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?
