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i'm just gonna go ahead and say it...
Dec. 27th, 2009 10:29 ami fucking love artemis fowl. this has been a fact about me for a long time. but i'm currently reading the newest book of eoin colfer's brilliant series. i don't how many of you on my f-list have read artemis fowl, but i really suggest you do so if you haven't. i read the first four books when i was in high school, and the fifth came out the year after i graduated. the sixth came out a few months ago, this one's called the time paradox
can i just say that this book is fantastic? i remember so clearly why i liked the series so fucking much as a teen.
when i was growing up, i was very precocious in my reading. i read quite a lot as a child. i'd started reading chapter-length books by the time i was 6 or 7. everything from animal farm at the age 8, to go ask alice when i was 10. summer sisters and the pigman when i was 11 or 12, owen meany when i was 13. i began reading fanfiction when i was 11 simply because i was sick and tired of reading the crap that was geared toward my age group. when i was in elementary school, i was expected to enjoy the babysitter's club and sweet valley high, when in actuality i thought these series were incredibly dumb and uninteresting. because i was such an avid reader, i put up with them anyway. i mean, i read everything i could get my hands on. as long as i understood the language and the concepts fairly well, i'd read it.
it was, therefore, an absolute joy when harry potter came into being. an intelligent book about a world of magic where the main characters are smart cookies, exploring the world around them and eventually moving on to save that world? my perfect cup of tea.
artemis fowl?
yet another breath of fresh air. artemis, for those of you who don't know, is - when the story begins - a twelve year-old boy genius with a dwindling fortune and a very strong, capable bodyguard at his beck and call. his father is missing, his mother is slowly going mad. in an effort to secure better funds so that he can go on an expedition to russia to save his father (the second book's adventure), he captures a fairy called holly, who hails from haven, the magical underworld that co-exists with our own. the books chronicle artemis and holly's various adventures; at first they are adversaries, but eventually they become grudgingly respectful of each other. but perhaps... there's more between them than meets the eye? the series has some wonderful supporting characters: butler, who is kind-hearted and funny, his sister juliet, strong and bitchin', foaly the centaur, who is a technical whiz, and commander julius root, who is endearingly harsh on holly in an effort to make her into the best LEPrecon [see that? genius!] officer on the map - the first fairy woman accepted to the force).
the dialogue of this series is fresh and funny, smart and non-patronizing. the narrative is.... i don't even know how to explain how impeccable the narrative is. the narrator is practically a character itself, beautifully describing the surrounding setting and revealing the characters' motivations and thoughts to the reader in a truly effective way. finally, the plot itself? always complex, thrilling, and brilliant.
in short, eoin colfer is a bloody spectacular writer, and as i read this book now, i can't help but feel a bit like i'm in high school again (in a good way). i'm reading a book that i CAN'T. PUT. DOWN. i'm reading a book that makes me laugh out loud and tear up a little bit, cheer in joy or cry out in dismay. this is a GREAT novel.
so if you're ever looking for a literary treat, give this one a try. it may be fantasy, it may deal with things you have little interest in, but the writing is an absolute dream, and the story is very compelling. you really should read it.
go. read. i promise you won't be disappointed.
(as an aside, colfer also has a brilliant way of showing how our existence is fucking up the entire planet. there's a fascinating, genius commentary in and amongst this story on the environment and the pollution of it by "Mud Men" as we're called. it's subtle, and it's effective.)
(as one last aside, this book has captured my heart in a way very few have. something has happened in the series that i was convinced colfer would never write. so, life is good!!!!!)
can i just say that this book is fantastic? i remember so clearly why i liked the series so fucking much as a teen.
when i was growing up, i was very precocious in my reading. i read quite a lot as a child. i'd started reading chapter-length books by the time i was 6 or 7. everything from animal farm at the age 8, to go ask alice when i was 10. summer sisters and the pigman when i was 11 or 12, owen meany when i was 13. i began reading fanfiction when i was 11 simply because i was sick and tired of reading the crap that was geared toward my age group. when i was in elementary school, i was expected to enjoy the babysitter's club and sweet valley high, when in actuality i thought these series were incredibly dumb and uninteresting. because i was such an avid reader, i put up with them anyway. i mean, i read everything i could get my hands on. as long as i understood the language and the concepts fairly well, i'd read it.
it was, therefore, an absolute joy when harry potter came into being. an intelligent book about a world of magic where the main characters are smart cookies, exploring the world around them and eventually moving on to save that world? my perfect cup of tea.
artemis fowl?
yet another breath of fresh air. artemis, for those of you who don't know, is - when the story begins - a twelve year-old boy genius with a dwindling fortune and a very strong, capable bodyguard at his beck and call. his father is missing, his mother is slowly going mad. in an effort to secure better funds so that he can go on an expedition to russia to save his father (the second book's adventure), he captures a fairy called holly, who hails from haven, the magical underworld that co-exists with our own. the books chronicle artemis and holly's various adventures; at first they are adversaries, but eventually they become grudgingly respectful of each other. but perhaps... there's more between them than meets the eye? the series has some wonderful supporting characters: butler, who is kind-hearted and funny, his sister juliet, strong and bitchin', foaly the centaur, who is a technical whiz, and commander julius root, who is endearingly harsh on holly in an effort to make her into the best LEPrecon [see that? genius!] officer on the map - the first fairy woman accepted to the force).
the dialogue of this series is fresh and funny, smart and non-patronizing. the narrative is.... i don't even know how to explain how impeccable the narrative is. the narrator is practically a character itself, beautifully describing the surrounding setting and revealing the characters' motivations and thoughts to the reader in a truly effective way. finally, the plot itself? always complex, thrilling, and brilliant.
in short, eoin colfer is a bloody spectacular writer, and as i read this book now, i can't help but feel a bit like i'm in high school again (in a good way). i'm reading a book that i CAN'T. PUT. DOWN. i'm reading a book that makes me laugh out loud and tear up a little bit, cheer in joy or cry out in dismay. this is a GREAT novel.
so if you're ever looking for a literary treat, give this one a try. it may be fantasy, it may deal with things you have little interest in, but the writing is an absolute dream, and the story is very compelling. you really should read it.
go. read. i promise you won't be disappointed.
(as an aside, colfer also has a brilliant way of showing how our existence is fucking up the entire planet. there's a fascinating, genius commentary in and amongst this story on the environment and the pollution of it by "Mud Men" as we're called. it's subtle, and it's effective.)
(as one last aside, this book has captured my heart in a way very few have. something has happened in the series that i was convinced colfer would never write. so, life is good!!!!!)
