David Yang reviews Artemis Fowl: The Time Paradox

Artemis Fowl, already a veteran of various dilemmas, once again finds himself in trouble when her mother contracted a very devastating and incurable disease. Artemis then uses his last resort: using the magic he stole in the previous book in a desperate attempt to heal his mother. When the magic didn’t cure but only worsened his mother’s condition, he was forced to call upon his fairy friends and Holly (one of his closest friends) to aid him in his quest for a cure. They discover that the disease was Spelltropy, a disease caused by the use of magic. In order to prevent a recurring epidemic of Spelltropy and to save Artemis’ mother, the fairies decided to allow Holly and Artemis to travel back in time to obtain the cure: the brain fluid of the silky safika lemur. However, the lemur was indirectly killed by the younger Artemis Fowl, bringing Artemis’ greatest foe yet: himself.
Artemis is a somewhat believable character. “Artemis, meanwhile, was trying to mount expeditions to find his father. This is difficult when you are 10 years old and not taken seriously by the adult world in general, in spite of various international art and music prizes, not to mention more than a dozen lucrative patents and copyrights filed worldwide.” This quote shows Artemis’ almost superhuman intelligence and maturity way beyond his age. I find this to be very unbelievable because at age 10, that level of maturity had not yet developed fully. “Artemis’s face was stern, but inside he quailed. How could he speak to his mother like this, when he was literally driven demented by grief?” This quote shows another unbelievable characteristic of Artemis Fowl: his endless ability to cunningly lie when required. Lastly the quote, “Artemis was wearing a pair of red Armani boxer shorts which were pretty much the same color as his face.” shows Artemis’ emotions. Unlike some of the other characteristic he has, this trait is normal and is entirely believable by the fact that he has emotions just like any other person in the world.
This book is mainly for those seeking a fantasy novel with a modern twist. Anyone interested in the previous Artemis Fowl books, sci-fi, or action/fantasy books would enjoy this book. I enjoyed this book myself because of its ample imagery, literary devices, exciting plot and simple of language. Overall, I would highly recommend this book to anyone wanting a “fun” book to read.