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A review by katykelly
The Fowl Twins by Eoin Colfer
4.0
Artemis Jr... and doubled. A new series with a new spin.
I've loved Artemis Fowl (and author Eoin Colfer) since reading the first Fowl book back at university, two decades ago (come on, film version!!!). I've read all 8 of his adventures and enjoyed the progression of the characters. Seeing that his baby brothers were now featuring in their own 'spin off', I was of course intrigued - how would the franchise work if Artemis himself wasn't the protagonist?
Well, in some ways, this is a new Artemis story. We've got a super-smart Fowl boy (Myles), pernickity, agile-minded, highly articulate and fond of suits. But we also now have Beckett - his twin physically but diametrically opposite in personality, habits and leanings. Beckett is physical where Myles is cerebral. He'll fight with fists rather than words, Myles is organised and focused, Beckett unsystematic and carefree.
But other elements seem familiar to Artemis fans - the dastardly villains, the earnest LEP Recon representatives, the technology, the other-wordly magic.
Two villains for the price of one here, both rather amusing. A 500-year old mustachioed Duke and gun-toting nun. Lazuli Heitz is the sole representative of the fairy world for almost the entire length of the book (I missed Foley and Mulch or their equivalents), and she gets much less of a role than Holly Short ever did, interacting with the twins but not forming the relationship we knew and loved. Butler is replaced by a wryly funny NANNI, constantly-evolving Nano Artificial Neural Network Intelligence system.
So it feels familiar but yet different, a copy that doesn't bring every element that worked to the new series, though each separately sounds like it should work. Together I just felt it didn't quite hit the same high.
Colfer's narrator is great, lots of language play and moments that made me laugh.:
(Call to the Myishi 24-hour Concierge Line) "A cheerful voice said, "Hi, Lord Bleedham-Drye, this is Douglas on the Myishi Line. YOur crime is worth our time. How may I be of assistance?"
And plenty of character moments, though mostly for Myles who takes the lion's share of the attention:
"Artemis had set a twenty-two-digit security code on his door that he did not realise Myles had suggested to him subliminally by whispering into his ear every night for a week as he slept."
Artemis is mentioned quite a lot, interacts with his brothers via recordings, and I did love how Myles outwits him as well. It was nice to hear what he is up to a few years after the end of 'his' saga.
I'd like to have Beckett featured more in a future instalment, he came into his own more in the second half of the book, he wasn't as well-rounded as his twin early on.
An adventure reminiscent of their elder brother, the Fowl twins will be popular with readers who will identify with one or other of the young antiheroes. It's well set-up for future undertakings, and hopefully the fairy world will feature more prominently again.
For the same audience as Artemis, around aged 8-13.
With thanks to Netgalley for providing a sample reading copy.
I've loved Artemis Fowl (and author Eoin Colfer) since reading the first Fowl book back at university, two decades ago (come on, film version!!!). I've read all 8 of his adventures and enjoyed the progression of the characters. Seeing that his baby brothers were now featuring in their own 'spin off', I was of course intrigued - how would the franchise work if Artemis himself wasn't the protagonist?
Well, in some ways, this is a new Artemis story. We've got a super-smart Fowl boy (Myles), pernickity, agile-minded, highly articulate and fond of suits. But we also now have Beckett - his twin physically but diametrically opposite in personality, habits and leanings. Beckett is physical where Myles is cerebral. He'll fight with fists rather than words, Myles is organised and focused, Beckett unsystematic and carefree.
But other elements seem familiar to Artemis fans - the dastardly villains, the earnest LEP Recon representatives, the technology, the other-wordly magic.
Two villains for the price of one here, both rather amusing. A 500-year old mustachioed Duke and gun-toting nun. Lazuli Heitz is the sole representative of the fairy world for almost the entire length of the book (I missed Foley and Mulch or their equivalents), and she gets much less of a role than Holly Short ever did, interacting with the twins but not forming the relationship we knew and loved. Butler is replaced by a wryly funny NANNI, constantly-evolving Nano Artificial Neural Network Intelligence system.
So it feels familiar but yet different, a copy that doesn't bring every element that worked to the new series, though each separately sounds like it should work. Together I just felt it didn't quite hit the same high.
Colfer's narrator is great, lots of language play and moments that made me laugh.:
(Call to the Myishi 24-hour Concierge Line) "A cheerful voice said, "Hi, Lord Bleedham-Drye, this is Douglas on the Myishi Line. YOur crime is worth our time. How may I be of assistance?"
And plenty of character moments, though mostly for Myles who takes the lion's share of the attention:
"Artemis had set a twenty-two-digit security code on his door that he did not realise Myles had suggested to him subliminally by whispering into his ear every night for a week as he slept."
Artemis is mentioned quite a lot, interacts with his brothers via recordings, and I did love how Myles outwits him as well. It was nice to hear what he is up to a few years after the end of 'his' saga.
I'd like to have Beckett featured more in a future instalment, he came into his own more in the second half of the book, he wasn't as well-rounded as his twin early on.
An adventure reminiscent of their elder brother, the Fowl twins will be popular with readers who will identify with one or other of the young antiheroes. It's well set-up for future undertakings, and hopefully the fairy world will feature more prominently again.
For the same audience as Artemis, around aged 8-13.
With thanks to Netgalley for providing a sample reading copy.