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Posts Tagged ‘world’

This week’s book is Artemis Fowl, which I loved. Artemis Fowl is a twelve year old genius criminal mastermind (awesome) who kidnaps a fairy and holds her hostage to extort fairy gold (more awesome) from the hidden kingdom of magical creatures. Eoin Colfer approaches this material in a way that is fresh, exciting, and not the least bit patronizing so that adults will be able to enjoy this book as much as their children.

Artemis is a welcome change from the standard unlucky but scrappy hero (whose parents are probably dead) who means well and is genuinely courageous that populates most MG series. Artemis Fowl doesn’t mean well for anyone but himself and his mother. He is relentlessly cold in his assessment of people and situations and he even poisons a fairy (don’t worry, this is MG and the fairy comes out okay, but still…). Artemis doesn’t kill anyone, but murder is never an impossibility for him (in fact, he threatens nearly everyone he meets) and that keeps the character fresh and interesting.

Also fun are Colfer’s amusing pairings of traditional magic with modern technology so that the fairies are part standard magical creature, part Men In Black. Various characters have guns, ninja skills, bombs, and the ability to eat through nearly anything. The whole affair reads like a big budget summer movie and that’s a compliment. I love summer movies and I loved Artemis Fowl.

Of special note to writers: witness how Colfer easily navigates through multiple third person fixed perspectives. His narrative is never restricted to just one character, which is a break from the norm in MG fiction and admirable. Although Artemis Fowl is unquestionably the main character, he isn’t always the current protagonist in the text. Colfer more often writes from the perspective of various fairies and even a dwarf, each with their own goal and story to tell. And the novel is all the richer for it.
World Music From Uzbekistan

Belvoir Castle A Thousand This is a wonderful book. I love when this type of book is written by someone who owns and lives in the home. Like the books written by the Duchess of Devonshire. It gives you a whole different …

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Architecture World s Greatest For my neice who has recently become interested in architecture, this is the perfectbook. It not only provides a world perspective of architecture, the actually pictures are great. Fantastic buy! …

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