ARTEMIS FOWL
BY: EOIN COLFER
I would not say that this book is like Harry Potter at all except that magic is involved and there is a boy (quite unlike Harry) involved. The same can be said of MANY books much older than Harry Potter. It is unfair to J K Rowling and to Eoin Colfer to compare the two books.
Artemis Fowl tells the gripping story of a clever yet sinister young boy who has discovered a secret world of "fairies". Not fairies as you would probably think of them e.g. cute with wings and star wands - more like a race of little people with limited magical skills. He uses this information to try and blackmail the Fairy race into giving him vast amounts of gold.
Unfortunately for him, the fairy he tries to capture is a member of the fairy secret police force and his troubles are just beginning.
This book is very funny in places and quite gripping in others. There is more violence than you would generally find in a book of this type with things being blown apart and a "butler" who goes around with a garrotte, stun grenades and a cosh in his pocket. Don't worry - it is not too violent and it has a very satisfying outcome in the end.
The book is well written and a good read but it is not a classic like Harry Potter.
Now, as A Dangerous Path opens and Fireheart attends the Gathering on Bluestar's behalf, he dreads bringing back the news that the traitor is now Tigerstar, new leader of ShadowClan. How will Tigerstar exploit this new power? In addition to the fact that Bluestar either refuses to act or reacts dangerously, Fireheart must cope with Tigerclaw's old friends in ThunderClan, with signs of a dog loose in their territory, and with Cinderpelt's dream warning of danger coming, calling 'Pack, pack' and 'Kill, kill.'
Fireheart has to make the kind of hard decisions that define a real leader, and it feels lonely at the top. His actions cause his romance with Sandstorm to take a bumpy course, but he does see two old friends again, and is pleased when his nephew and apprentice Cloudpaw wins his warrior name of Cloudtail. Tension mounts as it becomes increasingly clear that 'there is evil loose in the forest', magnified by danger from their old enemy. Eventually Fireheart must face it ... but, surprisingly, not alone.
Each episode in this series has been better than the last. A Dangerous Path has a thrilling cliffhanger of an ending, which sets the scene for the next book, which will reveal The Darkest Hour for ThunderClan.