If you are a fan of action, science fiction, and adventure, then you are sure to have heard of The Fowl Adventures by Eoin Colfer. With the perfect blend of winding plot lines and invested characters, you are sure to lose yourself in the world of Artemis Fowl.
First released in 2001, this book series has become a staple in the book collection of children and adult fantasy lovers alike. With eleven books in the series, you can really dig your teeth in.
Irish author, Eoin Colfer, rose to fame when the first installment, Artemis Fowl was first published in the early 2000s and has since had a collection of New York Time Bestsellers. There really is nothing this man cannot do.
After a long battle of being in development, finding the right director, and a change of ownership, the Artemis Fowl film adaptation was finally released in June 2020. With a focus on the first 2 books in the series.
About Artemis Fowl
The Fowl Adventures consists of eleven novels following twelve-year-old genius Artemis Fowl II and his bodyguard, Domovoi Butler, who kidnap reconnaissance officer Holly Short.
As Artemis and his rag-tag group of bodyguards and younger siblings continue to outsmart the police, it becomes clear that the police are going to need his help to stop the goblin rebellion.
In exchange for his genius brain, the police must help Artemis find his missing father, cure his mother of madness and restore the Fowl family fortune.
Throughout the series, Artemis and his friends are put in some of the most terrifying situations and deal with incredible themes of loss and guilt. But somehow, they always end up on top. Something we can all learn from the young genius.
The Fowl Adventures are filled with adventure, mishaps, humor, and mystery. Can this unlikely agreement with the police bring back Artemis’ father and restore the family fortune or will Holly Short be in their possession forever? Read the series to find out!
About Eoin Colfer
Born in 1965, Eoin Colfer is a highly successful Irish author of children’s books. However, before he became the award-winning author of Artemis Fowl, he was a primary school teacher.
In 2001, with the release of the first installment of The Fowl Adventures, Artemis Fowl, Colfer shot to fame. Half Moon Investigations, The Wish List, The Supernaturalist, and a number of Eoin Colfer’s Legends are only a few of his other well-known books.
Another bestseller by Colfer was titled Airman, which was released in January 2008. More than half of his books have so far made it onto the New York Times bestsellers list at least once.
Kicking off The Fowl Adventures is the first installment, Artemis Fowl. Artemis Fowl, a 12-year-old criminal mastermind, has found a world below earth filled with armed, deadly, and incredibly high-tech fairies.
In an effort to revive his family’s money, he kidnaps Holly Short and takes her hostage. However, he might have overestimated the fairies’ abilities. Is he about to start an interspecies conflict?
Through the first book, we are introduced to Artemis Fowl, his genius brain, and those he deems as trusted companions. While they do kidnap Holly Short, you can quickly see just how much she becomes part of the team.
Join Artemis, and his bodyguard as they work to save his mother, get the ransom they demanded and prevent an all-out goblin war from taking place. Artemis fowl is devious, cunning, and most of all, incredibly funny.
Pros
Humor is a main theme keeping this novel lighthearted.
While being stationed at a boarding school in Iceland, Artemis receives a rescue video from his father. And he has been captured by the Russian Mafia.
Rescuing his father and battling against the B’wa Kell goblin gang, Artemis is thrown into a world of violence and schemes. As the B’wa Kell begins to make unexpected advances in their rebellion, Artemis is instantly seen as a suspect by the LEP.
Halfway through, Holly Short, an LEP captain, and Julius Root, the LEP commander, as well as Foaly, a centaur, and the LEP’s primary technological supervisor, agree with Artemis to cooperate to put an end to the goblin uprising with Mulch Diggums’ assistance.
They ultimately assist Artemis in locating his father, who has been gone for the past two or three years, in order to uphold their end of the bargain.
Can Artemis once again work with the LEP to save the pixies and rescue his father from the clutches of the Russian Mafia? The Arctic Incident is full of action and is a worthy read by any fantasy lover.
Prepare for moments of utter chaos, deceit, and true ingenuity. As the story progresses, you fall more in love with the characters and begin to understand just the lengths that Artemis is willing to go to for the ones he loves.
American businessman Jon Spiro killed Butler and stole the precious C Cube. A handheld supercomputer created with stolen fairy technology. In an attempt to possibly preserve his friend, Butler is placed into a fish freezer.
Spiro hires Mulch Diggums (also known as Mo Digence) and Loafers McGuire to kidnap Artemis in order to gain access to the C Cube, which is encrypted by an Eternity Code that only Artemis is able to unlock.
Holly agrees to assist, but only if Artemis and his allies are to have their minds erased. They invade Spiro Needle, the structure containing Spiro’s business, with the assistance of the dwarf and Butler’s sister, Juliet, and recover the C Cube once more.
The fairies and Foaly mind-control the three humans as the novel comes to a close, and Artemis offers Mulch Diggums a medallion that Holly (supposedly) gave to him in The Arctic Incident, which is actually a disc that will jog his memories of the fairies.
