Artemis Fowl: The Lost Colony by Eoin Colfer

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One hundred centuries ago, humans and fairies battled in a fierce turf war. When the fairies realized that their struggle was futile, they tucked ethereal tail and retreated underground. Only the demons lingered above, plotting to regroup and resume the attack against humans. But their plot went asunder and these would-be revolters wound up in Limbo, where they stewed for 10,000 years. The spell that holds them, though, is degrading; threatening the perilous peace. Only Artemis Fowl, teenage criminal mastermind, and his old comrade, Captain Holly Short, stand between his people and a violent demonic invasion.

From the Publisher

Ten thousand years ago, humans and fairies fought a great battle for the magical island of Ireland. When it became clear to the fairy families that they could never win, they decided to move their civilization underground and keep themselves hidden from the humans. All the fairy families agreed on this, except the 8th family, the demons.

The demons planned to lift their small island out of time until they had regrouped and were ready to wage war on the humans once more. However the time spell went wrong, and the island of Hybras was catapulted into Limbo, where it has remained for ten thousand years.

Now, the tainted time spell is deteriorating and demons are being sucked back into the present space and time. The fairy Council is naturally concerned about this and is monitoring any materializations. When the spell's deterioration accelerates, the materializations become unpredictable. Even the fairy scientists cannot figure out where the next demon will pop up. 

But someone can. Artemis Fowl, teenage criminal mastermind has solved temporal equations that no normal human should be intelligent enough to understand. So when a confused and frightened demon pops up in a Sicilian theatre, Artemis Fowl is there to meet him. Unfortunately, he is not the only one. A second, mysterious party has also solved the temporal equations, and has managed to abduct the demon before Artemis can secure him.

This is a disaster for the fairy people, as this demon was no ordinary fairy. He was the last demon warlock, the one who held the key to the survival of the entire demon race.

It is up to Artemis and his old comrade, Captain Holly Short, to track down the missingdemon and rescue him, before the time spell dissolves completely and the lost demon colony returns violently to Earth.

Children's Literature

Eoin Colfer has many gifts, but the invention of memorable characters must be near the top of the list. Artimis Fowl was great to begin with—a wealthy twelve-year-old criminal genius capable of kidnap, extortion, theft, and much worse; in fact he was capable of anything at all if it would help to restore his mother to sanity. Now fourteen years old and in the throws of puberty he finally discovers an intellect comparable to his own. The bad news is: the comparable intellect is competing with him. Worse, it is a girl. Worse still, she is pretty, French, just about the right age and, most important, she needs him. Add to that Holly Short, the streetwise elf cop; Butler, the supreme master of all martial arts; and a wonderful proto-demon warlock who is in love with the English language, and the stage is set. But that is only the stage. What follows is complex and convoluted and enormous fun. Lyrics from the opera Norma sneak into a demon's monologue, kids make neutrino jokes, and readers have a great time. This is the kind of book kids take to bed with a flashlight. It kept me up till two.

VOYA

Artemis Fowl, now fourteen, is facing one of his toughest challenges: puberty. After espying a demon materialize in Spain, young Fowl correctly theorizes that the demon world is beginning to unravel and that the demons might begin to appear suddenly in the human world. After a series of complicated calculations, Artemis and his beloved manservant Butler sweep off to Sicily to see if his next demon appearance prediction is correct. At an opera in Sicily, to Artemis's delight, No. 1, a young imp (a demon who has not "warped") shows up suddenly on stage. Unluckily though for Artemis, another young genius, the very intelligent and attractive Minerva Paradizo, is also there to collect the imp. When Paradizo takes off with his prize, Artemis retaliates and decides to break into Chateau Paradizo to claim the imp and try to steal back No. 1, who unbeknownst to both Artemis and Minerva holds the secret that could save both worlds. This fifth installment in the Artemis Fowl series is a hilarious and rollicking adventure sure to satisfy fans of the series and delight new readers as well. Artemis's character has long evolved from his introduction into the series; at fourteen he is turning over a new leaf and developing increasingly into a mature character whose deeds are more admirable and less criminal. Fast-paced, funny, and wholly enjoyable, the book is an action-packed thrill ride through fantastic worlds and a must-have for every library collection.

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