my own humble opinion, I think I liked it even better than the first book. There are points throughout the book where Artemis, now thirteen, shows a softer, more vulnerable side that I truly enjoyed. Don't get me wrong, he's still an evil genius, but he's an evil genius with heart, and you can't help but love him.

Now that Angeline Fowl is out of her depression, thanks to some fairy magic from Captain Holly Short, she's sent Artemis back to Saint Bartelby's School for Young Gentlemen in Ireland. Artemis is having quite a large amount of fun flumoxing the school's counselor, Dr. Po, when he gets an urgent message from Butler, his bodyguard/butler/majordomo--it seems that Artemis Fowl the First is alive in Russia, being held for ransom by the Russian Mafiya.

Young Artemis, of course, immediately sets out to devise a scheme to rescue his father. It's been almost two years since Artemis Senior was last heard from, and his son is most eager to bring him home. Before he can work out a devious scheme, though, he's visited by none other than Captain Short and her superior, Commander Root, and brought down to Haven City and into Police Plaza. It seems the goblin triad, the B'Wa Kell, have a human counterpart aiding in their smuggling, and Artemis the Second is, quite justly I believe, suspected of being that human.

The fairies soon realize, however, that this time Artemis Fowl isn't the bad guy in this problem. But now they'd like Artemis and Butler's help in figuring out who is behind the allaince between the goblins and the Mud Men--and Artemis is quite willing to help them out, in exchange for the fairies help in rescuing his father.

What follows is an action-packed story of good versus evil below ground, with deceptions, backstabbing, and revenge taking center stage. As Holly, Root, Butler, and Artemis race to save Haven City from being destroyed, some of the same characters from the first book make appearances--Foaly, Mulch Diggums, Cudgeon, and Captain Trouble. There's also a new foe in THE ARCTIC INCIDENT, Opal Koboi, to be dealt with.

I highly recommend the ARTEMIS FOWL series to anyone and everyone. Highly enjoyable, thoroughly entertaining, and not soon forgotten.

Artemis, the child genius criminal, is back in his second book. His mother has been restored to health (in the first book) and now he learns that his father might still be alive and a hostage of the Russian Mafiya.

Artemis puts his brains to work to rescue his father but is interrupted when he himself is kidnaped by Holly Short for interfering with Fairy business.

Well, Artemis is quickly cleared of the charges and a deal is struck. Artemis will help Holly track down who is really trafficking with the goblins in return for help rescuing his father. Sounds easy enough. But there are plenty of plot complications thrown into the mix before each side manages to square the deal.

This is quite a different book from the first one. When we were first introduced to Artemis, he was a criminal mastermind. But now we see a different side to him as he quests for his father, helps out the underground fairy population and experiences much of life that privilege has shielded from him. He is a much more likeable character now but possibly not as interesting. Still, the plot is tight and the action fast. Four-hundred pages flew by quite quickly. Not quite the same as the first, but I still recommend it.

Once again an evil plot threatens the magical world, and once again Artemis Fowl is being blamed. Only this time - he's innocent. Will this business keep Artemis from the time critical rescue of his father? Can the magical world be saved?

The Arctic Incident adds a welcomed level of depth to the people, fairies, dwarfs, etc . . . that we met in the first book. Bathroom humor, swearing in fairy, and severe injuries are at much the same level in this book as the first, but this one also contains non-graphic killing. Overall an enjoyable read and a step up from the first book in the series.

With tons of comparisons to Harry Potter when the series first came out, Artemis Fowl is a companion to Harry Potter only in that it features a young adult protagonist and magic to an extent. The rest of the series is vastly different, in a far more modern (perhaps even slightly futuristic) world with a surprisingly charismatic antihero. This reader was late to the Artemis Fowl bandwagon, and perhaps that is best as the rest of the series for several books waits ahead with the new book in the series (supossidly the second to last one) newly released.

This time the elaborate heist for a specific goal that Artemis had set up in the first novel has come to fruition in this sequel, the search for his missing father. Long declared dead by the rest of the world, Artemis refuses to give up hope that Fowl Sr is still alive and out there somewhere. Perhaps being held captive by enemies of the Fowl criminal empire. In this Fowl would be right, only this time it's the Russian Mafya, holding a ransom for Fowl. Knowing fully well of a trap being laid for him and his Father, Artemis plans on rescuing his father with his unstoppable tank like bodyguard Butler. Going on in a sub plot in the Fairy world, Goblins of the B'wa Kell are armed with weapons far more advanced and banned in the underground fairy world. Incapable of larger organization even at the smallest level (goblins are hideously stupid) the LEPrecon force smells a larger plot at hand and they would be right. Our favorite LEPrecon Captain Holly Short suspects her old nemesis Artemis Fowl is behind the plot at large, but would she be right? In this Colfer is a master at handling to separate sub plots without detracting from the first to give leeway to the other. Managing to set up several threads in different scenes, Colfer's writing is at its' simplest and highest here. Descriptions are evident enough to give us a clear picture of what is happening at large in the scene without overly elaborate prose, his dialogue is made for action and manages to keep the reader at the edge of the seat.

This reader read the book in a manner of three days (allowing real life concerns to get in the way of reading of course). But over a weekend or even on a vacation the book goes by fast while still being full of mettle. Colfer brings back old favorites, Mulch Diggums, the centaur Foaly, even Captain Root gets in on the action, while also introducing new ones in the nemesis of Opal Koboi. In this one Fowl himself is far more humanistic and approachable, less the cold hearted, unrelatable villain that made the character hard to support in the first novel. In this one we see Artemis as a super bright, genius, desperate young man that he really is. A child at heart who is desperate for his family to return to some sense of normalcy. Forced to work together in harsh circumstances the characters are portrayed at their best. The one fault of the novel would perhaps be, the distant figure of Fowl Sr. We as readers have little idea what the man was like while he was with Artemis and while we obviously want the character to return as the protagonist does being he's his father, we know nothing of the man himself. What he was like, perhaps the novel could have been interspersed with flashbacks of Fowl Sr. Just to give the reader a better idea as to what the man himself is like. While the new villainess Opal is purported to be a genius akin to Fowl, it's hard to get a sense of her. Seeming more like a floating victim rather then the criminal mastermind we are supposed to believe she is. Though very clever and able to be one step ahead of the "heroes" she seems surprisingly uneven and appears at times to be surprisingly naive, hopefully this is Colfer showing a major weakness to who will undoubtedly be a major villain later.

Colfer's Artemis Fowl, the second novel in the Artemis Fowl series is the most entertaining so far and this reader eagerly awaits more.

Artemis Fowl 2 was a book I never got bored of. Every part in the book was so interesting, i found myself reading this book in a couple of hours. This book was much better than the first plot-wise. The plot was more gripping. The villains were ok, but not better than the first. I love a series when the sequel to book 1 is a hit. Great book. I suggest a must read for all.