Gnommish
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

''The Fowl Adventures'' is a series of eleven
fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical elements, often including Fictional universe, imaginary places and Legendary creature, creatures. The genre's roots lie in oral traditions, ...
novels written by Irish author
Eoin Colfer Eoin Colfer (; born 14 May 1965) is an Irish author of children's books. He worked as a primary school teacher before he became a full-time writer. He is best known for being the author of the ''Artemis Fowl'' series. In September 2008, Colf ...
revolving around various members of the Fowl family. The first cycle, the eight-book ''Artemis Fowl'', follows elf Lower Elements Police
Reconnaissance In military operations, military reconnaissance () or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, the terrain, and civil activities in the area of operations. In military jargon, reconnai ...
(LEPRecon)
officer An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," fro ...
Holly Short This is a list of characters in the '' Artemis Fowl'' novel series by Eoin Colfer. Overview * A dark grey cell indicates that the character was not in the property or that the character's presence in the property has yet to be announced ...
as she faces the forces of
criminal mastermind A crime boss, also known as a crime lord, mafia don, mob boss, kingpin, or godfather is the leader of a criminal organization. Description A crime boss has absolute or nearly absolute control over the other members of the organization and is ...
Artemis Fowl II Dr. Artemis Fowl II is the eponymous character of the '' Artemis Fowl'' series by Eoin Colfer. Colfer has said that he based Artemis on his younger brother Donal, who as a child was "a mischievous mastermind who could get out of any trouble he ...
; later on in the cycle the adversaries are forced to work together, gradually becoming firm friends/brief love interests while saving the world. The second cycle, the three-book ''The Fowl Twins'', received commercial success and positive critical reception. It has also originated graphic novel adaptations. In 2010, ''Artemis Fowl'' was selected by readers and voters as their favorite
Puffin Books Puffin Books is a longstanding children's imprint of the British publishers Penguin Books. Since the 1960s, it has been among the largest publishers of children's books in the UK and much of the English-speaking world. The imprint now belongs to ...
title of all time. A
film adaptation A film adaptation transfers the details or story of an existing source text, such as a novel, into a feature film. This transfer can involve adapting most details of the source text closely, including characters or plot points, or the original sou ...
based on the first novel was in the process of development by
Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...
from 2016, and eventually released on the
Disney+ The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...
streaming service Streaming media refers to multimedia delivered through a network for playback using a media player. Media is transferred in a ''stream'' of packets from a server to a client and is rendered in real-time; this contrasts with file downl ...
on June 12, 2020 to negative reviews, before being removed from the service on May 26, 2023.


Series overview

In the first book, ''
Artemis Fowl ''The Fowl Adventures'' is a series of eleven fantasy novels written by Irish author Eoin Colfer revolving around various members of the Fowl family. The first cycle, the eight-book ''Artemis Fowl'', follows elf Lower Elements Police Reconnai ...
'', pitched as "''
Die Hard ''Die Hard'' is a 1988 American action film directed by John McTiernan and written by Jeb Stuart (writer), Jeb Stuart and Steven E. de Souza, based on the 1979 novel ''Nothing Lasts Forever (Thorp novel), Nothing Lasts Forever'' by Roderick ...
'' with fairies", twelve-year-old child prodigy Artemis Fowl II and his bodyguard Butler kidnap
Holly Short This is a list of characters in the '' Artemis Fowl'' novel series by Eoin Colfer. Overview * A dark grey cell indicates that the character was not in the property or that the character's presence in the property has yet to be announced ...
, an elf and a captain of the Lower Elements Police Reconnaissance force (LEPrecon), holding her for a ransom of one ton of gold to exploit the magical Fairy People and restore his family's fortune. The ''Artemis Fowl'' series, alternatively titled the First Cycle of ''The Fowl Adventures'', introduces Artemis as a villain and the Peoples' enemy, but as the books progress, Artemis's character develops and changes. As an
anti-villain A villain (also known as a " black hat", "bad guy" or "baddy";The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p.126 "baddy (also baddie) noun (pl. -ies) ''informal'' a villain or criminal in a book, film, etc.". the feminine form is villain ...
, he assists the People and a reluctant Short in resolving conflicts with worldwide ramifications. His
moral compass A moral compass is a metaphor for a moral value system that provides guidance on "good" or "right" choices in human interaction and especially in decision-making situations. This value system can be very personal or represented by a larger group. E ...
develops throughout the series. ''The Fowl Twins'' series, alternatively titled the Second Cycle of ''The Fowl Adventures'', set five years later, follows Artemis' younger twin brothers as they live out their
house arrest House arrest (also called home confinement, or nowadays electronic monitoring) is a legal measure where a person is required to remain at their residence under supervision, typically as an alternative to imprisonment. The person is confined b ...
under the supervision of "pixel" Lazuli Heitz, an elf-pixie hybrid, and NANNI, an
artificial intelligence Artificial intelligence (AI) is the capability of computer, computational systems to perform tasks typically associated with human intelligence, such as learning, reasoning, problem-solving, perception, and decision-making. It is a field of re ...
based on Holly's and Artemis' brainwaves.


