Review: The Reluctant Assassin by Eoin Colfer

The Reluctant Assassin (W.A.R.P. #1)
by Eoin Colfer

Genre: Adventure, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Time Travel, Young Adult
Publication: April 2013
Format: Hardcover, 321 pages
Source: Own
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Riley, a teen orphan boy living in Victorian London, has had the misfortune of being apprenticed to Albert Garrick, an illusionist who has fallen on difficult times and now uses his unique conjuring skills to gain access to victims' dwellings. On one such escapade, Garrick brings his reluctant apprentice along and urges him to commit his first killing. Riley is saved from having to commit the grisly act when the intended victim turns out to be a scientist from the future, part of the FBI's Witness Anonymous Relocation Program (WARP) Riley is unwittingly transported via wormhole to modern day London, followed closely by Garrick.

In modern London, Riley is helped by Chevron Savano, a seventeen-year-old FBI agent sent to London as punishment after a disastrous undercover, anti-terrorist operation in Los Angeles. Together Riley and Chevie must evade Garrick, who has been fundamentally altered by his trip through the wormhole. Garrick is now not only evil, but he also possesses all of the scientist's knowledge. He is determined to track Riley down and use the timekey in Chevie's possession to make his way back to Victorian London where he can literally change the world.

I was so excited when I found out that Eoin Colfer had a new book, W.A.R.P. I was even more excited when I found out that there will be time travelling in this one. The beginning of The Reluctant Assassins was captivating. I found that whatever was happening to Riley was a bit mysterious. I wanted to know what happened and what will happen to him. Then, there’s Chevron Savano, a very young FBI. The two met and found themselves in a run from that evil Garrick.

I think The Reluctant Assassins had a potential to be a great read. But sadly, this book did not really grab me. The plot was good, but there is something lacking in this one. The middle part of the book—that part where Riley and Chevie ran from Garrick—was a bit bland. I love Eoin Colfer’s writing and dialogue that makes me laugh, but I think it didn’t really work with this one. Perhaps I would enjoy this series after a few more books just like I did with Artemis Fowl.

Book Review: Half Moon Investigations

Half-Moon Investigations
by Eoin Colfer

Genre: Adventure, Mystery, Young Adult
Publication: March 2006
Format: Hardcover, 290 pages

Fletcher Moon has never been like other kids. For one thing, he has had to suffer the humiliating nickname "Half Moon" because of his short stature. But the real reason Fletcher is different is that ever since he was a baby, he's had a nose for sniffing out mysteries. And after graduating at the top of his Internet class, he is officially certified as the youngest detective in the world. He even has a silver-plated detective's badge to prove it. Everything is going along fine until two things happen: a classmate hires him to solve a crime, and his prized badge is stolen. All signs point to the town's most notorious crime family, the Sharkeys. 

As Fletcher follows the clues, evidence of a conspiracy begins to emerge. But before he can crack the case, Fletcher finds himself framed for a serious crime. To clear his name, he will have to pair up with the unlikeliest of allies and go on the run from the authorities. Fletcher has twelve hours to find the guilty party--or he "is" the guilty party.

I'm a fan of the Artemis Foul books. When I found Half-Moon Investigations written by the same author, Eoin Colfer, I get excited. Plus, I’m also a fan of mystery. I figured that this is going to be a good book.

Fletcher Moon (or Half Moon) is a detective. He even got a silver-plated badge when he graduated in his internet class. When April Devereux, one of the girls in his school hired him to investigate the missing lock of a popstar’s hair, which April thinks was stolen from Red Sharkey, Fletcher accepted. Besides, Fletcher suspected that Red is also responsible of stealing his detective badge. This would be like killing two birds with one stone. But things started to go wrong when Fletcher was framed for arson. Now he has to team up with the Sharkey to find out the real criminal.

I didn’t expect much from Half Moon investigation since it is a light and well, innocent read. But I love the twist. I couldn’t guess what was going to happen, and who the real criminal really is. And it’s not that Eoin Colfer distract me with lots of suspicious characters in the book (or I was probably too slow to think of the character as suspicious).

I absolutely love the idea of how it started with a small case – to find a missing lock of popstar’s hair before it turns into something more dangerous. The development of the case and the mystery are interesting.

