What I've Been Waiting For

Wifey and I started reading the Artemis Fowl series quite a while ago. The first one was pretty good, although a bit lackluster. I had just finished reading the Fablehaven series by Brandon Mull (which is excellent), which probably influenced my tepid feelings toward Artemis Fowl.

I started reading the second book—The Arctic Incident—and lost interest pretty quickly. I wasn't so sure that these books were for me. Wifey urged me to keep going in the series, and since we had them sitting on the shelf, I decided to read them at a later date.

I have run out of things to read, so as I was browsing through our bookshelves, I ran across the Artemis Fowl series again. I didn't want to start into something familiar, I wanted something I hadn't read yet. So I picked up the book and decided to dedicate some time to it.

I got past the second, and third, and fourth books (although not in that order). Again, I was feeling a bit meh. I mean, the story is good and all, but it is a bit formulaic (Yes, I realize that I'm an adult reading books written for tweens/teens). There just wasn't anything new and exciting in the books. There were new gadgets and gizmos, but it all seemed run-of-the-mill.

I started into the fifth book (the last one we own) and ended up really enjoying it. Finally I had a book that was mostly devoid of Mulch Diggums (who isn't my favorite character if you couldn't guess) and a new species that was introduced. The best part was the fact that the demons weren't formulaic. Well, most of the demons were, but the one we interacted with the most offered something fresh and new to the normal idea of a demon. He wasn't buffed out with large horns and wings, ready to eat everyone's soul. He was a misfit, which I think all tweens/teens can relate to. In fact, I think a lot of adults can relate to it as well. I know I do at times.

In short, I am pleased to announce that I enjoyed Artemis Fowl, The Lost Colony. It renewed my hope in Eoin Colfer's ability as a writer to make a story that is engaging and fresh. With that said, I think I'll have to check the next ones out of the library to see if I would be interested in buying them. I'll let you know.