''Artemis Fowl''


''Artemis Fowl''

''Artemis Fowl'' is the first book in the ''Artemis Fowl'' series. It follows Holly Short, the first female
reconnaissance In military operations, military reconnaissance () or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, the terrain, and civil activities in the area of operations. In military jargon, reconnai ...
officer An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," fro ...
of the Lower Elements Police (LEP), after she is kidnapped by
criminal mastermind A crime boss, also known as a crime lord, mafia don, mob boss, kingpin, or godfather is the leader of a criminal organization. Description A crime boss has absolute or nearly absolute control over the other members of the organization and is ...
Artemis Fowl II Dr. Artemis Fowl II is the eponymous character of the '' Artemis Fowl'' series by Eoin Colfer. Colfer has said that he based Artemis on his younger brother Donal, who as a child was "a mischievous mastermind who could get out of any trouble he ...
for a large ransom of 24-karat gold with the help of his bodyguard
Domovoi Butler This is a list of characters in the ''Artemis Fowl'' novel series by Eoin Colfer. Overview * A dark grey cell indicates that the character was not in the property or that the character's presence in the property has yet to be announced. * ...
(and Butler's younger sister
Juliet Juliet Capulet () is the female protagonist in William Shakespeare's romantic tragedy ''Romeo and Juliet''. A 13-year-old girl, Juliet is the only daughter of the patriarch of the House of Capulet. She falls in love with the male protagonist Ro ...
) in order to restore the Fowl family fortune. After multiple failed attempts by the LEP to undermine his plot, the book concludes with Artemis finally releasing Holly, in exchange for having his mother cured of madness and half of the ransomed gold that he had persuaded the fairies to give him restored to them, manipulating the LEP's honor system and time-stop to prevent them from killing him afterward.


''Artemis Fowl and the Arctic Incident''

''Artemis Fowl and the Arctic Incident'' is the second book of the series. It follows the rescue of Artemis's father
Artemis Fowl I This is a list of characters in the ''Artemis Fowl'' novel series by Eoin Colfer. Overview * A dark grey cell indicates that the character was not in the property or that the character's presence in the property has yet to be announced. * ...
from the Russian Mafia, alongside the battle against the B'wa Kell goblin gang who have allied themselves with the maniacal genius pixie
Opal Koboi This is a list of characters in the ''Artemis Fowl'' novel series by Eoin Colfer. Overview * A dark grey cell indicates that the character was not in the property or that the character's presence in the property has yet to be announced. * ...
and officer Briar Cudgeon helping her out. The LEP originally suspects Artemis of orchestrating the goblin rebellion, but he is cleared of all suspicion after being inspected with a Retimager.
Holly Short This is a list of characters in the '' Artemis Fowl'' novel series by Eoin Colfer. Overview * A dark grey cell indicates that the character was not in the property or that the character's presence in the property has yet to be announced ...
, a LEP captain; Julius Root, the LEP commander; and Foaly, a centaur and the main technology supervisor for the LEP, make an agreement with Artemis to work together to stop the goblin rebellion, with the help of Mulch Diggums half-way through. In the end, to fulfill their part of the agreement, they help Artemis find his father, who had been missing for the past two or three years.


''Artemis Fowl and the Eternity Code''

''Artemis Fowl and the Eternity Code'' covers
Jon Spiro This is a list of characters in the ''Artemis Fowl'' novel series by Eoin Colfer. Overview * A dark grey cell indicates that the character was not in the property or that the character's presence in the property has yet to be announced. * ...
's theft of the fictional C Cube and its recovery. Jon Spiro is an American businessman who has his bodyguard Arno Blunt kill Butler and steals Artemis's C Cube, which is a handheld supercomputer that he made from stolen fairy technology left over from the Fowl Manor siege in book 1. Artemis puts Butler into a fish freezer in an emergency attempt at cryonic preservation, and he is eventually resurrected by the elf Holly Short. Mulch Diggums (under the pseudonym Mo Digence) is hired alongside Loafers McGuire by Spiro to kidnap Artemis to access the C Cube, which is encrypted by an Eternity Code only Artemis knows how to decrypt. Holly agrees to help, but with the condition that Artemis and his allies are to be mind-wiped. With the help of the dwarf and Butler's sister, Juliet, they raid Spiro Needle, the building housing Spiro's company, and retrieve the C Cube again. The book ends with the fairies and Foaly mind-wiping the three humans, and Artemis gives Mulch Diggums a (supposed) medallion that Holly gave to Artemis in ''The Arctic Incident'', which is actually a disc that will bring back his memories of the fairies.


''Artemis Fowl and the Opal Deception''

The fourth book, ''Artemis Fowl and the Opal Deception'', covers power-hungry and insane pixie
Opal Koboi This is a list of characters in the ''Artemis Fowl'' novel series by Eoin Colfer. Overview * A dark grey cell indicates that the character was not in the property or that the character's presence in the property has yet to be announced. * ...
's second attempt at world domination, after her first fruitless attempt in the second novel. Koboi mesmerizes Giovanni Zito, a fictional environmentalist, into believing that she is his daughter, Belinda. She then convinces Giovanni to send a probe into the ground, which could lead to the uncovering of the fairy world, thrusting the fairy city of Haven into human clutches. In the process of stopping her, Commander Root is killed and the mind-wiped Artemis and Butler are saved from her bio-bomb. The two have their memories restored from the medallion, and Mulch, Artemis, Holly, and Butler thwart Opal Koboi yet again.


