Author - Eoin Colfer
This is the review of the fourth book in the Artemis Fowl book series titled The Opal Deception. First published in 2005, the book tells the story of young Artemis Fowl and his fairy friends trying to beat his pixie nemesis, Opal Koboi, from her second attempt at world domination.
It's been years since I read the third book but I must say, it's one of those series that is easy to jump back into. It won't take long for you to familiarize with the characters and the world of the series again, at least that's what I've experienced. I immediately recognized the main characters, the basic plot points of what happened to our main characters in the previous book, and the humorous tone that is carried over to this fourth book which is something that I always like about this series and glad that it is being retained in this chapter of Artemis's journey.
The following review will have minor spoilers of the plot so I recommend that you only read my review if you had read the book, or if you're okay with spoilers.
Let's start with the story. As I've mentioned, it's a series where it's easy for you to jump back into the story so it was quite easy for me to get back on track with it. It starts with the re-introduction of the main villain, Opal Koboi, then to Artemis and Butler with their criminal activities (yes, they are back to their criminal ways again), while Captain Holly Short and Commander Julius Root are on a mission in an abandoned chute with the LEP team. Lovable characters, Foaly and Mulch Diggums, are also back in case you were wondering. While all the usual suspects are back, some characters did take a backseat this time, so expect some characters to just briefly mentioned in the book or only being a minor part of the story. The story has an early unexpected death of an important character which push the story forward and get our main characters back together again to fight against the evil Opal Koboi.
The story flows smoothly, focusing from one character to another in the beginning chapters before reuniting them for a showdown. The story still packs with humour, character development (mainly for Artemis and Holly) and action, as well as some sad moments in certain part of the story. It's pretty much an entertaining story overall. I did however had concerns that some of the fart jokes were a little too much. There were always fart jokes when it comes to Mulch Diggums, the dwarf that eat its way through soil, rocks and everything underground. So I thought it was rather peculiar when a fart joke was inserted in a paragraph that relates to Opal Koboi, our main villain. But then when it was revealed that the joke was in fact still related to Mulch, I thought it was quite clever and very well executed. Mental note to self: don't underestimate a fart joke again when it comes to Artemis Fowl's book series.
Let's move to the characters in the book. Yes, as I've mentioned earlier all the important characters are back in this adventure. We're talking about Artemis, Butler, Holly, Commander Julius, Foaly and Mulch Diggums here. However, some of these characters took a step back (no spoiler here) and will not be featured as much in this book. There are also some supporting characters that were quite prominent in early book in the series that won't be making an appearance here. Some lovable supporting characters are back though, the likes of Dr. J. Argon, Chix Verbil and Major Trouble Kelp, so you will still get a healthy dose of interesting supporting characters sprinkling throughout the book. While it would be good if you remember where these supporting characters came from and somewhat of their backstory, I would say that it is not necessary for you to remember them and can still enjoy their appearance and antics in the book.
Now let's talk about the villain. Opal Koboi took center stage this time which is no surprise considering her name is in the book title. She was prominently featured and we get to learn more about her background and behaviour in this book. She is an interesting character and surprisingly funny, although the funny part is mostly because she had to deal with the "incompetent" subordinates around her. Her escape plan in the early chapters was genius but I feel like her plan to collide the human world and the hidden underground world of fairies was not "grand" enough? It feels small in scale than I would expect from an evil genius but hey, maybe I had been brainwashed with too much cliché from the villains in various movies. Opal Koboi will be back in the later books in the series so I hope she will have more grandeur plans ahead.
As a conclusion, Artemis Fowl: The Opal Deception is a great read, more so to a long-time fan of the books than a new reader. I think it can still be enjoyable for first time readers of the series but it would be best if you have read the earlier books and get to know the main characters for the story to have an impact on you. I have a great time reading the book and I'm looking forward for my next read of Artemis's journey.
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