This review is for those who have read or are familiar with the previous books in the Artemis Fowl series, specifically The Fowl Twins, or don't mind knowing spoilers for them.
SPOILER ALERT
The second Fowl Twins adventure starts with a bang – literally.
Artemis's little brothers Myles and Beckett borrow the Fowl jet without permission, and it ends up as a fireball over Florida. The twins plus their fairy minder, the pixie-elf hybrid Lazuli Heitz, are lucky to escape with their lives.
The Fowl parents and fairy police force decide that enough is enough and the twins are placed under house arrest. But Myles has questions, like: who was tracking the Fowl jet? Why would someone want to blow them out of the sky? These questions must infuriate someone, because Myles is abducted and spirited away from his twin.
Now Beckett and Lazuli must collaborate to find Myles and rescue him – not easy when it was Myles who was the brains of the operation. Their chase will take them across continents, deep underground, and into subaquatic super villain lairs. They will be shot at, covered in spit, and at the receiving end of some quite nasty dwarf sarcasm. But will Beckett be able to come up with a genius plan without a genius on hand…?
Since Eoin Colfer remains to be one of my favorite authors (possibly my favorite male author, period), I will continue to seek out each and every one of his books. And since this is the latest entry in one of my favorite series, I had no choice but to grab it as soon as was feasible and hope it would be every bit as enjoyable as previous entries. But really, was there ever any doubt?
Fans of the Artemis Fowl books will no doubt find this entry every bit as charming as any of the others. We're still in the getting-to-know-you phase in terms of the series overall, as Myles and Beckett are exploring more and more of the world, both familiar and magical. This time we're given more information concerning dwarf culture, which was a nice addition to the little we got from Mulch's solo-act in the previous books. And with the return of names like ACRONYM and Lord Teddy, it looks like we might get an ever-growing band of villains this time around (rather than just one reoccurring villain popping up every couple of books). But I suppose we'll have to wait a little longer for confirmation on that front.
I will say it's still a bit off-putting to have the main character from the last series (and one of my all-time favorites in general) badmouthed so often by one who is supposed to be endearing himself to us. But I suppose that is a common sibling trait that I'll have to get over. One of these days. And it is getting better, bit by bit. Myles usually comes off as an insufferable know-it-all at the best of times, made all the worse for having a seemingly dunderheaded yes-man twin (think Pinky and the Brain or Jimmy Neutron & Carl Wheezer), but receives many chances this time to show his humanity. Last book when all his ideas had run out, he merely watched numbly as things happened around him. This time he actually pushes himself beyond just thinking and planning, actually getting his hands dirty to save those he cares about, and then in the aftermath of possible failure he shows visible terror and weakness. There's a joke at the end of the book about him having therapy sessions, when it's really him talking to himself in the mirror, but I'd definitely be interested in witnessing him put his intellectual faith in others down the line. Maybe even his elder brother?
Beckett also has a humanizing turn for the better here. A couple, actually. Even before he's separated from his brother and forced to think for himself, he's actually shown to be surprisingly thoughtful. When he interrupts their father during a lengthy reprimand, Artemis Senior calls him out for his attempted redirection and defusing, which Beckett internally gasps at, thinking that he's been using the technique for years without being caught. So much for the dunderhead routine. And as much as he's still very much the muscle of the group, his intuitive actions do not come without calculation. Hopefully his exposed tactic of random interjects will mean he's less prone to doing them in the future, but he's definitely on the upturn in any case.
That leaves Lazuli for character development and...I don't really have much to say. Mostly she's still trying to work out her newly awakened magic, though it is shut off for safety's sake for more than half of the story, so she's mostly back at square one. She does a little bit of babysitting when she backs up Beckett in his tracking of Myles, but once the gang is back together she's off on her own again. While she had a good amount of adventure with the Fowl twins in the last book, I don't think we've gotten as much camaraderie between them and Lazuli as we had with Holly and Artemis (or even Holly and Butler), neither antagonistic nor playful. I'm looking forward to seeing her come into her magic more, and hopefully expose a bit more of a personality.
What I didn't expect was the sudden new Fowl Family Lore drop. I don't know if this was done in tandem with the new Artemis Fowl movie (which unfortunately rewrote most of Artemis's origin) or if it was planned from the start, but apparently the Fowls have had ties with fairykind for centuries. It's unclear when or why the ties were cut before Artemis, but apparently the family have had workings with fairies dating back generations and Artemis's reawakening their parents' memories before his space journey included this genetic-memory. Now, this information didn't work in the film interpretation because it ultimately erased all of Artemis's hard work and genius in discovering fairies, instead having the information all handed to him by his father. This revelation opens up some possibilities for the future (perhaps some more time-travel shenanigans?) both involving the Fowls and fairy history records.
As for having the current Fowl parents knowledgeable about fairies, it was...interesting? I hope it will come into more of a role in the future, as this time around it's mainly used to get NANNI out of the way so the plot could happen. I'd like for there to be more expounded about their talks with Holly, what all is relayed in terms of their magic, technology, politics, etc. And I look forward to seeing how the family dynamics will undoubtedly change. It's one thing to have the parents be clueless about their kids' excursions, but it's another to say they're okay with it—which, if Artemis Senior's lengthy reprimand is any indication, will not be the case.
Overall, this is a fun, action-packed, faithful continuation to the Fowl literature legacy. That is to say, fans of the series will find more to love here. While the first book made sure to put us at ease by including familiar characters and general premise, this second entry has stated loud and clear that we will not be traversing familiar territory. Dynamics have changed, the extent of which have yet to be explored, and things are no doubt about to get messy. I, for one, am eager to return to the new Fowl Manor and see what else the twins have in store for the world.
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