January 16, 2003

My greatest accomplishment at work today was finishing Artemis Fowl. It was a good story. Boy captures fairy, holds her for ransom. Fairies stop time and use a troll to try to get her back. Boy loses ransom, but makes a wish that heals his sick mother. And they all live happily until Artemis Fowl: The Arctic Incident.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/photo/249747.Artemis_Fowl

The back pages of the book say a movie is being made. Not that I can't already picture Artemis, Butler, Juliet, Holly, and Foaly.

Now for the inevitable Harry comparison. In Artemis, fairies are highly advanced magical creatures, living underground and disliking humans. In Harry, fairies are not intelligent, much smaller than humans (Artemis fairies are Hobbit-sized), and are used as Christmas decorations.

Both books have centaurs. In Artemis, Foaly the centaur is a paranoid, wisecracking technogeek. In Harry, centaurs are wise and highly respected. They choose to live in the Forbidden Forest, away from humans. Foaly also shuns humans.

Trolls, ugly, stinky, and stupid, are the same in both.

As to Artemis himself, as I said before, he's a Slytherin. He's ambitious and deceptive, and a thief. But he does show nobility when he buys a wish to make his mother healthy. Artemis has no magic powers, though. Harry also breaks rules, but he isn't part of a criminal family, and he doesn't steal. (Well, there was the Marauder's Map...) Both boys have good hearts, but Artemis doesn't have good actions.

Speaking of Harry Potter, I read in today's paper that [book] #5, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, is coming out on June 21st.