Artemis Fowl - 5 stars!

     Artemis Fowl, the first book in the Artemis Fowl series by Eoin Colfer, is about the 12-year-old criminal mastermind, Artemis Fowl. In his search for greater power, wealth, and influence, he stumbles across the existence of a civilization of magical beings - fairies, pixies, and the like. He and his bodyguard and friend Butler - actually, he's a butler, too - kidnap one of the pixies, a fairy named Holly Short. Artemis's plan is to ransom Holly for some fairy gold - but the fairies aren't about to part with any of their gold. They also want to keep their existence secret from other humans. What follows is a hair-raising episode as fairy and human genius match wits. Who will win?

     If that's not thrilling enough as it is, the fairies are equipped with high-tech equipment and magic, while Artemis only has his wits. But Artemis has never been out-witted, and he's quite confident in his ability. Also, the fairies are split into two factions and are arguing about what to do about Artemis. I've never read a book that balanced a high-tech yet magical story as well as Eoin Colfer did in Artemis Fowl. If you're one of those readers who likes to try and solve the mystery before the book gives you the answers, you can try and beat Artemis Fowl, but I guarantee you won't. 

     The story is told from the point of view of many of the characters: Artemis, Butler, Holly, and Foaly, a computer geeky centaur. Other intriguing characters such as Commander Julius Root of the LEPrecon and Butler's little sister Juliet also appear, giving this story a wide and varied cast of characters. It's fun and has it's moment of humor. The characters are genuine and extremely enjoyable, and this story is unlike any other you've ever read. You'll never find characters like Julius Root and Foaly in another book, and you're never going to run across a mastermind like Artemis Fowl. I wouldn't have missed Artemis Fowl for the world. Pick it up. Read it. I mean, who doesn't like what happens when you mix magic and technology, fairies and geniuses?

Link to Artemis Fowl website: http://www.artemisfowl.com/