''Artemis Fowl and the Lost Colony''

''Artemis Fowl and the Lost Colony'' involves bringing the
demon A demon is a malevolent supernatural entity. Historically, belief in demons, or stories about demons, occurs in folklore, mythology, religion, occultism, and literature; these beliefs are reflected in Media (communication), media including f ...
island Hybras back from "Limbo" with the help of N°1, a powerful demon warlock. Artemis, Butler, Holly, Mulch, and Foaly reunite after Artemis encounters a demon from the island Hybras, and Holly and Mulch capture the pixie fish smuggler Doodah Day. Foaly tells them after the Battle of Taillte, the war for land against fairy and human, the demon fairy family sent themselves out of time on the island Hybras, and that on their island their time can be anything on ours. The time spell is crumbling, and demons are appearing on earth without warning. If the humans discover the demons, they will inevitably uncover the rest of the fairies. Artemis and his friends go after the demon warlock N°1, who is kidnapped by child prodigy Minerva Paradizo. Minerva intends to present N°1 to humans as a ploy to win the Nobel Prize. She eventually lets go of her project and joins them after Billy Kong, her security guard, turns against her in her own home. Artemis, Holly, N°1, and Qwan, another demon warlock, travel through time and space to Hybras, which Artemis had planned to get rid of with the live bomb Billy Kong had given Holly to annihilate the demons in Hybras, due to his belief that his brother was killed by a gang of demons. In Hybras, the pack leader Leon Abbot (N'Zall) and his army of demons fight Artemis and his friends. They knock Leon unconscious and create a bomb explosion powerful enough for them to use its energy – converting it into enough magic to send the island back to earth, where three years have passed because of the time spell. Unfortunately, Holly and Artemis find out that in the process of being brought back in time, they have swapped an eye. Artemis now has one hazel eye and one blue eye. Same with Holly. The book ends with Holly finding out that Mulch has recruited Doodah Day, and Artemis finds out that he is the brother of toddlers.


''Artemis Fowl and the Time Paradox''

Artemis's mother, Angeline Fowl, becomes ill with Spelltropy, and the only cure lies in the brain fluids of the silky sifaka lemur, the last of which Artemis sold to a group named the Extinctionists when he was 10 to procure money to fund the expedition to search for his father. N°1 sends Artemis and Holly to the past, where Artemis must battle his former self to recover the last silky sifaka lemur before the younger Artemis kills it in a business transaction with Damon Kronski, the leader of the Extinctionists. When Artemis almost dies, a relieved Holly kisses him but turns neutral once Artemis admits he lied to her regarding the disease his mother "got from Holly". Things get more complicated when Opal Koboi is revealed to be controlling the Extinctionists and feeding on the brain fluids of many extremely rare animals. These fluids grant her special abilities and extraordinary prowess in certain fields (particularly the magical). The chase finally leads to the past and future Artemises reaching an agreement, whereupon Artemis and Holly are teleported to the future, while past Artemis is mind-wiped. Near to the ending, Opal is revealed to have possessed Angeline Fowl. At the close of the book, past Artemis wakes from a dream with thoughts of fairies, which suggests that Artemis's time travel was the catalyst for his kidnapping scheme in ''Artemis Fowl.''


''Artemis Fowl and the Atlantis Complex''

Artemis contracts Atlantis Complex, a fairy condition resembling a combination of obsessive-compulsive disorder, extreme paranoia, and multiple personality disorder. This was brought on by Artemis stealing fairy magic from the time tunnel. This results in the debut of Orion Fowl, his alter ego. The idea is that Orion is Artemis's enemy from Greek mythology. The story follows Turnball Root, the criminal brother of Julius Root, as he breaks out of jail and sends probes to destroy his enemies, including Artemis, his fairy friends, and Butler, whom Artemis sent away due to his Atlantis Complex induced paranoia. After Butler, Artemis, and his fairy friends reunite, they hunt down Turnball, tracking him with a computer orb connected to the probes that Artemis found underwater, and find out that Turnball has kidnapped demon warlock N°1 to force him to reverse the aging of Turnball's wife, Leonor. In the end, Leonor and Turnball are killed in an explosion of a shuttle Leonor drives, to fulfill her last wish – to fly once again – and Artemis is sent to a fairy clinic to be cured of Atlantis Complex.


