Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #12839 in Books
• Published on: 2005-05-05
• Binding: Hardcover
• 352 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
This fourth outing for Eoin Colfer's teenage criminal mastermind, Artemis Fowl, is--as ever--full of dramatic action, explosions, treachery, high speed chases, windy escapes from Trolls and a generous helping of fairy magic. There are plenty of laughs amidst the action and more new technical gizmos than you could fit into James Bond's latest car. At the end of Artemis Fowl: The Eternity Code, Artemis was left with his memory erased of all previous dealings with the fairy folk, any underground realms he may have visited, a certain LEPrecon police officer called Holly Short he may have been acquainted with--even the flatulent, burrowing, kleptomaniac dwarf, Mulch Diggums. Everything. It was part of the deal he struck when he helped save the fairies and they aided his rescue of Fowl Snr. from captivity. But, having been accused of a heinous crime, Holly now needs Fowl's expertise once more to clear her name and save Fairykind from oblivion.

Opal Koboi, the most dangerous pixie who ever lived, has eluded capture and is out for revenge. She's framed Holly and tried to kill Artemis and his trusty bodyguard Butler. Holly must try to bring Artemis up to speed quickly in order to foil Opal's dastardly plan to expose the fairies down below to the humans on top.

Like J K Rowling, Colfer has complete mastery over the cast of characters he has created in this popular series of novels. Half of the pleasure of the Harry Potter novels is to be had by simply enjoying how the familiar characters interact--savouring their established foibles and characteristics and revelling in all the new things they get up to. In The Opal Deception, Colfer pairs up his heroes and villains brilliantly and has the same amount of tremendous fun with them. It's witty and enjoyable and will be appreciated by all. (Age 9 and over) --John McLay

Times Education Supplement, June 1st 2005
A wickedly entertaining mix of technology and wit.

Flipside Magazine, June 2005
Move over Harry Potter, your reign is up... there's a new king - teenage top thief Artemis Fowl!

Customer Reviews

By far the best book yet!
I started to read the Artemis Fowl books when I was 8, my uncle was a great fan and I was stuck with nothing to read in his house but them. I started reading the first book and I don't know what it was, maybe I was too young ro understand properly but I didn't really enjoy them. All the same I read on until I got to the Opal Deception a few years later.

Here Harry Potter (my favourite books ever) met their match!
Artemis Fowl and the Opal Deception is cleverly written, non-stop action and non-stop fun.
Opal Koboi is back with even more determination than before!

I'll say no more, just read the book and you'll see what I mean!!

By far my favourite in the series.
Not only is it my favourite Artemis Fowl book, it instantly became my favourite book ever.
Eoin Colfer mixes magic with science in a way that, in my opinion, no other author can. This book, in particular, is not only a brilliantly written fantasy, but also extremely funny. It's good for both children and adults.
Book 4 in the series sees the return of the evil pixie, Opal Koboi, from book 2, The Arctic Incident, who craftily escapes from her psychiatric cell and is set on taking over the world. Meanwhile Artemis is living his life blissfully unaware of the existence of fairies since his mindwipe in book 3. Captain Holly Short and friends must find a way to bring back Artemis' memory and together they will defeat the evil Opal.
An extremely fascinating book that I couldn't put down from start to finish. I would highly recommend it to anyone of any age.

"You are exactly how you were when we first met"
Colfer has been doing an impressive job with this series, with great character development, enthralling plots and full-speed action. This case is no different, except for the fact that the story turns a little darker, when compared to the previous three books. This is understandable, since it allows the author to get to the next level in the story, and that is exactly what he has done.

At the end of "The Eternity Code", the fairies wiped the minds of Artemis and his friends. One of the most relevant consequences from this decision was that the progress Artemis had made towards becoming a "better person" was halted. Now we find him going back to his old ways and planning heists with his faithful sidekick Butler. Meanwhile, something is going awfully awry in the fairy world. Opal Koboi, the mastermind behind the goblin uprising, is in a psych ward faking a catatonic condition. In reality, she is planning her revenge, which includes getting back at Captain Holly Short, Foaly the centaur, Commander Root, and of course, Artemis Fowl.

Holly is going through a tough patch. Even though she hated Artemis for a while, she had established a friendship with him, and now she feels she lost that. The fact that she is in line for a promotion does not help in the least, since this means a reduction in field missions and fewer trips to the world of the Mud Men. When Koboi starts striking back at those Holly loves, she needs to gather her wits and fight back, regardless of how insurmountable the odds look.

I am completely satisfied with the experience of reading the fourth book in this series. I think that Colfer is becoming even more proficient in using the unusual characters he has created for delivering some really fine humor. He really did kick it up a notch in this sense. If you enjoy characters with a healthy amount of sarcasm, then you have to be delighted by the passages dealing with Foaly and Mulch Diggums. The latter is one of my favorite characters in this series, and the things he does with his body usually crack me up.

If you have been following this series, I can guarantee that you will not be disappointed by this new installment. For those that are new to Artemis Fowl, my recommendation is to go back to Book 1 and read them in order. To finish, I'll just quote Colfer..."More to follow".