50 in '08: 32
Nov. 30th, 2008 11:09 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sakon76Title: Artemis Fowl and the Time Paradox
Author: Eoin Colfer
Length: 369 pages
I like the Artemis Fowl books. They're solidly written, fun to read, and the characters grow and change over time rather than remaining stagnant for sequel after sequel.
That said, I have a few quibbles with this book. While it contains a few genuinely poignant moments (in particular, a scene between Holly and Commander Root), it also seems partly written just to be written. As though the author (and his fans) had a few images in their heads that they really wanted out, in particular the theme of the Holly/Artemis pairing. My Wonderful Husband says about a certain series of Star Wars novels that Timothy Zahn loves Admiral Thrawn too much to ever stop writing about him. I get a little of the same vibe from this book. My main critiques, however, are that while (1) this is obviously a time-travel story (look at the title), the past timeline changes almost from the moment Our Intrepid Heroes arrive, and an explanation is never given for why, and that (2) there's an eleventh-hour plot reversal which tried to give me whiplash. Now, granted, the latter has happened in this series before (in the very first book, in fact), but this time there was no warning, no subtle foreshadowing to reread later and say "Ahh, that's what that meant!" As to the former point... it feels like either an oversight by the author, or perhaps that something explanatory got edited out by accident. I do quite like the ending, and am hoping it's followed up on in a future book.
Verdict: Worth reading.
Author: Eoin Colfer
Length: 369 pages
I like the Artemis Fowl books. They're solidly written, fun to read, and the characters grow and change over time rather than remaining stagnant for sequel after sequel.
That said, I have a few quibbles with this book. While it contains a few genuinely poignant moments (in particular, a scene between Holly and Commander Root), it also seems partly written just to be written. As though the author (and his fans) had a few images in their heads that they really wanted out, in particular the theme of the Holly/Artemis pairing. My Wonderful Husband says about a certain series of Star Wars novels that Timothy Zahn loves Admiral Thrawn too much to ever stop writing about him. I get a little of the same vibe from this book. My main critiques, however, are that while (1) this is obviously a time-travel story (look at the title), the past timeline changes almost from the moment Our Intrepid Heroes arrive, and an explanation is never given for why, and that (2) there's an eleventh-hour plot reversal which tried to give me whiplash. Now, granted, the latter has happened in this series before (in the very first book, in fact), but this time there was no warning, no subtle foreshadowing to reread later and say "Ahh, that's what that meant!" As to the former point... it feels like either an oversight by the author, or perhaps that something explanatory got edited out by accident. I do quite like the ending, and am hoping it's followed up on in a future book.
Verdict: Worth reading.
