Artemis Fowl — Reading Order

Eoin Colfer's Artemis Fowl series flips the fantasy script by making its protagonist the villain — at least initially. Twelve-year-old Artemis Fowl II is a criminal mastermind from a wealthy Irish family who discovers the existence of a technologically advanced fairy civilization living beneath the Earth's surface. His scheme to kidnap a fairy and hold her for ransom kicks off a series that blends heist fiction, fairy mythology, and high-tech action in a way that had never been done before.

Read the eight books in order: Artemis Fowl, The Arctic Incident, The Eternity Code, The Opal Deception, The Lost Colony, The Time Paradox, The Atlantis Complex, and The Last Guardian. Each book builds on the character relationships established in earlier entries, and one of the series' great pleasures is watching Artemis evolve from antagonist to antihero to genuine hero.

Colfer's writing is sharp, witty, and fast-paced, with a dry Irish humor that distinguishes it from other children's fantasy. The fairy world he created — where LEPrecon is a police force and technology runs on magic-infused nuclear power — is inventive and internally consistent. Captain Holly Short of the LEPrecon is a fantastic character in her own right, and her evolving relationship with Artemis drives much of the series' emotional core.