Book Review: The Atlantis Complex

The Atlantis Complex (Artemis Fowl #7)

by Eoin Colfer

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Science Fiction

Publication: August 2008

Format: Paperback, 384 pages

Website: Artemis Fowl

Buy: Amazon, Book Depository

I’m finally done with Artemis Fowl’s book 7, The Atlantis complex. You probably noticed that I’ve been posting reviews on Artemis Fowl’s series this month. That is because I’m having an Artemis Fowl’s saga marathon. I’m reading them between my brother’s wedding preparations and been staying up late for a few days :D. 

In The Atlantis Complex, Artemis Fowl summoned the fairies to Iceland to present ‘THE PROJECT’ he been working on to save the world from global warming. But the fairies noticed that something is wrong with Artemis. Some of the things that the fairies noticed were: Artemis was counting his words; he’s obsessed with number five and was paranoid with number four (which means death in Chinese).

The fairies then diagnose Artemis with Atlantis Complex or what we call a multiple personality disorder, a psychosis common among guilt-ridden fairies which probably triggered because of the guilt he felt for involving his mother with the fairies (and putting her in danger) in the last book.

And suddenly, they are under attack from giant robots! Artemis thought that he was having another delusion (because of the Atlantis Complex). He thought that the robot wasn’t real. And Holly was forced to stun Artemis to save him (before Artemis did anything stupid) from the robots.

Because of the stun, Artemis is now in the second stage of Atlantis Complex. He started to develop another personality. His alter ego called Orion. The thing about Orion is that he is a lot nicer than Artemis. He speaks differently and wouldn’t stop professing his love to Holly which is really annoying since Holly and Foaly really need his help with the giant robots problem.

The thing about The Atlantis Complex is that, I’m not sure whether to like it or not. Well, Artemis wasn’t his usual self as he was replaced by Orion. I thought that the plot wasn’t as good as the other book. Although, I have to say that I do enjoy Orion’s profession of love towards Holly. It was comical!  And I like that I get to see Foaly in field for action instead of instructing Holly behind his computers. But still, I was a bit disappointed with this book.

Book Cover's Description

Criminal mastermind Artemis Fowl has summoned an elite group of fairies to Iceland. But when he presents his invention to save the world from global warming, he seems different. Something terrible has happened to him.

Artemis Fowl has become nice.

The fairies diagnose Atlantis Complex (that’s multiple personality disorder to you and me)—dabbling in magic has damaged his mind. And now the subterranean city of Atlantis is under attack from vicious robots and nice Artemis cannot fight them.

Can fairy ally Captain Holly Short get the real Artemis back—before the mysterious robots destroy the city and every fairy in it?

Book Review: The Time Paradox

The Time Paradox (Artemis Fowl #6)

Eoin Colfer

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Science Fiction

Publication: August 2008

Format: Paperback, 384 pages

Website: Artemis Fowl

Buy: Amazon, Book Depository

I wanted to read this one ever since I stumbled into a spoiler which mentions something about kissing when I was on the third book (Okay I’m sorry for spoiling you with mentioning ‘kissing’). 

The Time Paradox is the sixth book from the Artemis Fowl series (I can’t believe I read up to book 6!!). Angeline Fowl, Artemis’s mother was infected with a disease where magic could not cure her. To cure his mother, Artemis needs a brain fluid from a lemur.  Unfortunately, lemur had extinct. And Artemis was responsible to the extinction. So Artemis trick Holly into helping him and with the help of young warlock, No1, Artemis travels back in time to find the cure to his mother deadly disease. Now, Artemis must steal the lemur from his younger self before his younger self could kill the lemur.  But battling his younger self weren’t easy especially since they’re both genius.

This Time Paradox is full with action, adventure and humor (I LOVE! LOVE! LOVE! books with good humor). But there are times when things are a bit confusing especially with the time paradox. It wasn’t as great as book five. But I still enjoy the book thoroughly.

Goodread’s Description

Artemis’s mother has contracted a deadly disease—and the only cure lies in the brain fluid of African lemurs. Unfortunately, Artemis himself was responsible for making the lemurs extinct five years ago. Now he must enlist the aid of his fairy friends to travel back in time and save them. Not only that, but he must face his deadliest foe yet... his younger self.

