He´s being billed as the next Harry Potter, but Potter might be a little puzzled by the comparison. They are both twelve and both into magic. They are each the stars of their own books...but that´s about it.
Artemis Fowl is the creation of Irish author Eoin Colfer, who describes the book as "Die Hard with fairies." Although the books are being compared, there is really very little comparison to be made, other than they are both fantasies about boys the same age. The author had not even read Harry Potter until the comparisons began to surface.
Harry Potter is a good kid. He´s the underdog in the Muggle world, unwanted by his relatives. He is a nice person who tries to make good choices, even when it costs him the prize. Artemis is another story all together. He´s actually a bad guy, so now parents who worried about the wizardry issue can also add bad ethics to their concerns. Artemis breaks the fairy code to learn how to accomplish his evil deed: he then kidnaps a leprechaun and ransoms it. The story has a heavy Internet connection, as Artemus researches the fairies (who are required to stay underground) on the Internet and also builds a computer program himself to translate the fairy language. He twists and turns Irish culture in ways that may startle those who think of leprechauns as cute and mischievous. His leprechauns are assigned the task of making sure the fairies never come above-ground. In fact, the very name stands for Lower Elements Police
Reconnaissance. The fairies have machine guns, for Pete´s sake.
If Harry Potter, who really wanted to be good, was banned....what will parents make of Artemus, who has a deeply-rooted goal to be evil? Publishers are betting that kids will love him and that parents will too. Advances are rumored to be worth more than 1.5 million dollars, more than any unknown children´s author has ever received. Harry Potter, everyone acknowledges, has finally forced adults to take children´s literature seriously. And it inspired a major motion picture, too.
Yes, there is a good guy in this story... good woman... good leprechaun women. Captain Holly Short is the victim, but she´s not much of a victim. According to reports, she´s quite a handful. The book is reported to be sophisticated enough to please the adults who read it with their children or on their own.