''Artemis Fowl and the Last Guardian''

The final book of the original series, ''Artemis Fowl and the Last Guardian'', was released on 10 July 2012. Opal Koboi opens the Berserker's Gate, a portal located on the Fowl Estate, in which dwell the spirits of fairy soldiers, the last victims of the Battle of Taillte, the final blow in the war that sent the Fairy People underground. Artemis, after his last session of being cured of Atlantis Complex, rushes to stop her along with Holly Short and Butler. They fail, and Opal opens the first gate, which releases the spirits of the warriors into the living world. The warriors begin to possess other people and animals around them, including corpses, animals, Juliet Butler, and Artemis's toddler brothers, Myles and Beckett. After escaping Opal and the possessed beings, they attempt to stop Opal from opening the second gate, which will unleash the power of Danu destroying every human on the surface. While doing so, they (reluctantly) battle Artemis's possessed toddler brother Myles, who reveals to them Opal's plan after the fairy warrior spirit left his body. Artemis and his friends fail to destroy the second gate with a laser he created, and Mulch saves them from possessed pirate corpses, causing the spirits of fairy warriors to leave their bodies to the afterlife. They then enter Fowl Manor, where Artemis decides to sacrifice himself in order to stop Opal from opening the second gate. Foaly sends the clone of Opal that she created in the 4th book, and using her hand he is able to make the clone close the gates since the magic recognizes the clone's DNA as Opal's. All the fairies in the circle are drawn to the afterlife, and as Artemis has one of Holly's eyes from book five, Artemis is also sent to the afterlife. However, Artemis's humanity and sheer willpower enables his spirit to stay on Earth. Foaly prepares a clone of Artemis, which is taken to the now overgrown gate six months after Artemis's death. Artemis's spirit then takes control of the clone and he is alive once more. His eye color is now back to normal, with two blue eyes.


''The Fowl Twins''

The ''Artemis Fowl'' series was followed by a spin-off sequel series, called ''The Fowl Twins'', centered around the characters of Myles and Beckett Fowl, Artemis's younger twin brothers. The first book in the series was released on 5 November 2019.


''The Fowl Twins Deny All Charges''

''The Fowl Twins Deny All Charges'' is the second book in the series, and was released on 20 October 2020.


''The Fowl Twins Get What They Deserve''

''The Fowl Twins Get What They Deserve'' is the third book in the series, and was released on 19 October 2021.


Other works

''Artemis Fowl: The Seventh Dwarf'' is a
short story A short story is a piece of prose fiction. It can typically be read in a single sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the old ...
written for
World Book Day World Book Day, also known as World Book and Copyright Day or International Day of the Book, is an annual event organized by UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) to promote reading, publishing, and copyright ...
set between the first and second books. ''The Artemis Fowl Files'' is a companion book to the series published 4 October 2004, which included The Seventh Dwarf and other stories. it also includes bonus material such as Artemis Fowl's School Report, exclusive interviews with Artemis, Butler, Holly, Root, Mulch, Foaly and Colfer, and text from the Fairy People's book to translate. Two graphic novels adaptations exist, the first adapted by Andrew Donkin with the art by Giovanni Rigano. *'' Artemis Fowl: The Graphic Novel'' is a
graphic novel A graphic novel is a self-contained, book-length form of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and Anthology, anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comics sc ...
adaptation of the
first book First Book is a nonprofit organization established in 1992 that aims to provide educational resources to children from low-income communities. The organization works to eliminate barriers to education by distributing books and other learning mate ...
, and was published on 2 October 2007. *''Artemis Fowl and the Arctic Incident: The Graphic Novel'', an adaptation of the second book, was released 11 August 2009. *''Artemis Fowl and the Eternity Code: The Graphic Novel'', an adaptation of the third book was released 9 July 2013. *''Artemis Fowl and the Opal Deception: The Graphic Novel'', an adaption of the fourth book, was released 15 July 2014. A second graphic novel adaptation was Michael Moreci and drawn by Stephen Gilpin.
Electronic Arts Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) is an American video game company headquartered in Redwood City, California. Founded in May 1982 by former Apple Inc., Apple employee Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer game industry ...
has brought the first six books in the series to the
Nintendo DS The is a foldable handheld game console produced by Nintendo, released globally across 2004 and 2005. The DS, an initialism for "Developers' System" or "Dual Screen", introduced distinctive new features to handheld games: two LCD screens worki ...
and
Nintendo DSi The is a foldable dual-screen handheld game console released by Nintendo. The console launched in Japan on November 1, 2008, and worldwide beginning in April 2009. It is the third iteration of the Nintendo DS, and its primary market rival was ...
as parts in its ''Flips'' kids' range, which was released on 4 December 2009. The audiobooks were narrated by
Nathaniel Parker Nathaniel Parker (born 18 May 1962) is an English stage and screen actor best known for playing the lead in the BBC crime drama series ''The Inspector Lynley Mysteries'', and List of Merlin characters#Agravaine de Bois, Agravaine de Bois in the ...
.
Adrian Dunbar Adrian Dunbar (born 1 August 1958) is an Irish actor, director, and singer from Northern Ireland, known for his television and theatre work. He co-wrote and starred in the 1991 film '' Hear My Song'', nominated for Best Original Screenplay at t ...
and
Enn Reitel Enn Reitel (born 21 June 1950) is a Scottish actor who specialises in voice work in films, television series and video games. Early life Reitel's family arrived in Scotland as refugees from Estonia. He trained as an actor at the Central Sch ...
narrated certain versions from different audiobook companies.


