Ratings

Content Ratings based on a 0-5 scale where
0 = no objectionable content and
5 = an excessive or disturbing level of content

Guide to Rating System

LANGUAGE

VIOLENCE

SEXUAL CONTENT

ADULT THEMES

Ratings Explanation

Language:   Swearing includes four uses of  “damn” and several uses of a swear word in fairy language that is not translated, “D’Arvit.”  There are mild ongoing insults between characters and verbal sparring.

Violence:  We see magical creatures fighting humans and bodies fly into walls, shattering bones.  There is one battle including gun shots to a troll, “serrated ivory” talons piercing a human’s chest, blood matting the Troll’s fur, a human paralyzed, the troll thinking about eating a human.  The troll is crippled with blows by a mace and then hand-to-hand combat.  There are several incidents of highly explosive dwarf flatulence.

Adult Themes:  Artemis is a youthful criminal from a criminal family.  His mother has no control of Artemis, takes a lot of sleeping pills, and has been bedridden since her husband disappeared, losing her sanity.  A fairy is corrupted by alcoholism.

Synopsis

Artemis Fowl is a 12-year-old criminal mastermind from a legendary family of criminals.  His father is missing, possibly killed, and his mother has lost her sanity.  In addition, the family fortune has been largely lost, and Artemis sets out to restore it.  This is the story of  “his first villainous venture”—a scheme to kidnap a magical creature and hold it hostage for a ransom of fairy gold.  First, he deviously acquires “The Book,” which tells the rules of the magical world.  Then he abducts a fairy who is out of magic for the moment.  A team from the “Lower Elements Police,” or LEP, is dispatched to rescue her.  Having knowledge of fairy operations, Artemis and his trusty bodyguard Butler are one step ahead of the fairy folk for most of the conflict.  The situation escalates to a life-or-death battle of wits, brawn, and technology, which concludes with a clever turn of events.  In the fairy world we meet sprites, leprechauns, centaurs, goblins and others of a magical persuasion, and learn about fairy technology.  The book includes a secret message along the bottom of all the pages, and the reader can either break the code themselves or get help online.

This fantasy speeds along on quick repartee, interesting technical inventions and unexpected plot twists.  Some of the characters that started out as  “just plain bad” turned out to be more “human” than expected, and I found myself wincing, hoping that Artemis would not betray his loyal servants.  His concern for his mother and loyalty to friends surprised me and added a satisfying depth to the story.  The part about dwarves eating dirt and bodily “processing” the dirt as they tunnel, with lots of powerful flatulence, was definitely directed at young boys.  There was suspense and risk and lots of humor.  It’s a fun adventure for the 9- to 12-year-old but interesting enough for younger teens as well.