Recommendation
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
I give Artemis Fowl and the Arctic Incident 5 stars. The storyline is great, and the character development is superb. I didn’t want to put the book down and consider it a page-turner. I loved it even as an adult.
Reading Level
5-9th grade
Review for Parents
This book is clean aside from some made-up swearwords that the fairies use.
Plotline: Spoiler-Free
The prologue sets the tone for the entire book. It kicks off in the Arctic. In the cold darkness, the Russians are looking for survivors from the ship they had just sunk, the Fowl Star. When the lone survivor is found, they make a call to the boss, “Keep Him” he says. They had found Artemis Fowl Sr.
When Artemis gets the communications from the Russian mafia letting him know who they have, he starts to devise a plan to retrieve him. While making his plan, underground in Haven City the LEP is trying to figure out who is trading batteries with the humans. Though they don’t know who is buying, they have a good guess on which human is supplying.
Holly pays a visit to Butler and Artemis and ends up bringing them down to Haven City. Once it’s established that Artemis isn’t the supplier of the batteries, Commander Root strikes a deal. In exchange for Artemis’ help finding the human selling the batteries, the LEP will arrange for safe passage to Russia. Not only that, the LEP will provide help with the rescue attempt.
In the absence of Holy and Commander Root, while they are fulfilling their end of the bargain, the goblins rebel. Not only does Artemis help them figure out the battery supplier, but he is also forced to help them put down the rebellion. Without putting down that rebellion, saving Artemis Sr. simply wouldn’t be possible.
My Thoughts on Artemis Fowl and the Arctic Incident
Super action-packed storyline. The book is predictable but for a kid who loves adventure and imagination, I highly recommend it. Once again, the bulk of this section will be focused on character development because I believe that a story without phenomenal characters isn’t a great story at all.
Butler continues to show Artemis how to grow in the absence of his father. It’s clear that he cares about Artemis and would be willing to do anything for him not just because Artemis is his employer, but because he genuinely likes Artemis as a person. Artemis is the only constant in his life.
Captain Holly Short is still herself. She cares for others even when others don’t always deserve her care and compassion. She not only forgives Butler and Artemis, but she grows to like them. I’m not sure if she will develop as a character or if she will stay the same throughout the series. She is still a great role model and is a character that I would prefer not to change because I feel like she would have to regress as a character rather than progress.
Commander Root just becomes more likable. He too seems to grow to like Artemis and Butler and appreciates their help and in exchange is happy to help them out. Commander Root is a big teddy bear and he’s not as intimidating as he’d like you to believe. You don’t realize how good of a leader he is, but this book gives you a good idea of what he’s willing to do to keep the people of Haven City safe.
Foaly spends most of this book locked up with his computers. He’s still the same old
Foaly though. He is smart as ever and even in his locked-up position, he is vital in putting down the goblin rebellion. Without his quick thinking, the council that oversees Haven City would have been overthrown and there would be new leaders in town.
Artemis grew up a lot in this book. You can tell that he genuinely regrets having kidnapped Holly. He knows that he made a mistake and is genuinely sorry that he did it. He grows from a boy who sees nobody as his equal to someone who sees others as worthy of respect, even if it’s just a select few people that he grows to respect.
Not only are the characters in the series growing, but they seem to be growing closer together. It’s nice to see and it makes the book a great read. I’m excited to see what is going to happen in the future books.