Book Review: The Lost Colony

The Lost Colony (Artemis Fowl #5)

Eoin Colfer

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Science Fiction

Publication: May 2007

Format: Paperback, 400 pages

Website: Artemis Fowl

Buy: Amazon, Book Depository

I guess what I really like with Eoin Colfer’s Artemis Fowl, is that we get to see Artemis growing up with each book (and adventure). Artemis Fowl is back in The Lost Colony along with some new characters, including Minerva Paradizo, a twelve year old French child genius, Doodah Day, a smuggler, No. 1, an imp, a demon called Leon Abbot, and a warlock, Qwan.

Thousands years ago, the fairies decided to move underground and keep themselves hidden from humans. But the eighth family of fairy, the demons refuse to move. So they choose to take their island of Hybras into another dimension until they are ready to wage war with human. Except that something went wrong, causing the island of Hybras to end up in Limbo. Now the time spell is fading and demons are sucked into the present space and time.

Artemis, who is bored with his new, normal life, hacked into Foaly’s computer (because Foaly hacked into his first) and found out about the demons. He stake out the sites where demons are expected to appear and later found out that someone, a twelve year old, Minerva Paradizo, is after the demon too and successfully kidnapped the demon. Once again, Artemis Fowl teamed up with Captain Holly Short (while dealing with his puberty) to save the demon before the time spell disappear and the demon returns to earth.

The Lost Colony was a really fun and exciting read. It was full with action and suspense (especially since Butler wasn’t on Artemis side). Out of the other Artemis Fowl series, I find this once a lot funnier than the others. It was fun to see Artemis dealing with his puberty (he found himself attracted to pretty girls). I was a bit surprised with the ending though. Damn cliffhanger!

Book Cover’s Description

Ten thousand years ago, humans and fairies fought a great battle for the magical island of Ireland. When it became clear to the fairy families that they could never win, they decided to move their civilization underground and keep themselves hidden from the humans. All the fairy families agreed on this, except the eighth family, the demons. The demons planned to lift their small island out of time until they had regrouped and were ready to wage war on the humans once more. However, the time spell went wrong, and the island of Hybras was catapulted into Limbo, where it has remained for ten thousand years. Now the tainted time spell is deteriorating and demons are being sucked back into the present space and time. The fairy council is concerned about this and is monitoring any materializations. But when the spells deterioration accelerates, the materializations become unpredictable. Even the fairy scientists cannot figure out where the next demon will pop up. But someone can. Artemis Fowl, teenage criminal mastermind, has solved temporal equations that no normal human should be intelligent enough to understand. So when a confused and frightened demon pops up in a Sicilian theater, Artemis Fowl is there to meet him. Unfortunately, he is not the only one. A second, mysterious party has also solved the temporal equations, and has managed to abduct the demon before Artemis can secure him. Once again, Artemis will have to pair up with his old comrade, Captain Holly Short, to track down the missing demon and rescue him, before the time spell dissolves completely and the lost demon colony returns violently to Earth

Book Review: The Opal Deception

The Opal Deception (Artemis Fowl #4)

Eoin Colfer

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Science Fiction

Publication: April 2007

Format: Paperback, 368 pages

Website: Artemis Fowl

Buy: Amazon, Book Depository

I read this book (with two others) while I was away for my brother’s wedding, and I was really bored. I was really glad that I bought this book with me.

The Opal Deception is the continuation of The Eternity Code. In the last book, Artemis had his memories wiped up from the underground fairies world. And now, Artemis is back to his criminal activities. Although, he was torn between go straight or stay in the criminal world (since his father is clean of any criminal activities). In the same time, something happened in the fairies world. Opal Koboi escaped from prison, and was looking for revenge. And now, Captain Holly Short is framed for a crime she did not commit. Now Holly had to go up to the surface to save Artemis before Opal could kill him.

I love this book! I was really looking forward to read this book after The Eternity Code. I couldn’t help but wonder what will happen to Artemis as he had his mind wiped up of any memories of the fairies. I wonder how Artemis will remember the fairies.  And I’m glad that I continued to read the saga. The Opal Deception is full of surprise! Eoin Colfer did a good job portraying the emotions of character. I really like how Eoin Colfer made Holly dealt with a character’s death. (Oh yes, there’s a character’s death in the book). But most of all, I really like the chemistry between Artemis and Holly, although Artemis lost his memory of Holly. 

