The Opal Deception (Artemis Fowl, Book 4) [Audiobook, Unabridged] [Audio CD]

Eoin Colfer (Author), Nathaniel Parker (Reader)

Book Description

Age Level: 10 and up | Grade Level: 5 and up | Series: Artemis Fowl

Criminal mastermind Artemis Fowl is back...and so is his cunning enemy, Opal Kobol. At the start of the fourth adventure, Artemis has returned to his unlawful ways. He's in Berlin, perparing to steal a famous impressionist painting from a German bank. He has no idea that his old rival, Opal, has escaped from prison by cloning herself. She's left her double behind in jail and, now free, is exacting her revenge on all those who put her there, including Artemis.

Meanwhile in the lower elements, Opal has planted a trap for Captain Holly Short and Commander Root of the LEPrecon fairy police--Root is killed, and Holly is framed for the murder. Instead of staying around to defend herseld, Holly rushes to the surface to warn Artemis. But before Holly and Artemis can get away, Opal arrives and abducts them both. Artemis is faced with a world he does not believe in and an enemy with an infernal plan to destroy this world forever.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 5-7 -Identity fraud is at the heart of this fourth book in the series. To all appearances, Opal Koboi, pixie and archenemy of the fairies, is under close surveillance as she lies in a coma. Artemis Fowl, the brilliant 14-year-old criminal mastermind, has had his mind wiped clean of all knowledge of fairies, and, therefore, of all prior goodness he has learned. When the real Opal escapes and leaves behind a DNA-perfect clone of herself, her revenge against all those who opposed her commences with deadly fury. Among the barrage of high-tech gadgets and continuous action sequences and plot twists are moments that give even Artemis Fowl pause as he contemplates friendship, responsibility, and death. The prose is clunky and the characters speak in clichés, but those who enjoyed the earlier books won't care. The humor (heavily dosed with flatulence jokes) and creativity carry the narrative through the tight spots and impossible situations.-Farida S. Dowler, Mercer Island Library, WA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

Gr. 6-9. The fourth book in the Artemis Fowl saga follows The Eternity Code (2003), in which Artemis' mind was wiped clean of any memories of the belowground world of elves, pixies, and dwarves. In this book, Artemis has reverted to his old life of crime. His archenemy, Opal Koboi, has been in a self-induced coma for a year, plotting revenge on all who thwarted her earlier evil doings. After cloning herself, she escapes and sets her plans in motion, going first to find LEPrecon Captain Holly Short and Commander Root, then taking on Artemis as she schemes to destroy the fairy world. As in all the books, this one has plenty of action as well as great humor and clever plot manipulations. Characters are once again fully realized, and fans will eagerly enter into the spirit of the action. Sally Estes
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Audio CD
• Publisher: Listening Library (Audio); Unabridged edition (April 26, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 030724332X
• ISBN-13: 978-0307243324
• Product Dimensions: 5.3 x 1.2 x 5.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (211 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #415,497 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Eoin Colfer (pronounced Owen) is the New York Times best-selling author
of the blockbuster Artemis Fowl series as well as Airman; Half Moon
Investigations; The Supernaturalist; Eoin Colfer's Legend of... books;
The Wish List; Benny and Omar; and Benny and Babe. He was born in
Wexford on the southeast coast of Ireland in 1965, where he and his four
brothers were brought up by his father (an elementary school teacher,
historian and artist of note) and mother (a drama teacher). He first
developed an interest in writing in primary (elementary) school with
gripping Viking stories inspired by history that he was learning in
school at the time.

Eoin got his degree from Dublin University and qualified as a primary
school teacher, returning to work in Wexford. He married in 1991 and he
and his wife spent about 4 years between 1992 and 1996 working in Saudi
Arabia, Tunisia and Italy. His first book, Benny and Omar, was published
in 1998, based on his experiences in Tunisia; it has since been
translated into many languages; a sequel followed in 1999. In 2001, the
first Artemis Fowl book was published worldwide to much success -
shortly thereafter he left teaching to concentrate fully on his writing.
To this day, Eoin has written 6 Artemis Fowl books which have sold over
12 million copies worldwide.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

109 of 115 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best of the series? But more still to come!, April 23, 2005

By 

bensmomma "bensmomma" (Ann Arbor, Michigan) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Opal Deception (Artemis Fowl, Book 4) (Hardcover)

If it were not for the occasional appearance of Mulch Diggums, the dwarf with f*rts so explosive they can propel him safely from an underwater submarine all the way up to the surface of the ocean, the adult reader would find this the equal of any thriller written for adult eyes.

