Review Detail

Everywhere I go, I see comparisons being made between Artemis Fowl and Harry Potter. Boy, people couldn't be more wrong. Artemis is, if anything, the anti-Harry.

The things they do have in common are their audience and their popularity. Kids are snatching up the first Artemis Fowl book like candy. A movie is already in the works (and hey, you can even win a part by entering the Crack the Code contest at www.artemisfowl.com).

Artemis is a boy genious, born into a family with a colorful (okay, illicit) past. His father disappeared and his mother hasn't been the same since, which has left Artemis pretty much to his own devices.

Artemis is determined to win back the family fortune (not that they seem to be hurting, given their mansion and the fact that he's a millionaire) and has found a way to do it. He bribes a sprite to let him have a look at The Book of the Fairies and promptly captures each page with a digital camera.

After applying a little Fowl know-how and some technical wizardray, he has a translation of the Book. Then the fun really begins.

The book is filled with humor and fairy-tale creatures who don't quite fit the commonly accepted notion of what they should be like. The resulting clash between a criminal-minded human genius and these non-traditional denizens of the fairy world, is incredibly funny and clever.