The Opal Deception is full of surprise, excitement and good humor! I certainly enjoy the book, and went straight to grab the continuation of the saga – The Lost Colony.

Book Cover's Description

Evil pixie, Opal Koboi, is back and she's more dangerous than ever. This time she doesn't just want power over the fairy People - this time she wants the humans too. Captain Holly Short is the only fairy with a hope of stopping her, but as Holly knows, it takes one genius criminal mastermind to fight another. But the 14-year-old genius that Holly is thinking of doesn't even remember that fairies exist. How is she going to convince Artemis Fowl to help her stop Opal? Gold usually does the trick, and this time is should be no different. Or is Artemis changing?

Book Review: The Eternity Code

The Eternity Code (Artemis Fowl #3)

Eoin Colfer

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Adventure, Science Fiction

Publication: April 2006

Format: Paperback, 352 pages

Website: Artemis Fowl

Buy: Amazon 

I think, reading The Eternity Code makes me feel a tad younger. I can’t believe that I squealed like a little girl while reading and anticipating on what will happen to Artemis in his latest adventure.

Artemis Fowl is planning to go straight after this one last adventure. He was trying to sell a modified fairies technology to Jon Spiro. But his plan went wrong. The technology was stolen and Butler, his bodyguard had to pay for it. Artemis needs help to rescue Butler and retrieved the stolen technology. Thus, he turned to his nemesis-turned-friend, Captain Holly Short for help. The people agree to help him with one condition: Artemis has to undergo a mind wipe to erase his memory of the People.

I absolutely LOVE this book. Did I mention that I squealed like a little girl while reading this? Oh, I did, didn’t I? I can’t help but to find how interesting this book is. I love Artemis Fowl as a character. He’s a genius whom rarely shows much of his emotion. So that part where he showed his emotion when Butler was shot really touched me. I really love the relationship between those two. The dialogue is absolutely brilliant! It makes me laugh out loud for a few times. I especially love the row between Artemis and Captain Holly. I like how Eoin Colfer delivered the humor without trying too much.

The Eternity Code was a real page turner. I find it hard to stop myself from reading it from the very first chapter. It was interesting to see that Juliet is replacing his brother to protect Artemis. Most of all, I was excited to see how Artemis plan to retrieve the stolen cube from Jon Spiro. In the end, The Eternity Code managed to make me astonished on how the story progress and how it ended. I’m now aching to read the next book for more adventure :)

Book Cover's Description:

Artemis Fowl is going straight-as soon as he pulls off the most brilliant criminal feat of his career . . . but his plan goes awry, leaving his loyal bodyguard, Butler, mortally injured. Artemis's only hope of saving his friend is to employ fairy magic; so once again he must contact his old rival, Captain Holly Short of the LEPrecon fairy police. It is going to take a miracle to save Butler, and Artemis's luck may have just run out. . . . 

Book Review: The Arctic Incident (Artemis Fowl #2)

Title: The Arctic Incident (Artemis Fowl #2)
Author: Eoin Colfer
Genre: YA, fantasy, adventure
Publication: 2002
Rating: 4/5

The world's youngest, brightest, and most dangerous criminal mastermind is back!

Artemis Fowl receives an urgent e-mail from Russia, In it is a plea from a man who has been kidnapped by the Russian Mafiya: his father. As Artemis rushes to the rescue, he is stopped by a familiar nemesis, captain Holly Short of the LEPrecon unit. Now, instead of battling the fairies, he is going to have to join forces with them if he wants to save one of the few people in the world he loves.

As I mentioned in Teaser Tuesday, I started to read Artemis Fowl series to convince my little sister that it's a good book. And I fell in love with Artemis character after a few pages in book 1.

In the last book, Artemis stole fairy gold from the 'people' and came out alive. In this book, Artemis met with Holly again and joined forces with the fairies. Artemis shall help the fairies with the trouble within LEP, and in exchange, the fairies would help Artemis to save his father.

Well there's one thing for sure: this book is better than the first one. This book is full of action and thrill with a few laugh-out-loud moment. I like how the author develop the character from the first book. Overall, it was an enjoyable read even for someone who rarely read YA genre like me.