Description
Artemis has committed his entire fortune to a project he believes will save the planet and its inhabitants, both human and fairy. Can it be true? Has goodness taken hold of the world’s greatest teenage criminal mastermind?
Captain Holly Short is unconvinced, and discovers that Artemis is suffering from Atlantis Complex, a psychosis common among guilt-ridden fairies - not humans - and most likely triggered by Artemis’s dabbling with fairy magic. Symptoms include obsessive-compulsive behavior, paranoia, multiple personality disorder and, in extreme cases, embarrassing professions of love to a certain feisty LEPrecon fairy.
Unfortunately, Atlantis Complex has struck at the worst possible time. A deadly foe from Holly’s past is intent on destroying the actual city of Atlantis. Can Artemis escape the confines of his mind – and the grips of a giant squid – in time to save the underwater metropolis and its fairy inhabitants?
New York Times best-selling author Eoin Colfer delivers a knockout, fast-paced, and hilarious adventure in Artemis Fowl: The Atlantis Complex, the seventh book in the blockbuster series.
Reviews
Richly satisfying in a Cliffhanger Ending sort of way.
I must begin this review by telling you that this book is completely different than any other book in the series. Like, really. Artemis even discusses how the adventure was different in the Epilogue. Not that it doesn't fit in; the seat-of-the-pants adventure and delicious humour is still there. But something about it is just......different. Maybe it's the villain who is driven more by romance than anything else. Maybe it's the fact that the heroes are, the majority of the time, two steps behind said villain rather than two steps ahead. I think the second one is it. It seems like the heroes have a helpless demeanor about them most of the time. But somehow, this adds to the story rather than detracting from it. The perilous state of Artemis's mind adds an emotional level to this story that none of the other's seem to have. I thoroughly enjoyed the jaunts into Artemis's brain; the alter-ego Orion is also a delight to read about. There is something slightly darker about this book, too, which I think is a good thing. Like I said, it is a tad-more emotionally driven than the rest. I find this fascinating. Also, I was thrilled by the fact that most of the plot was a blatant set-up for a future Artemis/Holly relationship (SPOILERS: The elf having a human wife, Orion claiming that Artemis also has unspoken feelings for Holly, Holly claiming Trouble isn't her boyfriend. Is anyone else PUMPED!?). I love the way Artemis is slowly becoming a better and better person, specifically the fact that he is prepared to give all her has to the environment. I would also like to point out that The Time Paradox is NOT random as so many seem to think. It sets up a lot of plot elements in this one, mostly involving Artemis's further growth. And I have always found Artemis's growth to be my favorite part of the series, which is why I loved this installment so much.
I'm also going to inform you that I was a tad confused for the first half of the book. I felt like I was supposed to be familiar with Turnball Root, and I kept thinking "WHERE HAVE I HEARD THIS NAME BEFORE?!?!" I then remembered a story from The Artemis Fowl Files, about Holly's induction into Recon. This explains a ton of Root's bakstory, and really made the story click for me. PLEASE READ THE ARTEMIS FOWL FILES BEFORE READING THIS! It makes everything make so much more sense! The ending is strangely heart-wrenching and satisfying, despite the fact that it obviously leaves a huge cliffhanger for the 8th book. I love how you can just FEEL everything coming to a close, and I'm sure the next book will be the last (Also because Colfer has stated there will only be one more book). Although I'm certainly sad that my adventures with Artemis will be over, every story needs an end. And you can feel the build up in this novel. Anyway, I really liked this book. It certainly wasn't my absolute favorite in the series, but it has so much emotion and charm that I loved it anyway. Definitely a great addition to this series!
Dissapointing
I've enjoyed the Artemis Fowl series (and Eoin Colfer's wonderful characterization techniques and plot twists) all the way through. I was really looking forward to this book.
However I was dissapointed with the latest installment, the Atlantis Complex. First of all, I was expecting a resolution to the last cliffhanger plot, in which the Opal Koboi from the past slipped through the timestream and threatened to free her present self from prison. This book presented a totally random villain with no warning whatsoever, and then didn't develop him enough, leaving me with a bad taste in my mouth. The plot didn't have as many interesting twists and turns as AF novels usually do. Honestly, the whole book seemed a little rushed and half baked, not at all what I've come to expect from Colfer.
Don't get me wrong, there were some good things about The A.C. too. The characters were quirky and likeable as normal, and Colfer introduced a new twist with Artemis's multiple personality disorder. But overall it was not as good a work as I had come to expect from the author.
Orion Fowl is a riot, but he sure wasn't Artemis
Loyal readers of the series will notice almost immediately that Artemis Fowl is not operating at 100% for Book 7. Artemis suffers from compulsions, fear of the number 4, increasing paranoia and loss of touch with reality. Worst of all, when Artemis' ingenuity is most needed (as an old foe of the fairyfolk returns to power), Artemis' smooth-talking romantic hero alter-ego Orion surfaces and takes over as the dominant personality. Is everything lost for the fairy people?
By now, Eoin Colfer has his formula down pat, we have the expected non-stop action & adventure, laugh out loud humor (although some jokes were a bit stale) and inventive fairy-made gadgets that would delight any techno-geek out there.
Old favorites (the dwarf Mulch Diggins is still the scene-stealer) and the usual suspects return for this adventure, but even though Orion Fowl is a total riot and totally delightful in his own right, 'The Atlantis Complex' really suffered from the lack of Artemis Fowl himself. It's just not the same without the ole' Artemis around. It's funny if you think about it, Artemis is so awkward, stilted and unemotional, but this book proves that HE is the heart and soul of everyone around him. With Artemis trapped in his mind, the heroes are suddenly helpless and bumbling, always playing catch-up but not quite to the villain. I did enjoy the mind-trip of being able to spy inside Artemis' brain so that's a plus.
Another weakness for this book is that the plot is not as complex as usual; I've always enjoyed the unpredictable double-cross/triple-cross elements & the mind-twisting tricks that Eoin Colfer adds to the books, but maybe he's run out of steam this time around.
Eoin Colfer has said that there's only one book left to look forward to in the series, and as a longtime fan, I do hope that the final book will be worthy of the brilliance of the first book. Book 7 doesn't quite live up to my high standards, but it was still an enjoyable read.
p.s. To all those tickled by an Artemis/Holly romance, am I the only one going -ewww? Artemis is a 15-year-old child, while Holly is an adult elf (yes, she looks like a child, but still -ewww)
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