Future

In November 2020, Eoin Colfer indicated interest in bringing the franchise to another medium, such as a
musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), charac ...
. In November 2021, Colfer revealed he had thought about writing a " superviolent" follow-up to the ''Artemis Fowl'' series inspired by ''
Old Man Logan Old Man Logan is an alternative version of the superhero Wolverine appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. This character is an aged version of Wolverine set in an alternate future universe in which the supervillains overth ...
'', following an older Artemis as he becomes a
magnate The term magnate, from the late Latin ''magnas'', a great man, itself from Latin ''magnus'', "great", means a man from the higher nobility, a man who belongs to the high office-holders or a man in a high social position, by birth, wealth or ot ...
and exploring his and Holly's relationship. In December 2021, Colfer also expressed interest in writing a book about Mulch Diggums as a
private investigator A private investigator (often abbreviated to PI; also known as a private detective, an inquiry agent or informally a wikt:private eye, private eye) is a person who can be hired by individuals or groups to undertake investigatory law services. ...
, a concept first explored in ''The Lost Colony'', saying "I never say never" regarding a potential return at some point in the future to him writing novels set in the Fowl universe.


Characters


Artemis Fowl

Artemis Fowl II uses his intelligence to build his family fortune through crime. This stems from his family, who have been criminals for generations. Artemis is cold, cynical, and often outright ruthless in his manipulation of people for his own ends. Following his father's presumed death at the hands of the Russian Mafia, and his mother's subsequent descent into madness, Artemis stopped attending his boarding school, assumed control of the Fowl criminal empire, and embarked on a crime spree to restore the family fortune and fund Arctic expeditions to rescue his father. His investigation into the supernatural eventually leads him into contact with the People in the first book. Due to a strict upbringing, and a lack of any intellectual equals to ground him, Artemis is socially awkward, his best friend and bodyguard Butler being one of the few individuals whom Artemis trusts. He is very pale with raven-black hair and blue eyes. In ''The Lost Colony'', Holly Short and he switch eyes, leaving him with one blue eye and one hazel eye. Artemis is famed for his intelligence; he claims to have the "highest IQ tested in Europe", but is also known for a lack of coordination and athletic ability. Throughout the series, he learns profound morals from the Fairy People and becomes more compassionate and trustworthy, but still maintains much of his intelligence. Because of the time travel in ''The Lost Colony'', his legal age is older than his real age.


Domovoi Butler

Butler is the Fowl family's loyal
manservant A domestic worker is a person who works within a residence and performs a variety of household services for an individual, from providing cleaning and household maintenance, or cooking, laundry and ironing, or care for children and elderly de ...
and Artemis's
bodyguard A bodyguard (or close protection officer/operative) is a type of security guard, government law enforcement officer, or servicemember who protects an very important person, important person or group of people, such as high-ranking public offic ...
and friend, accompanying him around the world on his adventures. He is the third-most skilled martial artist on the planet (the first is a monk on a Pacific Island and the second is his uncle), a formidable marksman and firearms expert, and has immense experience of the criminal underworld, often providing help to Artemis through his many contacts. His first name is Domovoi though no one knows that besides Artemis and Juliet. He also has a little sister, Juliet, who appears in most of the books. Butler is rendered dead temporarily in ''The Eternity Code'', but is rescued by the ingenuity of his principal and the healing powers of Holly Short. Butler's favored weapon is a treasured
SIG Sauer P226 The SIG Sauer P226 is a full-sized service pistol made by SIG Sauer. This model is available in four chamberings: the 9×19mm Parabellum, .40 S&W, .357 SIG, or .22 Long Rifle. It has the same mechanism of operation as the SIG Sauer P220, but ...
pistol chambered in 9mm Parabellum, but he often must resort to other fairy weaponry for his tasks. Due to his healing in ''The Eternity Code'', his body is older than he should be.


Holly Short

Holly is a determined, forthright elf and the only female captain of LEPrecon, the
reconnaissance In military operations, military reconnaissance () or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, the terrain, and civil activities in the area of operations. In military jargon, reconnai ...
division of the LEP. Holly is three feet tall and slender, with nut-brown skin and auburn hair. In the first book, she is kidnapped by Artemis and held for ransom, but over the course of the series they slowly become friends--and by the end of the series, best friends. She helped Artemis save the world on numerous occasions. Holly holds a disregard for the rules and orders given to her. She is also one of the best pilots in LEPrecon.


Foaly

Foaly is a centaur, technical genius, and computer geek. He works for the LEP, the fairy authorities, and is in charge of preventing humankind from discovering the fairy civilization. His intelligence makes him paranoiac, which causes him to wear a foil hat to "protect him from human mind-probing technology". He designs most of the weaponry, wings, and other technical gadgets that the LEP use, such as the 'Iris Cam'. His sarcasm and talkative nature often annoy LEP officers, though his greatest pleasure outside of his engineering is aggravating the notoriously bad-tempered Commander Root. He 'hitches' or marries a centaur named Caballine in ''The Lost Colony'' while Captain Short and Artemis are in Limbo, and apparently has foals. He has a rivalry with Opal Koboi, which she sporadically mentions throughout her dialogue.


Opal Koboi

Opal is a deranged, paranoid genius pixie whose dream is world domination and the destruction of the LEP. A prodigy, she built Koboi Laboratories, a technology company, which she used to crush her father's company out of spite. Opal is featured in several of the Artemis Fowl books as the main antagonist. She detests Foaly, as he won a science competition in college over her, and she believes the judges chose Foaly instead just because he was male. However, she became Artemis' archenemy after he and Holly foiled her plans numerous times. In ''The Opal Deception'', she creates a clone of herself to escape imprisonment, later killing Julius Root rather violently with a bomb, and framing Holly Short. In the past, it is revealed that she harvested a silky silfaka lemur's brain fluid as one of the steps to achieving world domination. She later kills her past self created in ''The Time Paradox'', creating a paradox. Opal is later killed by Oro Shaydova, the leader of fairy soldiers killed in the battle of Taillte.


