Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Book and Videos for the Week

Artemis Fowl - The Time Paradox was my dinnertime reading in St. Louis. Fans of the Fowl series will recognize many of the memorable characters here. Antihero Artemis Fowl himself, an amazing teenage genius. Plucky elf Captain Holly Short of the elite LEPrecon (Lower Elements Police Reconnaissance). The explosively flatulent dwarf Mulch Diggums. Evil pixie Opal Koboi. This book has something for everyone.

It's a fairy tale with high-tech James Bond gadgetry. The action is nonstop. Author Colfer handles the fledgling love story between elf Holly and human Artemis with delicacy. It's supposed to be a bit of a tearjerker, with Artemis's beloved mom near death. It's a morality play, about the extinction of a sweet and curious lemur species.
It may be a bit hard to follow if you haven't read the previous books, but it's still plenty diverting. It will make you want to pick up the earlier installments. I've previously read all the other books, and this is a nice complement.

The other night time entertainment was the last season of Foyle's War. I started this BBC Mystery series years ago, and just lately received the final season's episodes. This is a great 'period piece' set during WWII in a the town of Hastings on the south coast. It is set in the 'civilian' police department, but deals a lot with the military issues and depravation of the war during the years 1939-1945.

Highly Recommended!

1 comment:

Gram said...

I read one of the Artemis Fowl books, because when you started talking about Holly I remembered some of the weird things they had done. I had just forgotten about them. I also love the "Foyle's War". Thanks to you I've enjoyed some interesting books and videos. I just have one left in the World War I series. I've enjoyed it, although it gets a bit gruesome in places.