Publisher’s write-up:
‘Arch-criminal Artemis Fowl has
had his mind wiped, and now someone wants him dead.
He remembers nothing of the
man-eating trolls and flame-throwing goblins from his past. It might help if
Artemis actually read what his much-abused biographer has written.
Because now he needs his memories
back – and fast. A certain power-crazed pixie is out for revenge and Artemis’s
one fairy ally, Captain Holly Short of the Lower Elements Police, is on the
run, charged with murder.
Suddenly everyone is depending on
Artemis Fowl: the only human who really scares the People.
And Artemis is depending on a
flatulent dwarf.’
Artemis
Fowl and the Opal Deception is the fourth novel in Eoin Colfer’s Artemis Fowl
octet. The reviews of books 1, 2 and 3 are available in this blog and I’d
recommend readers to follow the sequence.
In
this, Opal Koboi, the pixie genius is back, and she is seeking vengeance on all
those who foiled her earlier plan to conquer the fairy world (in The Arctic Incident)
and those in the death list, inevitably include Holly Short, Julius Root, Foaly
and of course, Artemis Fowl. Julius is killed in Opal’s plot – that is a
disaster by itself but, it was Holly Short who was framed by Opal in the
incident and she is charged with murder. Only one person can help her retrieve
her LEP career, and also save the fairy world, Artemis Fowl that is, and he
retains none of his fairy memories, owing to the mind-wipe and is busy stealing
a priceless piece of art in Munich.
This
book, in my opinion had a more interesting plot than ever and to the reader’s
delight, Artemis old character returns, thanks to the mind-wipe, with him going
back to his criminal activities. Moreover, a direct confrontation between Opal
and Artemis where the latter is absolutely helpless, and has no contact with
Foaly; is a highlight, something which was lacking in the second book. The
last, Mulch was ever-present in this book, for a change, he is doing something
for Artemis without expecting anything in return. So, on the whole, the vengeance
idea was carried out well, with the typical elements of an Artemis Fowl novel
in it.
The
negative ones I found were that the novel had very long chapters – which is a
discouraging factor for someone with my speed of reading. Moreover, the ‘saving
the world’ was oversimplified – suppressing the lust of one person amounts to
saving the world? I wonder…
On
the whole, this is one of the best books in the Artemis Fowl octet (I’m yet to
read the eighth book) and deserves a rating of 9/10.
Rating
– 9/10
Have
a nice day,
Andy
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