Mulch Diggums

Mulch is a kleptomaniac, criminal dwarf who has been involved in crime for four centuries. When considered with the average dwarf lifespan, he is not that old. He once was a mining dwarf, but later decided that stealing from Mud Men (humans) suited him much better. Because he has stolen from Mud Men, Mulch no longer has the significant magic powers of the usual fairy, but he has retained some aspect of the gift of tongues as "all tongues are based on Gnommish if you trace them back far enough", and has even shown his ability to speak 'American dog' in ''The Arctic Incident''. He insists that humans were stealing from fairy-kind and the earth and that he is simply taking them back or repossessing the items. In the early books, he assisted the LEP against Artemis Fowl, although later, he sides with Artemis Fowl. Eventually, when the fairies and Artemis are on stable ground, he joins forces with the Fairy People on many adventures, acting as an LEP helper at the beginning of ''The Time Paradox''.


Julius Root

Julius Root commanded the LEPrecon and was in charge of all activities related to the tracking of those who leave fairy civilization, to prevent them making contact with humans. Known for his ruddy face (hence his nickname, "Beetroot") and extremely short temper, he led the LEPrecon on missions until Koboi killed him with an explosive in ''The Opal Deception'' and framed Holly Short. He usually despised Holly's disregard for rules and orders. However, Root also seems to have been a lot like Holly Short when he was younger; a book states that Holly Short had recently beat the speed record that had been set 80 years prior by Julius Root. Julius Root hates when Foaly called him by his first name. Julius Root also had a brother, Turnball Root, the main antagonist in ''The Atlantis Complex''.


Briar Cudgeon

A minor antagonist in the first novel, Cudgeon was an ex-LEP lieutenant who was humiliated by Commander Julius Root and had the misfortune of having a terrible-looking face, the result of illegal mind-boosting liquid colliding with tranquilizer Julius Root used in the first novel. Looking for revenge, Cudgeon teams up with Opal Koboi in ''The Arctic Incident''. Their plan suddenly goes wrong when LEP technical consultant Foaly inserts a video in Koboi Laboratories to expose Briar Cudgeon's confessions to treachery to Opal. Enraged by this, Opal attacks Cudgeon, and in the struggle, they smash into a pipeline containing reignited plasma, which violently fries Cudgeon to death, and gruesomely incapacitates Opal.


Themes

Colfer has said in interviews that the series is about Artemis growing up. Themes of greed, trust, and the difference between good and evil are also present in the books. Colfer wanted to end the series with a simple choice between being kind without reward or being unkind for a reward.


Critical reception

Colfer summed up the first book as "''
Die Hard ''Die Hard'' is a 1988 American action film directed by John McTiernan and written by Jeb Stuart (writer), Jeb Stuart and Steven E. de Souza, based on the 1979 novel ''Nothing Lasts Forever (Thorp novel), Nothing Lasts Forever'' by Roderick ...
'' with fairies." Critics call the series "the new ''
Harry Potter ''Harry Potter'' is a series of seven Fantasy literature, fantasy novels written by British author J. K. Rowling. The novels chronicle the lives of a young Magician (fantasy), wizard, Harry Potter (character), Harry Potter, and his friends ...
''," although Colfer stated in 2001 that he disagreed.
Kate Kellaway Kate Kellaway (born 15 July 1957) is an English journalist and literary critic who writes for ''The Observer''. Early life The daughter of the Australians Bill and Deborah Kellaway, she is the older sister of the journalist Lucy Kellaway. B ...
of ''
The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper. In 1993 it was acquired by Guardian Media Group Limited, and operated as a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' ...
'' called the first book "a smart, amusing one-off. It flashes with hi-tech invention – as if Colfer were as much an inspired
boffin Boffin is a British slang term for a scientist, engineer, or other person engaged in technical or scientific research and development. A "boffin" was viewed by some in the regular military or government services as odd, quirky or peculiar, th ...
as a writer".
Time magazine ''Time'' (stylized in all caps as ''TIME'') is an American news magazine based in New York City. It was published weekly for nearly a century. Starting in March 2020, it transitioned to every other week. It was first published in New York Cit ...
said of the book, "''Artemis Fowl'' is pacy, playful, and very funny, an inventive mix of myth and modernity, magic and crime", while ''
The New York Times Book Review ''The New York Times Book Review'' (''NYTBR'') is a weekly paper-magazine supplement to the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times'' in which current non-fiction and fiction books are reviewed. It is one of the most influential and widely rea ...
'' said that "Colfer has done enormously, explosively well" in writing a book that could be accurately described as "''
Die Hard ''Die Hard'' is a 1988 American action film directed by John McTiernan and written by Jeb Stuart (writer), Jeb Stuart and Steven E. de Souza, based on the 1979 novel ''Nothing Lasts Forever (Thorp novel), Nothing Lasts Forever'' by Roderick ...
'' with fairies". ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'' gave a favorable review to ''The Atlantis Complex'', the seventh book in the series, but noted "it is also clearly a prelude to the grand finale." ''The Last Guardian'', the eighth and final novel of the series, received favorable reviews from ''
Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus. The magazine's publisher, Kirkus Media, is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fiction, no ...
'', ''
Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...
'', and ''
The Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It was launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is Ireland's leading n ...
'', also winning the 2012
Irish Book Award The Irish Book Awards are Irish literary awards given annually to books and authors in various categories. It is the only literary award supported by all-Irish bookstores. The primary sponsor is An Post, the state owned postal service in Ireland ...
in the "Irish Children's Book – Senior" category. In 2010 ''Artemis Fowl'' was selected by readers as the favorite
Puffin Books Puffin Books is a longstanding children's imprint of the British publishers Penguin Books. Since the 1960s, it has been among the largest publishers of children's books in the UK and much of the English-speaking world. The imprint now belongs to ...
title of all time, which Colfer described as his "proudest professional moment."


