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riverofhorton's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
There was a lot that I didn't enjoy this time, though. I found myself just getting into the story, when boom, misogyny. Then I'd find myself just getting back into the story, when boom, racism. Then I'd find myself just getting into the story, when boom, something utterly non-sensical (like one character saying he prefers to hunt whales with a harpoon, then a page later the same character saying the humans are barbaric for killing the majestic creatures).
I also didn't like all the "I can't say what I want to say because this is a kids book". Just... Write for an older audience if you want to swear?
I did however, appreciate Foaly's humour for the most part.
Graphic: Bullying, Chronic illness, Excrement, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Religious bigotry, Abandonment, Ableism, Alcohol, Cursing, Dementia, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexual harassment, Stalking, Mental illness, Fire/Fire injury, Animal cruelty, Blood, Body horror, Body shaming, Colonisation, Animal death, Classism, Confinement, Cultural appropriation, Death, Drug use, Fatphobia, Gore, Grief, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Police brutality, Racism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexism, Torture, War, Violence, and Vomit
nick13's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
The only things I have to complain a bit about is how I just wanted more time with the characters (which I surely will with the several next sequels) and also how many of the characters make uncharacteristic jokes which I found funny but at the same time it felt odd. That's just my opinion however and really didn't hurt the enjoyment of this book for me, clearly.
9 out of 10, definitely worth a read!
Moderate: Violence, Kidnapping, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, and Mental illness
Minor: Excrement, Drug use, Gun violence, and Misogyny
jenny_librarian's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
4.0
I was pleasantly surprised at how entertaining this book was, and I think it's partly because of what I just mentioned. As a character in himself, I'm not a huge fan of Artemis. But thinking about Kaz (whom I obviously love) and what Fowl could become made me appreciate him more. The plot was good and it had some genuinely funny parts -- even the potty humour was better used than in some other MG books.
Being a product of its time, it's slightly sexist and there's a bit in the beginning that could be considered racist (Eoin Colfer had it right when he wrote the Vietnamese character's name as [last name] [first name] but since Nguyen is the last name and Xuan is the first name, calling that character "Mister Xuan" when Artemis doesn't know him personally would be the same as calling Root "Mister Root" -- which would not suit Artemis' personality at all), but I've seen worse.
I don't know yet if I'll read more of the series because it seems to be all of the same. One or two heist/kidnapping stories is interesting, but 8 books on the same theme might end up boring. We'll see.
Moderate: Drug use, Kidnapping, Vomit, and Dementia
Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death of parent, Sexism, Torture, and War