Mapsforus

Archive for August, 2010

By Jamie Poston

Artemis Fowl was written by Eoin Colfer in 2001 and published in New York City by Hyperion Books. Although this adventure/fantasy was written by an American it is staged mainly in Ireland. In the beginning of the book, Artemis travels to the sweltering city of Ho Chi Minh, which was called Saigon, and is located in Vietnam because he wants to find a fantastical fairy book. This lively, suspenseful and humorous book features the boy wonder, Artemis Fowl in his attempt to get gold from the fairies when he kidnaps one of them. Being the first book in a series of 6, this book starts the chronicles of the adventure for Artemis Fowl. Only 5 books are completed. Hopefully, the 6th book in the Artemis Fowl series by Colfer will be out soon.

Artemis Fowl, who is the central character, is a boy of 12, a genius, and a criminal mastermind. Accompanying him on all his adventures, his massive bodyguard and sidekick, Butler, protects Artemis, aids him, and obeys him on all his capers. In this 1st book, Artemis promptly discovers that fairies do exist when he finds their Fairy Book, which is the rule book for all fairies and called The Book. Artemis is greedy and decides to kidnap a fairy because he wants to ransom her for precious fairy gold. The fairy’s name is Holly. She has a centaur friend, Foaly and a disgusting dwarf digger named Mulch Diggums, to help her thwart Artemis’ plans. Sneakily, Foaly and Mulch Diggums try to free Holly from Artemis. In the end will Holly escape from the boy genius?

Thought provoking, enjoyable, and unique, Artemis Fowl is definitely a great children’s book. From the in-depth and captivating Artemis to the stubborn and green Holly, this book boasts a wide range of characters. This story will keep the reader guessing until the very last page because of its unique storyline. Excitingly, vividly, and startlingly, at one point a troll bursts into the Fowl Manor, which is Artemis’s house, and rampages around while
Long As I Can

Great SD card. Fast and reliable. I use it for HD Movies and 15 mp photos in a high end DSLR. Works great.
APC 1407 4 Port

Think of a juvenile James Bond with an IQ beyond Einstein’s. Then throw him in a world of technologically superior fairies, and the fun can begin.

And this is really what Artemis Fowl is about, first and foremost: FUN.

Some might say it reverts too easily to stereotypes, but I am not sure whether this is actually a bad thing. Too much depth, too much complexity in character development, might have taken the umpf out of the sheer fun ride I’ve had in reading Artemis.

The basic idea of the book–for those new to Fowl’s world–is that there is an underground world of fairies who go to great pains to keep their existence a secret from the human upper world. Until Artemis, a young criminal master mind, tracks down the fairies and upsets the whole balance of the worlds above and below ground.

In summary: Don’t expect the symbolism of Narnia, the metaphysics of His Dark Materials, or the detail of Harry Potter. Artemis Fowl doesn’t have any of those. Instead, expect to be blasted away by the explosive energy of a fun novel.

- Jacob Schriftman, Author of The Crack Beneath the Worlds and Other Books

DMKFoto Professonal Tripod with

I hope this is the first of many books for Kathryn Stockett. It was one of the best books I have experienced on the South.
My daughter recommended it to me and being a real southerner I could appreciate it in many ways.Portraying the different
characters with their individual lingo was a difficulty well done.
Being raised in that era I could also understand the trials and tribulations melted in with the humor of the day and the tragedy too.
Truly she accomplished a work of art and I did not want it to end.
Oil in the Gulf

This saga had me engrossed from start to finish! I definitely recommend it, especially to animal lovers and adventure seekers! 5 stars!
Full Size Violin 4

I take my time before buying things and for a couple of years I had been joking about buying an XBox. When the time to buy came, I researched and decided on a Wii. It exceeded anything I could have expected. The two points which sold me are 1) you have to get up off the couch and get active to play and 2) the focus isn’t so much on violence, blood and killing. I’m a senior citizen and my daughter picked this up for me. We played it until our arms were numb and she is looking to get her own Wii so we can play on-line. I check the daily weather and news stories on my Wii and my friends and I will soon start a bowling league. For the price, you can’t beat this system. If I were paying 50 cents for every game I played, it would have paid for itself in a month or two. The software selection is great and the prices are reasonable. I rate the Wii right up there with the Internet and the ATM. Get yours and you’ll see.
Star Trek Warp Factor

Like many (apparently many many) others my 16GB Transcend SD card failed. I guess I’m one of the lucky ones that got at least 10 months of trouble free use in my video cam. I’m moving back to San Disk. I’ve never had one of those fail. You save 20 bucks by buying this card, but the savings is not worth taking the risk of losing important videos or stills.
Original HP LaserJet 11A

This is not a vampire book. It is a teenage romance novel where the object of Bella’s obsession just happens to be an unconventional vampire. (Snark Alert! If Bella had more life experience, she would know Edward’s behavior is much more frightening than his vampirism.)

Meyers does a really excellent job of capturing the thrill of smoldering glances, flirting, first kisses, first love. Will this story stand the test of time? I have no idea, but I think it probably will. Edward can’t hold a candle to Heathcliff (Wuthering Heights) for creepiness, and women have been crazy about him for centuries.

Rocky Mountains Natural Encounters

Microsoft Office 2007 is a nice upgrade to Office 2003. There is a learning curve, which is to be expected. It takes a while to learn all of the procedures and processes in 2007, but once you are familiar with them it is a good product.
25 X5 16 Flexicore

Spoilers!
This book is about a 12 year old criminal mastermind by the name of Artemis Fowl. For once we are actually on the side of the villain! Now, the book summary is a little bit misleading and sounds rather cheesy to me:
“These aren’t the fairies of bedtime stories. These fairies are armed and they’re dangerous.”
This does not do the book justice in my opinion. I would never have read the book if the librarian hadn’t recommended it. Many of the one star reviews go on and on about how there are so many typos. Well, in almost every book there are typos, and I found I didn’t notice them unless I was actually looking for them. Plus, I see them in Harry Potter, Nancy Drew, and many other noteworthy books.
I thought it was very nice to be rooting for the villain for once, and the fact that he wins in the end is even better. I love Butler the butler, and I thought how Eoin Colfer gave background info on every character was wonderful. I thought that he did a really good job describing the characters emotions and what motivates them. Artemis wants more money because he believes it will make him happier. Butler wants to be a good bodyguard, and Holly Short wants to please her commander and do a good job in LEPrecon, her job. Mulch (perhaps one of my top three favorite characters) just wants to escape prison, and he manages it!
I have recommended this book to several of my friends and they love it, also I think adults would enjoy it as well, my mother did. I thought that the ending was very well done with Artemis sacrificing half the gold to have Holly heal his mother, who is very sick, and doesn’t always recognize him. I also thought that Holly was a very well done character, and I enjoy seeing a girl portrayed as tough and smart. Overall a very good book, which has made it into my top ten books of all time.

Popcorn Maker with Trolley