“Artemis Fowl was almost content.”

From Eion Colfer’s Artemis Fowl: The Eternity Code.

Artemis Fowl is your totally average ultra-rich evil mastermind, except for the facts that he’s not even in high school yet and he has developed a strained working friendship with the magical world below our feet.  With the help of his bodyguard, Butler, Artemis is constantly developing plans that are both exceptionally illegal and lucrative.  After assisting the fairy world in exchange for help locating his father, Artemis cannot pass up the opportunity to steal some technology and smuggle it home with him; the advanced technology easily allows Artemis to create an ultra-powerful and impressively-small computer, but before he hardly has a chance to use his new creation, it is stolen by an American businessman (Jon Spiro) which places both the human and fairy worlds in danger.  With nowhere else to turn, Artemis must loop in elf police captain Holly Short, for help keeping the eternity code found in the supercomputer intact so as not to leave the entire fairy world in open danger.  Artemis, Butler, and Holly team up with Mulch Diggums the dwarf, Foaly the genius centaur, and even Butler’s younger sister (Juliet) as they try to develop a risky plan to retrieve the supercomputer before it is too late.

This third book in the Artemis Fowl series is full of action, adventure, comedy, and heart.  Even though most of the characters are creatures of fantasy, the entire cast of characters are realistic and endearing; this book also acts as a great learning opportunity for the title character.  The story’s pacing is steady, allowing the highs and lows of the book to flow together seamlessly.  As both a unique story and a bridge between the other books in the series, The Eternity Code is a must-read fantasy adventure.