Audio Review: Artemis Fowl (Book 1) by Eoin Colfer

January 25th, 2010 | 3.5-4 Treasure Chests, A-C, Action & Adventure, Audio Book Review, Fantasy, Guest Review, YA Genre

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by First Mate Keira, guest reviewer.

Title: Artemis Fowl (Book 1)
Author: Eoin Colfer
Narrator: Nathaniel Parker
# CDs / Minutes: 5 CDs (approximately 72 min. each)
Format: Unabridged Compact Disc
Grade Reading Level: 6.2; Ages 10-17

Audio Clip Preview: Download Clip (Right click, save as.)

Summary: Artemis Fowl is a criminal mastermind with a few parental issues. His father is missing and presumed dead. His mother has reverted to a childlike state to cope and never leaves her room in Fowl Manor. Artemis Fowl is determined to bring the Fowl Estate back to its former glory and he’s going to do that by doing what no other human has ever succeeded at doing… he’s going to extort the fairy people!

Why I Started This Book:

I began this book series because I heard an awful lot about it. One friend described it as getting a Harry Potter fix and since I was in desperate need of that I went to the library’s young adult section to find it. I decided on the audio format because I had an opportunity to listen for several hours on a road trip.

Likes:

Eoin Colfer is extremely clever when it comes to world building. I quite liked his use of current myths like a leprechaun and turning it into Lower Elements Police reconnaissance or more commonly LEP-recon, the fairy police force.
Nathaniel Parker is an amazing reader. He is so good with voices and acting that the story fairly leaps out of the speakers and starts materializing in front of you. He is as good as Jim Dale in my opinion.

Dislikes:

I don’t know if I’d call it an out and out dislike but there’s a lot of body humor in the book. Girls will probably find the flatulence-emitting dwarf a bit over the top as I did. However in Mulch Diggums’ defense he does bring a lot of humor to the story.

Last minute thoughts: Artemis Fowl is similar to Harry Potter in its setup. The first book places young Artemis at age eleven. In the next he’s age twelve and so on.

Buy: Artemis Fowl (Audio Book), Artemis Fowl (paperback), or Artemis Fowl Boxed Set

Buy on Audible: Artemis Fowl: Artemis Fowl, Book 1

Book Rating: 4 Treasure Chests
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Keira runs a book review blog for readers by readers on romance novels entitled Love Romance Passion. She’s been reading romance since she was in her teens and began blogging about romance so she could share her passion for her favorite genre. She loves reading paranormal, Regency, historical America, and highlander most of all and completely adores blind and wounded heroes.