The Artemis Fowl Files

Image credit: Amazon.uk

One of the little things in life that I really enjoy is the days when I successfully read a book. One book in one day! For me, being a slow reader and prone to procrastination (right now, Animal Crossing), being able to complete a book in a day is a real achievement and I was able to revel in the success of this recently, as I took a break from the last instalment of the Artemis Fowl series that I’ve got and read The Artemis Fowl Files.

The book features two short stories and a series of small interviews with various characters, as well as one from Colfer himself, and I have to say that’s it’s a fun little read. Taking place between The Arctic Incident and The Eternity Code, the two short stories are really what’s worth reading.

The first is LEPrecon, which tells the story of Holly Short’s initiation into the LEP. Her test assignment gets significantly botched when a psychotic ex-LEP captures her and Trouble Kelp in the hope of using them to lure Commander Julius Root into a dangerous and fatal trap.

The story establishes Holly’s incredible moral code, her quick thinking, and the relationship that she and Commander Root enjoy in the Artemis Fowl novels. It’s a very fun little action-packed story.

Image credit: HarperCollins Publishers

The second is The Seventh Dwarf, which follows the recently escaped and presumed dead Mulch Diggums, who is out to steal a famous tiara from a Chinese dignitary. Mulch is tricked and cornered by Artemis Fowl who also has plans for the tiara, which has unfortunately already been stolen by another group of dwarfs. Mulch reluctantly teams up with Artemis to steal the tiara, but things go slightly wrong when Captain Holly Short shows up after hearing Fowl’s name come through on a surveillance sound file.

This is a fun little heist story where everyone (with the exception of Holly) is a bad guy and the whole good vs. evil thing doesn’t play much of a part. A groovy little tale of villains chasing villains, I really enjoyed it.

Author: Eoin Colfer, 2004

Published: Puffin Books, the Penguin Group