Artemis Fowl: The Time Paradox

Not really a fan of this new cover.

Let me just state right now that this was my favorite of the Artemis Fowl books. At least so far. Generally the last book in a series is my absolute favorite, but since this one was all about time travel, it's at the top of the list. Because time travel is one of my favorite things.

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So, in the present, Artemis' mother is deathly ill. And somehow, it appears that she has a magical illness, Spelltropy. Artemis fears that he has given it to her in his attempt to heal her with the magic that he appropriated while in the time stream in the last book. Of course, he also completely drains himself of his magic in his attempt.

When Holly and Foaly realize Angeline Fowl has contracted Spelltropy, they think the case is hopeless because the cure is long gone. Artemis thinks all is lost when he realizes that the cure was from a creature that he caused to go extinct when he was just 10 years old. Ouch. Talk about a blow to the ego.

Artemis is not about to just let his mother die. The only option is to go back in time, which generally never turns out well. But Artemis won't back down. He accuses Holly of giving his mother the illness, which is a blatant lie, but Holly believes it. She feels obligated to help. They get the help of the demon warlock N.1 to open the time stream, and back they go.

Once back in time, Holly and Artemis notice a few changes to their appearances -- Holly is an adolescent fairy again, and Artemis is probably around 17 instead of 14. (You can see where this is going, haha.) And, as is typical, nothing goes right from the moment they get moving.

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In this particular book, spoilers would be a bad idea, and it's pointless to try and explain some of the events. After all, the entire tale revolves around a time paradox of such huge proportions, there's only one villain in the world of Artemis Fowl who could dream up such a thing. Take a wild guess. But I won't state the name here.

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This book was simply excellent. Eoin Colfer gets the paradox right, even if it doesn't seem like it upon first reading. I did have to reread a few sections, just to make sure I knew what was going on. But the beauty of writing about time travel is that you are allowed to miss a few things, because not even the characters themselves would know everything. Five stars.

Artemis Fowl: The Lost Colony

 I finished the fifth Artemis Fowl book a week ago, but of course I didn't write the review immediately. It's been an interesting week. Anyway.

Ten thousand years ago, when the People lost their last battle with the Mud Men (humans), they all retreated underground. All, except for the 8th Family, the demons. The demon warlocks transported their island habitat of Hybras into Limbo, in hopes that they could eventually bring it back to earth. In the process, the demon warlock circle was broken and as a result, Hybras was stuck out of Time.

Fast forward to present day. Young master Artemis has made all the necessary calculations about the demons and has concluded that the time spell is unraveling. This, typically, will be a problem. And who ends up taking care of it?

The dream team of Artemis, Holly Short, Butler, and Foaly, obviously. But things don't exactly as planned(they never do!), since it turns out there is another group of humans who know about the demons. It gets extremely hairy.

Obviously, the world is saved, because that's the way these stories work. But not without a price. Everything that happens on Hybras when it's still in Limbo takes place really fast (relatively speaking, since there wasn't exactly any passage of time, haha), but when they eventually bring the island back, it's been three years on earth. Which wouldn't have been a huge problem except that Artemis didn't age, plus he and Holly swapped one eyeball in the time stream. Talk about a mess.

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I enjoyed this book immensely. The whole Limbo, Time, etc. thing was just awesome. Any stories about time travel I generally eat right up. Plus, we got some hilarious new characters, like N*1 (or No.1, not sure), a demon who thinks he might be a warlock.

These books really do just get better and better. Five stars.

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children [minor spoilers]

Combining eerie vintage photographs from various sources to create a not-quite-horror story about children who are different, peculiar shall we say, is an intriguing premise. Personally, I have always loved imagining the stories behind old photographs, so this book was a must-read for me.

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children is Ransom Riggs' first novel, though according to the author blurb in the back of the book, he has been a writer for some time. As a first novel, it's somewhat obvious that he hasn't quite found his writing style "niche" but that doesn't stop this book from being fascinating, wondrous, and downright entertaining.

Jacob Portman has known about the peculiar children for most of his life. His grandfather, Abe Portman, has a collection of photographs that he would show his grandson and regale him with tales of the things they could do, the home/orphanage they lived in during the War, and their mysterious headmistress, Miss Peregrine. Jacob, as any sensible, no-nonsense child growing up in modern day Florida would do, doubts his grandfather's stories as he gets older.

When Jacob is sixteen, leading an ordinary life, things suddenly are turned upside down when his grandfather is attacked and killed by a strange and unnerving creature. Jacob thinks he is going crazy because no one else could see the creature. And Abe Portman's last words about finding the bird in the loop on September 3rd, 1940 don't make any sense. Eventually, Jacob and his father find their way to Cairnholm Island in Wales, where Jacob discovers the old mansion that had been the home his grandfather talked about. It is in ruins, having been hit by a bomb early in the War. Jacob is discourage, but he soon finds out that the children are still alive and well...living in a time loop.

I don't think I should tell you anymore, because, honestly, I've never really understood book reviews that basically regurgitate the entire story and critique each and every bit of it. I don't want to spoil a great plot with lots of mystery, even though this isn't technically a mystery book. :)

I give this book 4 stars, because Riggs has crafted an intriguing story with the timeless themes of love, loss, and trust amidst a truly fantastic tale of horrific creatures, peculiar talents, and time travel. He also uses the vintage photographs well, creating characters that fit well with each one.