Film adaptation

In 2001 plans were announced for a film adaptation of the series.
Miramax Films Miramax, LLC, formerly known as Miramax Films, is an American independent film and television production and distribution company owned by beIN Media Group and Paramount Global. Based in Los Angeles, California, it was founded on December 19, ...
was named as purchasing the film rights with
Lawrence Guterman Lawrence Guterman (born July 18, 1966) is a Canadians, Canadian film director. He directed the feature films ''Cats & Dogs'' (2001) and ''Son of the Mask'' (2005), as well as several episodes of ''Out of Jimmy's Head'' (between 2007 and 2008). ...
signed to direct. In 2003 Colfer stated that a
screenplay A screenplay, or script, is a written work produced for a film, television show (also known as a '' teleplay''), or video game by screenwriters (cf. ''stage play''). Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of w ...
had been finalized and that casting was due to start the same year but expressed skepticism over whether or not this would come to pass, though Colfer revealed the film was in pre-production. The film remained in development and was assumed to be in
development hell Development hell, also known as development purgatory or development limbo, is media and software industry jargon for a project, concept, or idea that remains in a stage of early development for a long time because of legal, technical, or artistic ...
until 2011, when it was reported that
Jim Sheridan Jim Sheridan (born 6 February 1949) is an Irish people, Irish playwright and filmmaker. Between 1989 and 1993, Sheridan directed three critically acclaimed films set in Ireland, ''My Left Foot'' (1989), ''The Field (1990 film), The Field'' (19 ...
was interested in directing the movie, with
Saoirse Ronan Saoirse Una Ronan ( ; born 12 April 1994) is an American-born Irish actress. Primarily known for her work in period dramas, she has received various accolades, including a Golden Globe Award, with nominations for four Academy Awards and sev ...
attached to portray Holly Short. In July 2013,
Walt Disney Pictures Walt Disney Pictures is an American film Film production company, production company and subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios (division), the Walt Disney Studios, a division of Disney Entertainment, which is owned by the Walt Disney Company. The st ...
announced that an ''Artemis Fowl'' film covering the events of the first and second novels of the series would be produced by Disney and
The Weinstein Company The Weinstein Company, LLC (usually credited or abbreviated as TWC) was an American independent film production and distribution company, which was founded in New York City by Bob and Harvey Weinstein on March 10, 2005. TWC was one of the larg ...
, with the screenplay by
Michael Goldenberg Michael Goldenberg (born January 18, 1965) is an American playwright, screenwriter and film director. He graduated from the Carnegie Mellon College of Drama in 1986 with a B.F.A. Goldenberg is best known for writing the screenplay for the film '' ...
.
Robert De Niro Robert Anthony De Niro ( , ; born August 17, 1943) is an American actor, director, and film producer. He is considered to be one of the greatest and most influential actors of his generation. De Niro is the recipient of List of awards and ...
and
Jane Rosenthal Jane Rosenthal (born September 21, 1956) is an American film producer.
signed onto the project as executive producers. In September 2015, ''Variety'' reported that
Kenneth Branagh Sir Kenneth Charles Branagh ( ; born 10 December 1960) is a British actor and filmmaker. Born in Belfast and raised primarily in Reading, Berkshire, Branagh trained at RADA in London and served as its president from 2015 to 2024. List of award ...
had been hired to direct the film for Disney, with Irish playwright
Conor McPherson Conor McPherson (born 6 August 1971) is an Irish playwright, screenwriter and director of stage and film. In recognition of his contribution to world theatre, McPherson was awarded an honorary doctorate of literature in June 2013 by University C ...
as screenwriter and Judy Hofflund as an executive producer. Eoin Colfer confirmed this in a video to Artemis Fowl Confidential, and spoke with
RTÉ Radio 1 RTÉ Radio 1 () is an Irish national radio station owned and operated by RTÉ and is the direct descendant of Dublin radio station 2RN, which began broadcasting on a regular basis on 1 January 1926. The total budget for the station in 2010 w ...
about meeting Branagh several times to discuss this prior to the announcement. On 12 September 2017, Disney announced that the film adaptation would be released on 9 August 2019. It was also announced to be based on the first two books in the series. It was announced on 11 October 2017 that Disney removed
Harvey Weinstein Harvey Weinstein (, ; born March 19, 1952) is an American film producer and convicted sex offender. In 1979, Weinstein and his brother, Bob Weinstein, co-founded the entertainment company Miramax, which produced several successful independent ...
as the producer of the film as well as terminating its production with The Weinstein Company following a sexual misconduct controversy involving Weinstein. On 20 December 2017, it was announced that Irish newcomer Ferdia Shaw had been cast as Artemis Fowl II, alongside
Judi Dench Dame Judith Olivia Dench (born 9 December 1934) is an English actress. Widely considered one of Britain's greatest actors, she is noted for her versatility, having appeared in films and television, as well as for her numerous roles on the stage ...
