Advance Booking

DEMONIC CHARMS

I jumped straight to Book 5 in the series, not because I didn't get Book 2, but I like reading a series in mixed-up order. It gives you a sense of what lies ahead, and also lets you see if the author has retained the magic touch which initially drew you to his books.


Artemis Fowl and the Lost Colony finds Artemis interested in demons, the eighth family of fairies. Demons are trapped in limbo on their island of Hybras, but the spell holding the island in its state of timelessness is deteriorating, and demons are popping up here and there. Holly Short is sent to find out how much he knows, and before you know it, all of them are swept up in an adventure to protect the demons.


This book is different from the first in the sense that there is a lot of magic in the book. I missed the gadgetry of the first book. The plot is also a bit hurried near the end, with a lot of events tumbling over each other. But it's enjoyable, fun. A good thing is that Colfer doesn't follow a tried and tested formula, there is no background which you have to know, so that leaves room to experiment with the story. We meet a lot of new characters, but I missed Root's bluster quite a lot. In this book, Artemis also has competition, in the form of Minerva Paradizo, an equally brilliant child prodigy who is after the demon as well. She gives Artemis an intellectual challenge, and stirs his adolescent side as well. I saw a different side of Artemis: he didn't do things just to attain his goal, but to help others, showing a maturing in his personality. But somehow I preferred the self-centred boy to this do-gooder teenager. His crystal-cool demeanor and his sharp brain are as good as ever, and the solutions he finds to the various crises are well created. I liked this book, thought it was a nice read as I plow through Midnight's Children (I am determined to finish that book, hopefully before August).


Have you read this instalment in the Artemis series? What did you think about it?