Eoin Keely,

Eoin Colfer describes his new book, Artemis Fowl, as "Die Hard with fairies." He's not far wrong.

Eoin Colfer's bestselling antihero is back in Artemis Fowl: The Arctic Incident–the superb sequel to the hyper-hyped Artemis Fowl, shortlisted for the Whitbread Children's Book of the Year. The Arctic Incident sees the slightly older, perhaps slightly more mellow arch-criminal Artemis recovered from his last adventure, richer now that he has his half of a hoard of fairy gold, and happier since the Clarice Starlingesque superfairy Captain Holly Short of the LEPrecon returned his mother's ailing mind to full health.

Grade 5-7–Artemis Fowl has returned to his fiendish ways in the fourth book (Miramax, 2005) in Eoin Colfer's series about the 14-year-old criminal mastermind. Although his mind was cleared of any memories of the fairy world in the third book, it's not long before Artemis encounters many of his old cohorts. His archenemy, Opal Koboi, is no longer an imprisoned coma patient; she escaped by cloning herself and now has plans for the destruction of the Lower Elements and for world domination. Artemis needs the help of all his allies in this world and in the fairy world to stop the powerful and dangerous Opal. Nathanial Parker's superior talent for narration is wonderfully showcased in this rollicking tale of identity theft, intrigue, and adventure. He uses many different British accents and dialects to make both the human and the supernatural characters come alive, and his pacing is faultless throughout the dialogue and the narrative. Fans of the series will be delighted to join Artemis and his associates for another fantastic tale of the underworld, complete with gaseous dwarves and extraordinary technology. A great choice for fantasy lovers in school and public libraries.

In this third installment to Eoin Colfer's funny, fast-paced, fairy-filled adventure series, boy genius and arch criminal Artemis Fowl once again can't resist plotting the perfect crime–and, once again, he can't keep from stirring up so much trouble that the fate of the entire fairy world teeters in the balance.