Evil pixie Opal Koboi has escaped and is hungry for revenge. With a plan to start a war between humans and fairies, Artemis will be caught in the crossfire. Once she has convinced the fictional environmentalist that she is his daughter, Belinda.
Koboi uses Giovanni to discover the daily world which could result in the end of the fairy world altogether. With his memory of the fairy underworld gone, Artemis must reconnect with friends and outsmart his greatest enemy.
The third novel in the series is just as invigorating as the last, leaving readers wanting more. As Artemis and his friends battle against new and old evil, readers can welcome their strength and watch as they unleash their true power onto the horrid Opal Koboi.
Pros
Characters develop further.
The villain is well-rounded and devious.
Cons
The ending is anti-climactic.
Themes: Amnesia, friendship, good vs evil, growth, love.
The gang are back together! As the demon island Hybras is brought back from limbo, Artemis and his friends must come together to defeat him.
Foaly informs them that the demon fairy family threw themselves out of time to the island of Hybras after the Battle of Taillte, the fight for territory between fairies and humans, and that on their island, their time can be anything in ours.
Demons are suddenly coming onto earth as the time spell breaks. If the humans find the demons, they will inevitably find the other fairies as well.
The demon warlock N°1 is being sought after by young prodigy Minerva Paradizo, and Artemis and his comrades are on the case. In an attempt to win the Nobel Prize, Minerva plans to introduce N°1 to humans.
After Billy Kong, her security guard, turns against her in her own home, she eventually abandons her mission and joins them.
In order to destroy the demons in Hybras with the live bomb Billy Kong had given Holly, Artemis, Holly, N°1, and Qwan travel through time and space. Artemis had planned to do this since he thought that his brother had been murdered by a group of demons.
On this journey, Artemis finds his soulmate, Minerva Paradizo. Matched perfectly, the protective and stubborn genius will put herself in harm’s way to save Artemis.
When Holly and Artemis swap eyes, they begin to discover new things about each other and their worlds are once again turned upside down.
Pros
New characters are introduced.
An element of romance is introduced to the series.
Artemis Fowl’s world is upended when his mother is diagnosed with a fatal disease. The brain tissue of the silky sifaka lemur is the only hope for treatment. Sadly, because of the actions of a younger Artemis who was greedy for money, the animal is now extinct.
The young genius goes back in time with the aid of his fairy buddies to save the lemur and bring it to the present. But in order to do that, Artemis will have to overpower a crazy poacher who has his sights set on Holly Short as a new target.
As Artemis faces death, Holly is the only one who can save him. With a true love’s kiss. However, when Holly discovers the truth about why his mother has fallen ill, her feelings instantly end Hurt, and in love, Holly and Artemis must put their feelings aside and save his mother.
And while on the surface it is packed full of action, adventures, and true love, it is also a tale of self-reflection and how sometimes we must face our past mistakes in order to move forward.
Pros
The ambitious plot line comes together for an action-packed journey.
Cons
Too many elements have changed from previous books.
Themes: Guilt, hero, time travel, fantasy, adventure, self-reflection.
In Artemis Fowl: The Atlantis Complex, Artemis describes how she is eager to save the planet from impending destruction brought on by global warming by concealing solar-reflecting nano wafers with snow.
Artemis develops the Atlantis Complex, a syndrome that is similar to multiple personality disorder, acute paranoia, and obsessive-compulsive behavior in fairies. And with this disorder comes the birth of his alter ego, Orion Fowl.
The plot follows Turnball Root, Julius Root’s wicked brother, as he escapes from prison and launches probes to assassinate his foes, including Artemis, and his fairy allies. With Butler in Mexico in search of his sister, Juliet.
As Artemis becomes more paranoid and his forgotten rival is on the run. Artemis, Butler, and Juliet must unite to defeat zombies and a criminal mastermind.
While having nothing to do with Atlantis, The Atlantis Complex is filled with character growth and is an absolute must-read for fans!
Opal Koboi is back, with an even more devious plan to ruin Artemis than before. After his final session of Atlantis Complex treatment, Butler, Holly Short, and Artemis hurry to stop her.
When they fall short, Opal unlocks the first gate, allowing the warriors’ spirits to enter the world of the living. Round zero is the Fowl Estate, where Opal has brought back to life fairy warriors buried there a long time ago.
Their ghosts have taken over any bodies they can find, including corpses, Artemis’s younger brothers, and various animals, and they are obligated to carry out Opal’s every directive.
It will take all of Artemis’s cunning, as well as Butler’s bravery, Holly’s talent, and Foaly’s technological prowess, to defeat the ragtag band of soldiers and their evil boss. But if all else fails, Armageddon will undoubtedly occur.
The last installment of The Fowl Adventures is the last battle that Artemis and his friends will face against Opal Koboi. Filled with action, emotion, and all things magical, it is time to end this once and for all.
Pros
Brings the series to a complete end.
Easy to read.
Cons
No romance is included.
Themes: Companionship. Sacrifice, good vs evil, greed, fantasy, adventure, action.
