Twelve-year-old Artemis Fowl is a genius. He's also a criminal mastermind and heir apparent to the Fowl dynasty. The family motto is 'Aurum Est Potestas' which translates to 'Gold is Power'. So it will come as no surprise that Artemis is on a hunt for an exceptional kind of gold. The type that fairies are obsessed with.
With his unstoppable manservant, Butler, by his side, Artemis is armed with a copy of the fairy bible, called 'The Book'. Translating and processing as he goes, they quickly track and capture a fairy called Holly Short. But this particular fairy, a Captain in the LEPRecon Unit, isn't your ordinary fairy. Her team wants her back and they're armed and dangerous.
Artemis Fowl is a best-selling young adult fantasy series with a very unusual hero. It's an inventive mix of myth, magic and crime that creator Eoin Colfer calls it 'Die Hard with fairies'.
The series – as read by the rich, smooth voice of Irish actor Gerry O'Brien – makes for excellent family listening. O'Brien lends his malleable accent to goblins and pixies alike, taking listeners on a joyful roller-coaster ride from beginning to end.
Artemis Fowl – the original book in this series – received the Young Reader's Choice Award in 2004 and was selected as the favourite Puffin Books title of 2010. Eoin Colfer described the latter as his 'proudest professional moment'. The eighth and final novel in the series – Artemis Fowl: The Last Guardian – won an Irish Book Award in 2012.
Artemis Fowl has also been adapted into graphic novels. A Disney film adaptation starring Irish newcomer Ferdia Shaw as Artemis is sure to be a big hit with audiences.