In the present volume, the evil child genius Artemis Fowl has forgotten all about his friends the fairies, and is occupied stealing a famous painting from a bank vault in true Mission-Impossible style. His triumph is interrupted by his archenemy pixie Opal Koboi, who has a plot (perhaps this won't surprise you) to destroy the world. Without giving away any of the rapid-fire plot developments, let's just say that Artemis, accompanied by Holly Short the intrepid LEPrechaun, Foaly the tech-wizard centaur, Artemis' bodyguard Butler, and the strangely compelling Mulch, fouls her plans (ok, sorry).

The intriguing list of gadgets and devices author Eoin Colfer employs to move the plot forward includes: cloning, creatures who shed their entire skin and use it later as a disguise in a prison break, retinal imaging, 100 million tons of molten iron, heat-seeking missiles, spacesuits with helmets that carry biometric information back to the center of the earth, handguns that bond with their owners, etc.

The ending promises a change for Holly, but a future with lots of Mulch and Artemis in it - and possibly some romance in later volumes.

The excitement, pace, and humor would be precisely like the best PG-13 thriller you will see at the movie theatre this summer, were it not for the fact that many of the characters are fairies, pixies, trolls, and dwarfs. And just like those movies, a few parents will wish there were less, well, military hardware in this series. A few of the more humorless moms will wish there were fewer f*rts. If those things don't bother you, you should not let the kids keep it to themselves; it's a great fun read for all ages.

45 of 49 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars She's ba-aaaack, May 2, 2005

By 

Amanda Richards (Georgetown, Guyana) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: The Opal Deception (Artemis Fowl, Book 4) (Hardcover)

There's a sinister plot afoot to expose the fairy world, but who could be behind it? Surely not the most dangerous pixie criminal of all time? Opal Koboi has been in a coma for almost a year, and is in a secure mental institution under constant guard, yet as the title reveals, Opal has quite an arsenal up her virtual sleeve, and a hit list for revenge.

Systematically and coldly carrying out her calculated plan, Opal leads her arch enemies at the LEPrecon police into a trap, and only instincts and pure dumb luck can save Captain Holly Short this time.

Artemis has had his brain wiped after his last fairy encounter, and has returned to a life of crime, but with niggling undercurrents of niceness that even he can't explain. Suddenly, just as he succeeds in stealing a valuable painting, his world gets ripped from under him, as the fairy world collides unceremoniously with his own.

Lots of action in this one, weapons, trolls, gadgets, magic and Mulch, and Artemis needs all his cunning and the retrieval of his memories if he wants to survive. It's his most physically demanding role yet, but he has to be at his strongest to match minds with Opal.

You should really read books one to three before attempting this one, but you won't regret it for a second.

Amanda Richards, May 3, 2005

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars D'Arvit! Awesome!, March 30, 2005

By 

Anne-Marie Gilliland (Near D.C., USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Opal Deception (Artemis Fowl, Book 4) (Hardcover)

I just finished reading this fabulous book, completely unexpectedly, as I had no idea a new one was on the way. Very pleasant surprise to say the least. As usual the characters in this are fantastic!! We don't get as much from some of my favorites, like Foaly and Butler as we have in previous books, but they are still very strong presences. Colfer does a great job of telling one moment in time from various view points so the reader is always in the know (as much as anyone can be in regards to a criminal mastermind like Artemis Fowl, that is)

(Spoiler warning)

It does sadly have a character death, though it was handled very well. Artemis' thoughts and insights are great, and he and Holly share their special chemistry even with him not having his memories for most of the book. The last little blip in the book, an 'article' seems to promise alot more from my favorite 'reformed' child-mastermind, and the next book will be taking the characters in very different directions, it seems, than they have been traveling in the previous books. Not just the reformed Artemis, but Holly as well--and in some degree together.

Awesome read!!