While Artemis and his gang are retired, his younger twin brothers, Miles and Beckett are here to continue the adventures. The first installment of The Fowl Twins is just as action-packed and magical as The Fowl Adventure series.
Beckett and Myles Fowl, a scientist and a force of nature, respectively, are placed in the care of the home security company (NANNI) for one night a week after their 11th birthday.
They become friends with a troll during that period who has climbed to the surface of the earth using his claws.
Unluckily for the troll, he is being pursued by a cunning nobleman and a questioning nun who both need the magical creature for their own gain and a fairy-in-training who has been tasked to defend him.
When the twins decide to take the Fowl jet without permission, they have no idea about the repercussions they face. The twins are taken under home imprisonment when the Fowl parents and fairy police force determine that enough is enough.
Myles, though, is curious as to who was monitoring the Fowl jet. Why would someone choose to remove them from the sky? What is the broader context? Someone must be enraged by these inquiries because Myles is kidnapped and taken away from his twin.
Friends Becket and Lazuli must work together to rescue Miles while being shot at, covered, in spit, and dealing with a rather uncooperative dwarf.
The Duke of Scilly, Lord Teddy Bleedham-Drye, has been planning his retaliation against the Fowl Twins since book one’s humiliating events. Teddy intends to deliver them their dessert. Or more commonly known as permanent death.
He threatens Myles with his weaponized jet, which Beckett and expert Lazuli are able to deactivate, leading to the duke’s fatal crash. But are they telling the truth? The twins’ ultimate and bizarre fight with their biggest nemesis involves ghosts, clones, and fairy magic.
Readers can enjoy as the twins battle their way out of their almost death with their wit, helpful friends, and pure determination. Bringing the series of Artemis Fowl and friends to a complete and wholesome end.
Pros
Easy to read.
Brings the entire series to an end.
Cons
The plot is dragged out for the ending.
Themes: Final goodbye, genius, comedy, action, adventure, kidnapping, defeat.
The Artemis Fowl Files is an addition to The Fowl Adventures. It has two short stories, one of which tells the tale of Holly Short’s LEPrecon initiation and how Commander Root’s brother, Turnball Root, nearly ruined it.
The second one tells the tale of a theft committed by Mulch Diggums and Artemis Fowl to steal a tiara with a huge jewel on it. When Mulch receives the gem, Artemis informs him that it will be used for a new laser he is building.
However, Mulch mounts the stone on a pendant and gives it to his mother as a memento of his father and a pledge to track him down.
A spotter’s guide for the People, interviews with the book’s main characters as well as one with author Eoin Colfer, and Artemis’ “report card” with remarks from his professors, mostly expressing their annoyance with his extraordinary mental ability, are all included in the book.
It includes a secret message to use it with, schematics of some of Foaly’s inventions, a crossword and word search, and a translation of the Gnommish alphabet.
The bottom margins of the original book’s Gnommish text can also be translated using this translation guide. The Artemis Fowl Files gives the entire Artemis Fowls series a complete end.
With additional resources such as a report card and a secret message, fans of the series can fully immerse themselves in the adventures.
Pros
Additional resources for the story.
Readers can see more into the life of Artemis Fowl.
Cons
Not a novel.
Themes: Resources, theft, betrayal, the female lead, crime, adventure.
Final Thoughts
The tales of Artemis Fowl are some of the greatest adventures that can be read. Whether you are a child just beginning to discover your own preferences or you are an adult looking for a fun, exciting series to enjoy.
Colfer created a world that anyone can be a part of and have some fun along the way. While Artemis and his friends rush to save the world time and time again, you never know what is awaiting them on the next page.
When Artemis’ story came to an end, his younger twin brothers took over. Chaotic, funny, and thrilling, each adventure is crazier than the last. Above is a complete guide to reading The Fowl Adventures and The Fowl Twins in order.
You will never miss a thing with this simple guide and you can stay on track with incredible adventures! All you have to do is flip the page if you dare.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Age Is Artemis Fowl For?
The Fowl Adventures and The Fowl Twin series are suitable for ages 9 and up. They are easy to read and have lighthearted themes making them great for children.
What Mental Illness Does Artemis Fowl Have?
Holly and Foaly come to the conclusion that Artemis has Atlantis Complex, a psychological fairy disease with symptoms like OCD, paranoia, and dissociative identity disorder.
Artemis’ speech is slowed as he counts his words, and Holly and Foaly notice that he speaks slowly.
Do You Need To Read Artemis Fowl To Read The Fowl Twins?
While it’s possible to proceed without reading Artemis Fowl first, doing so will help you learn more about the Fowl family and the fairy realm. Here, there is a lot of intense action that begins with abduction.
Noah Burton works as a Librarian full time, and is a blogger in his spare time. His goal is to write compelling recommendations for all of the most popular books he can find, from science fiction to romance.
With a passion for books, a drive to find new reads to get stuck into, and a love for sharing book recommendations with others, Noah can help you find the next novel for your bucket list.
