Artemis Redux

I recently finished up a bit of light reading, the fifth book of the Artemis Fowl series, The Lost Colony.

For those who haven't read any of the Artemis Fowl books, you might have heard someone try to describe them to you in comparison to Harry Potter. This is because people don't seem to have any other frame of reference for children's/young adult fiction -- a book is either lavishly illustrated and 32 pages long, a "grown-up" book, or Harry Potter.

The truth is, there's very little comparison between the two. Artemis Fowl is not so grandiose in scale. Each book is a brisk, short read; depending on how voracious a reader you are, you could finish one easily in part of a single day. The characters are vividly drawn, but not very dimensioned. The plots are straight-forward, often with surprises, but never with any sub-plots or diversions. They're rather candy-like, in that they don't offer much in the way of long-lasting substance, but can be quite fun while you're consuming them.

But with this fifth book, I'm starting to lose my taste for this particular bit of candy. The Lost Colony unfortunately just feels like more of the same. Many characters had had some upheavals in their lives at the conclusion of book four, but instead of exploring the ramifications of this in book five, author Eoin Colfer pretty much just fits everybody back into the same old roles within a few chapters, and sends them off on another adventure that feels fairly familiar. Some might like it to a comfortable old shoe, and there is some value in getting what you'd expect. But in this case, I'd be more inclined to point out that the shoe has become worn and has holes in the soles, and is probably worth throwing out.

In short, I wasn't left with that same feeling of enjoyment after finishing this book as I did with earlier Artemis Fowls. I didn't hate the book, but I wasn't sure it had been worth my time either.

Though at least it only took a few hours.