Artemis Fowl, by Eoin Colfer (Miramax/Hyperion, 2002)

Artemis Fowl is a millionaire and criminal genius, at the tender age of twelve. With his father missing and his mother ill, it’s up to him to keep the family going, and he has some distinctly unusual views on how to restore their much-dwindled fortunes. Holly Short is an elf, part of the crack LEPrecon Unit, responsible for tracking down wayward members of the fairy race and cleaning up problems. Above all, she has to keep the human race unaware of the magical beings that dwell in secret deep underground. When Holly and Artemis cross paths, things are bound to get messy. Holly’s running short on magic, and only a ritual conducted out in the open will give her the juice she needs. Artemis has a copy of the Book, the collective wisdom and rules of fairy society. All he needs is an opportunity. And he gets it.
What starts as a simple kidnapping soon turns into all-out war between fairy and human, as Holly’s colleagues come to free her from Artemis’ diabolical clutches, by any means necessary. Armed with magic and technology, facing off against a foe twice as cunning and just as ruthless, they’ll be hard-pressed to find a positive spin on the situation. Artemis knows too much about them, and his associates are rather well trained in dealing with opponents. The best anyone may hope for in the end is to survive…
Part Men in Black, part James Bond, with a healthy dose of something unquantifiable thrown in for good measure, the Artemis Fowl books are technothrillerfairy adventures for the young adult, and something refreshingly different for a field that really has seen it all.


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