Tag: magic

Caramel has already reviewed the first five Artemis Fowl books by Eoin Colfer. Today he is talking to Sprinkles about the sixth book, Artemis Fowl and the Time Paradox, first published in 2008.

Sprinkles: So Caramel, we are at book six. Tell us what our favorite not-so-evil boy genius is up to in this book.

Caramel: Saving his mom. She gets seriously sick and Artemis has to travel through time to find a cure.

S: I see. That time travel is what leads to the time paradox in the title, right?

C: Yes. I suppose you could say that. The time travel thing is done really well though, so the paradox is not illogical. It is pretty awesome!

S: I am curious! So is the plot really intricate?

C: Yes, there are many moving parts and they somehow all fit together. Like a puzzle.

S: I see. So do we see some of our old friends from the other books?

C: Sure. There is of course Holly, the fairy detective that Artemis has been working together with. And they travel back in time together because Artemis tricks her into believing that she is the reason for his mom’s sickness. Then there is Opal whom we met before.

S: I think Opal was the main villain in Artemis Fowl and the Opal Deception by Eoin Colfer.

C: Yes.

S: Did we meet Artemis’s mother before?

C: Yes, but she was not quite as central in the other books. Here it is her life at stake.

S: Okay, Caramel, so you have been reading these Artemis Fowl books for a while now. Do you have a favorite so far?

C: Not really. I like all of them. So when I was reading this book, this one was my favorite. But then if I pick up any of the other books and read that, then that is my favorite.

S: So in short, you like them all.

C: Yes. Artemis is really cool. And the plots are actually quite complicated sometimes. When I reread any of the books, I always catch something I had missed before.

S: That sounds neat!

C: It is neat!

S: Okay, so you know there are two more books in the series, right?

C: Yep, and I have to read them, too.

S: Nobody is forcing you Caramel.

C: But I want to.

S: That is the best reason to read! Okay, so if you were to describe this sixth book in the series, in a way that distinguishes it from the earlier books, what would you say?

C: In other words, you want me to give you a …. blurb?

S: Yes. I suppose I do.

C: Okay, I love blurbs! So here is a blurb: Blurb.

S: Okay, let us not go there again.

C: Blurb! Blurb! Blurb! Blurb! Blurb!

S: Okay, I am glad you got that out of your system. Please now, give me three to five words that describe this book in a way that is different from the earlier five?

C: Okay, so here goes: hilarious and well-paced time travel adventure to save a lemur from extinction and cure Artemis’s mother! And that is my … blurb.

S: Okay, I think that will do. So let us wrap this up before this totally gets out of control. What do you want to tell our readers?

C: Stay tuned for more book bunny reviews!

Caramel has already reviewed the first four Artemis Fowl books by Eoin Colfer. Today he is talking to Sprinkles about the fifth book, Artemis Fowl and the Lost Colony, first published in 2006.

Sprinkles: So Caramel, this is book five. What happens to the world’s most famous evil boy genius in this one?

Caramel: He is not evil, remember? He has his memory back.

S: Oh, yes, you told us that last week, when we were talking about Artemis Fowl and the Opal Deception. Okay, so he is no longer evil. But he is still a boy genius and he is still friends with fairies, right?

C: Yep. But in this book there are also demons.

S: Oooh, interesting! Demons like in “an evil spirit” according to my computer dictionary, or “a malevolent supernatural entity” according to Wikipedia?

C: Kind of. They are kind of a fairy again, I think. They are not really evil. They just really hate humans.

S: Oh I see. You know I tried to read the summary of the book in the Wikipedia article for it. And I was quite confused. The plot sounds quite complicated.

C: The plot is kind of complicated, yes, but when you read the book, you can follow it.

S: Okay. So tell me a bit about what is going on.

C: So there is a lost colony of demons, lost in time. Their island has been moved out of time and regular space by magic, but the spell that they used is failing, so eventually all the demons will have to pop up in our universe right now, in the twenty-first century. Unless Artemis Fowl and his friends can save the day and repair the spell.

S: That sounds a lot clearer than the Wikipedia summary I think. Maybe the summary there was a lot more detailed and I kind of got lost in all the names and all the events. But this was helpful. Thank you.

C: You’re welcome.

S: But wait! So the lost colony in the title is an island colony of demons, right?

C: Yes. And in their island, because of the spell, there is no time.

S: That is really weird to try and think about. How can there be no time?

C: Well, they are sort of independent of the time going on in the rest of the universe. You know, other time travel stories also do this kind of thing sometimes. There is that one Doctor Who story, for example, where he travels to this Cathedral of Contemplation which is also out of time. It is an audio story called “Out Of Time“.

S: That does sound interesting. Maybe we can listen to it after this post. And you have a point; time travel is almost always very confusing but also very exciting to think about.

C: Yes.

S: So if you were to describe this book in three to five words, what would you say?

C: So you want me to give you a book blurb?

S: Yes, but please let us not do the “blurb blurb” thing again.

C: Blurb blurb. It is fun though, but okay.

S: Thank you.

C: Here goes: terrifyingly fun adventure within and out of time.

S: I like that!

C: That would make a great blurb, you mean?

S: Yes, I suppose so. Let us wrap up this post before things get too out of hand. So what would you tell our readers as we do so?

C: Stay tuned for more book bunny reviews! And blurb!