If you stepped into a bookstore any time in the early-2000s, I don’t doubt that you saw several Artemis Fowl books lining the shelves. After the first book appeared in 2001, you couldn’t go anywhere without seeing them. It felt like there must have been 1,000 books in the series as often as you’d see them popping up everywhere.
There are eight full-length books in the original Artemis Fowl series, plus one novella and a “behind the scenes” book that includes two original short stories. There are also six graphic novels and three additional books in the Fowl Twins series, a spin-off of the original Artemis Fowl.
This article will discuss the eight original Artemis Fowl books, the spin-off series, and the graphic novels. It’ll also give you information on the two additional Artemis Fowl books, often called Artemis Fowl 0.5 and Artemis Fowl 1.5.
The Original Eight Artemis Fowl Books
The original eight Artemis Fowl books, written by Irish author Eoin Colfer, include the following titles:
- Artemis Fowl
- The Arctic Incident
- The Eternity Code
- The Opal Deception
- The Lost Colony
- The Time Paradox
- The Atlantis Complex
- The Last Guardian
The first book appeared in April 2001, and the last one came out in July 2012.
The series is a middle-grade fantasy/science fiction series whose main character, Artemis Fowl, is somewhat of a bad guy. He’s connected to the magical world and starts the series by kidnapping a fairy to help find his father and reclaim his family’s lost fortune.
However, throughout the series, Artemis evolves from somewhat of a villain to an anti-hero to a pretty decent hero type who’s willing to give up everything to save those he loves.
Despite the book series’ titular character starting as a bad guy, these books are great for children. They are engaging and fun, and they explore important themes that you can explore and talk about with your children. The following sections will look at some of the most pervasive themes in the books.
Good Versus Evil/The Duality of Human Nature
Like many popular children’s books, Artemis Fowl explores the nature of good versus evil. However, it does so in a fresh, new way that inspires thought and great conversations. Unlike many children’s books where characters are either all good or all bad, the characters in Artemis Fowl are a mixture of both.
Artemis seems like a greedy, selfish criminal mastermind. However, he does a lot of good for his family and even the faeries as the books progress. At first, the faeries seem like the good guys; the reader has a lot of sympathy for them. However, later on, they do some bad things that make it hard to see them as “purely good.”
The Destructive Nature of Greed
Artemis Fowl focuses on greed and its effects on people a lot. It’s probably one of the best middle-grade fiction series for teaching young readers about how destructive greed can be. It also teaches young readers that selflessness is far preferable to avarice in the end.
The Importance of Courage and Loyalty
In the books, Artemis occasionally does some questionable things. However, much of what he does, he does for his friends and family. Even in the face of overwhelming odds, he frequently shows incredible courage and is willing to give his life for those he loves.
Bonus: The Secret Codes
Although the secret codes in the Artemis Fowl books aren’t part of the series’ themes, they are a massive part of why kids love the books so much.
Each book comes with a secret, coded message. It’s the reader’s job to figure out how to decode that message. Doing so is lots of fun, but it also helps young readers learn to problem solve and think critically and creatively. It also helps get them excited about reading.
Artemis Fowl 0.5 and 1.5
Artemis Fowl 0.5, or The Artemis Fowl Files, was published in 2004 and includes:
- Two short stories
- Interviews with the characters
- A dictionary of Foaly’s gadgets
- Secret coded messages
- And more
Goodreads calls it a “behind the scenes” book. Though not nearly as popular as the overall series, it has over 14,000 ratings, with an average of 3.87 out of 5 stars.
Artemis Fowl 1.5 is a 60-page novella called The Seventh Dwarf. It’s one of the short stories in The Artemis Fowl Files, but Colfer released it as a stand-alone novella for World Book Day in 2004.
It’s a cute story about Mulch Diggums and a rare and priceless tiara, and if you’re an Artemis Fowl fan who hasn’t read it, you’re sure to appreciate it.
The Fowl Twins
The first book in The Fowl Twins, the spin-off series featuring Artemis Fowl’s younger brothers, premiered in 2019. The series includes three books:
- The Fowl Twins
- Deny All Charges
- The Fowl Twins Get What They Deserve
Colfer released the third and final book of the series in 2019. The three books occur in the same fun and fantastical world as Artemis Fowl. However, seeing the world through the eyes of the twins – who are as different from one another as night and day – brings a fresh perspective, not to mention all-new adventures.
Artemis Fowl: The Graphic Novels
There are four original Artemis Fowl graphic novels, and they share their titles with the first four books in the original Artemis Fowl series:
- Artemis Fowl
- The Arctic Incident
- The Eternity Code
- The Opal Deception
The plot of each follows the original books closely, as well. The difference between them is that these are more art- and illustration-heavy. They are more like comics than novels.
In 2019, Disney decided to reboot the graphic novels to coincide with the release of their 2020 Artemis Fowl movie. They started over with the first one (Artemis Fowl). A second one, sharing the title The Arctic Incident, came out in 2021, and a third (The Eternity Code) is set for release in June 2022.
Final Thoughts
If you’re an Artemis Fowl fan, you may be in luck, as sources say that Disney will also release four more graphic novels after The Eternity Code, each coinciding with the fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh books in the series.
If you haven’t read them yet, hopefully, this article has given you enough information about where to start. Happy reading (and sleuthing)!
