Artemis Fowl: Atlantis Complex Review

I absolutely love Artemis Fowl and all of the supporting characters. I’ve followed this series with a feeling akin to awe as Eoin Colfer offered his brilliance up for us to read. I love the twists, the clever plots, and hilarity of the series; it’s something I’ve always enjoyed curling up with for another read after a long day and found to be one of my favorite series. And yet, I have to admit I may be ready to call it quits on this one.

The last three Artemis Fowl books were… well, not terrible, but they were certainly missing something.
Eoin started out this fantastic series with literally brilliant characters who each shone in their own wonderful way. The plots were devious, the protagonists themselves were often more than a little on the gray shady side, and all of this - including the fact that we were still learning about this fascinating world Colfer had created - combined to make the Artemis Fowl series suspenseful, hilarious and exciting.

But now we the readers are older, and so is Artemis Fowl. So why, why, WHY is it that Colfer is still treating us to the same old stuff?

Same old maniacal villains.

Same old world-is-going-to-die stuff.

Same old action-packed plots that are now simply there to compensate for Eoin’s fear of stepping into the dark and actually trying to develop his characters.

Because that’s exactly what it feels like: as though Colfer is afraid of moving his characters forward, to the places they should naturally develop. Instead he is scared of trusting his own instincts, trapping his characters because of his fear of ruining the magic if he dares to change anything in his golden series. Well, Colfer, here’s news for you: the magic already did die, so you can stop worrying.

Artemis Fowl was fun and exciting when it started. It was wonderful and entertaining to get to know the characters, and the humor helped smooth that process and helped hold our rapt attention. The action was the catalyst for getting to know the characters.

Now that we’re all acquainted, however, I must say I expected more. We know who Holly Short and Mulch Diggums and Foaly and Artemis Fowl and Butler are; and I think that the readership is not the only ones tired of seeing them beat all the odds to save the world from the hands of an evil villain - we’re used to that. True, the villain in this book had understandable motive, but it’s just not clever anymore. I believe Eoin is beginning to get a little weary of it, too. I mean, how many books can you write with essentially the same basic plot, and still make it fun and interesting? That's not to say he hasn't done an excellent job at trying to achieve just that, but Colfer’s charm is…dying. Honestly, that’s the last thing I ever wanted to see from him, but it’s there, and it makes me more than a little depressed.

No, what I really wanted to see from this series was something that Colfer apparently avoids like we do our most annoying relatives: character driven plot, instead of plot-driven plot. Yikes, that would be a change, wouldn’t it?

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Last Battle by C.S. Lewis Review

You should probably read the previous six books first before embarking on the last book in the Narnia series, but The Last Battle is still a phenomenal book written by an influential and inspired man. Lewis doesn’t shy away from stating his (rather bold) opinions, or even from revealing his view of what life after death might be like, a question that has been pondered for centuries. I found it refreshing to meet an author who gave a definitive answer about how he sees the after-world, rather than letting readers go on believing whatever they believed before having read the book, and never-almost-quite stating his real stand on the issue. The world of Narnia is a richly described place, with lush natural land that has inspired many artists. The characters in Narnia are mild, gentle creatures (even the evil characters aren’t particularly ‘wicked’ per se) and The Last Battle leaves off with a clean, satisfied finish. One aspect Lewis never really embellishes on is his characters; they are all quite uniformly the same, with few distinguishing personality traits. There is, however, character development and an emotional attachment to them. All this considered, I still have to give The Last Battle a full four stars for sheer brilliancy and an incredible ending to this fantastic series. Four stars ****

Review Time!

Writing is boring when it lacks purpose, so I'm changing this blog into a book/movie review blog! For now I'll just add some older book reviews I've been accumulating since grade nine, and when I have the time or interest, I'll post reviews on books/movies/anything I feel like! Huzzah!

AUSTRALIA!

So I found out that commercial planes are not at all as exciting as I had imagined them to be... aka, I expected more fun little nose dives and stuff :) ...I guess I've just been in too many little planes with crazy pilots xD

We did get some nice little individual TV screens on the first plane from Calgary to San Francisco (San Fran is an unfriendly place. At least, that's what I gathered from all the nasty looks and terrorist warnings over the intercom), and then we were off on a Boeing 747 for a 14 hour trip across the Pacific ocean... 14 hours is a stinking long time, folks. Especially if your only sleeping option is vertical. Ahh well... it was a pretty view:

Awesome, no? Anyway, we landed in Sydney and the security guards at the airport did a one eighty compared to the security in the USA... The Australian security people were joking around with us and basically just lounging against their desks like, "Yeah, yeah, that's a pretty passport. Next!"



And then we got outside... and saw the SUN!!! WOOT!! It was so hot out that for the first time in months a sweater felt uncomfortably warm and the sidewalk was shimmering. *happy* ...And it also smells way better in Australia. No offense to Canada, but it smells... pretty. Like trees and warmth and stuff like that. Plus it's humid and there's no biting cold... anyway. Enough words. You need a picture to see what I mean, no?



Admit it. You're jealous.

Hmm... I could write way more, and post about a thousand pictures, but I think for now I'm just going to go outside. Ciao!

-Amber







WAIT! Just kidding! One more thing: Here's a picture of me stalking an emu. Thought it would amuse. I named him Jimmy (Him? Her? Still don't know.) Okay. Now I'm done.

Getting Right My Grammar:

One day I awoke to find a big, messy thing sitting in the middle of my room, which introduced itself (very politely) like this:

“Hello. I am your Grammar and Spelling. I was just about to leave; however, I see that you are awake now, and so I thought it only proper to let you give me a good send-off before my departure.”

To which I yelled in horror, “No! No! Wait! Don’t go!” but the mess just chuckled,

“And why ever not? You haven’t used me in… oh, how long has it been? No, I am sorry; it is clearly long past due that I left. I can see that I am no longer needed here.”

It’s been a whole month since that chat, and I am happy to say that I managed to convince my Grammar to stay just a bit longer. You see, we made a deal: if I set up a blog, and wrote in it every once in a while and also promised to participate in National Novel Writing Month (the month of November for those who don’t know; it’s also referred to as ‘NaNoWriMo’) and I started on that novel I’ve let rot on the back burner for years, my Grammar would stay, and he’d even send a letter to my Spelling to see if she’d come back and give me another chance.

Spelling got the letter, but she’s only sent in half of herself for now, claiming she’s only here for a ‘test run,’ and if she still doesn’t like me she’ll be leaving permanently. Eager as I am to make a good impression, here I am.

…And that, ladies and gentlemen, is that.

This Is the First Post

This is a post for you Hawley... don't ask me; it's all Sera's fault. Love you!