Title: Artemis Fowl: The Arctic IncidentISBN: ISBN 0-7868-0855-1
As usual, this review will contain spoilers. If you haven't read the book and would not like your story spoiled, please leave this post right away.
The Arctic Incident is the second book in the Artemis Fowl book series, preceded by the hilarious and entertaining first book, Artemis Fowl. In this second book, criminal mastermind Artemis is back with his manservant / bodyguard / friend, Butler, but this time they are not looking to make more fortune. Instead, they are on a mission to save Artemis's father who had been missing for almost 2 years, believed to be dead by many, and had even been declared legally dead by the courts. At the same time, trouble is brewing underground, in the fairy settlement of Haven City, where an uprising will cause major trouble to Captain Holly Short, Commander Julius Root and the centaur genius, Foaly. Furthermore, Artemis will be unexpectedly involved in the mix in the hope to get some help from the fairy folk in saving his father.
After an interesting first book in the series, The Arctic Incident has a lot to live up to. Personally, I thought the plot is very entertaining; not only it introduces an interesting new villain but in also exploring Artemis Fowl's personal life, which I think is a good choice in developing Artemis's character. Readers would also see a different side of Artemis, a softer and human side of Artemis I might add, who's not only into numbers, plans and fortune. Well, we did see this side of Artemis before in the first novel but it is more apparent in The Arctic Incident. I also like how the two plots; the goblin insurgence and Artemis's father rescue mission, intertwined and connected. With that said, I do have a bit of a problem with some parts of the book, particularly the action sequences. I don't like them that much compared to the action parts of the first book, but they are not really that bad. Maybe I'm the only one who had troubled understanding them.
As for the characters, all the main characters are back; Artemis Fowl (of course!), Butler, Captain Holly Short, Commander Julius Root, Foaly, Briar Cudgeon and Mulch Diggums. Even smaller characters like the Kelp brothers and Chix Verbil are back. It is interesting to see how this characters grow, no matter how small or big their roles are in the story. And like I mention before, this book introduces an interesting villain in the form of a pixie genius, Opal Koboi. I like how Opal is portrayed in the book, but somehow I feel like she is under-developed as a character, which is quite frustrating since I feel like she has such a great potential to be a great antagonist. On the other hand, Briar Cudgeon takes center stage as the main antagonist in this book. Although I kind of okay with it (his motives, attitudes and all), but I think it would be so much better if Opal Koboi took center stage as the main villain.
Overall, The Arctic Incident is a really great continuation from the first book. However, I would advise that readers read the first book before they get their hands on this second book of the series as it would make more sense (concerning on the plot and jokes in the story) and more enjoyable to them.
The story can still stands on its own but it would be more rewarding if the readers made the effort to read the first book first.
Image source from Amazon.
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