The Opal Deception (Artemis Fowl, Book 4) (Hardcover)

~ (Author) "The J. Argon Clinic was not a state hospital..." (more)
Key Phrases: Opal Koboi, Artemis Fowl, Miss Koboi (more...)

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.

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

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Young Adult
  
• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Miramax (April 4, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786852895
• ISBN-13: 978-0786852895
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.9 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (202 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #48,216 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #18 in	Books > Teens > Mysteries
  #23 in	Books > Children's Books > Authors & Illustrators, A-Z > ( C ) > Colfer, Eoin

• This is item 4 in The Artemis Fowl Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

107 of 112 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 (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

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.

44 of 48 people found the following review helpful:

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

By	Amanda Richards "Modest to the extreme" (Georgetown, Guyana) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

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	A-M (Near D.C., USA) - See all my reviews

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!!