as Commander Root,
Josh Gad Joshua Ilan Gad (born February 23, 1981) is an American actor. He is known for voicing Olaf in the '' Frozen'' franchise and playing Elder Arnold Cunningham in the Broadway musical ''The Book of Mormon''. For his role as Olaf, Gad won two Annie ...
as Mulch Diggums,
Lara McDonnell Lara McDonnell (born 7 November 2003) is an Irish actress. She starred as the alternating title role in the West End production of ''Matilda the Musical'' from 2015 to 2016. She has since landed roles in a number of films. McDonnell appeared on ...
as Captain Holly Short, and
Nonso Anozie Nonso Anozie (; born 17 November 1978) is a British actor. On television, he is known for his roles as Xaro Xhoan Daxos in the HBO series ''Game of Thrones'' (2012), R.M. Renfield on the Sky series ''Dracula'' (2013), Abraham Kenyatta on the C ...
as Butler.
Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as the ...
began in March 2018 with filming in England, Northern Ireland, and
Ho Chi Minh City Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) ('','' TP.HCM; ), commonly known as Saigon (; ), is the most populous city in Vietnam with a population of around 14 million in 2025. The city's geography is defined by rivers and canals, of which the largest is Saigo ...
. In May 2019, the film's originally scheduled release date of 9 August 2019 was delayed by
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures is an American film distributor within the Disney Entertainment division of the Walt Disney Company. It handles theatrical and occasional digital distribution, marketing, and promotion for films produced and ...
to 29 May 2020, as part of a change to their release schedule, while
Colin Farrell Colin James Farrell (; born 31 May 1976) is an Irish actor. A Leading actor, leading man in blockbuster (entertainment), blockbusters and independent films since the 2000s, he has received various List of awards and nominations received by Col ...
was announced to be portraying Artemis Fowl I. The film was pulled completely on 3 April 2020 due to the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
, and instead debuted on
Disney+ The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...
, 12 June 2020. Upon the film's release, the film was criticised for the removal of the
character arc A character arc is the transformation or inner journey of a character over the course of a story. If a story has a character arc, the character begins as one sort of person and gradually transforms into a different sort of person in response to c ...
s of both Artemis Fowl II and Holly Short from the book series in the film, with Fowl switched from
antagonist An antagonist is a character in a story who is presented as the main enemy or rival of the protagonist and is often depicted as a villain.protagonist A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a ...
, and Short being relegated from protagonist to
supporting character A supporting character is a character in a narrative that is not the focus of the primary storyline, but is important to the plot/protagonist, and appears or is mentioned in the story enough to be more than just a minor character or a cameo a ...
. McDonnell's casting was also criticised as
whitewashing Whitewash is a paint-like covering of hydrated lime or a cheap white paint. Whitewash or whitewashing may also refer to: Racist practices * Whitewashing (beauty), modifying the skin tones of photographs of nonwhite people in mass media * Whitew ...
due to Short being physically described in the book series as having nut-brown skin of a
coffee Coffee is a beverage brewed from roasted, ground coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content, but decaffeinated coffee is also commercially a ...
complexion. The casting of
Nonso Anozie Nonso Anozie (; born 17 November 1978) is a British actor. On television, he is known for his roles as Xaro Xhoan Daxos in the HBO series ''Game of Thrones'' (2012), R.M. Renfield on the Sky series ''Dracula'' (2013), Abraham Kenyatta on the C ...
as Butler was also criticised for several reasons: that the character is described as Eurasian who can pass as
Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...
and
Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...
in the book series, and that the character's physical description of terrifying anyone in his presence, combined with his backstory of his family having served the Fowl family for centuries and Anozie's casting, embodies several
stereotypes of African Americans Stereotypes of African Americans are misleading beliefs about the African-American culture, culture of people with partial or total ancestry from any Black people, black racial groups of Africa whose ancestors resided in the United States sin ...
, in particular the "scary black man" and "black servant" tropes. On 26 May 2023, the film was removed from Disney+ as part of a Disney+ and
Hulu Hulu (, ) is an American Subscription business model, subscription streaming media service owned by Disney Streaming, a subsidiary of the Disney Entertainment segment of the Walt Disney Company. It was launched on October 29, 2007, initially as ...
purge.


References


External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Artemis Fowl (Series) Book series introduced in 2001 Fantasy novel series Novels set in Ireland Irish children's novels Science fantasy novels Works by Eoin Colfer Leprechauns in popular culture