Book Three-Now available in trade paperback Artemis Fowl is going straight-as soon as he pulls off the most brilliant criminal feat of his career . . . but his plan goes awry, leaving his loyal bodyguard, Butler, mortally injured. Artemis's only hope of saving his friend is to employ fairy magic; so once again he must contact his old rival, Captain Holly Short of the LEPrecon fairy police. It is going to take a miracle to save Butler, and Artemis's luck may have just run out. . . . "Readers will burn the midnight oil to the finish." -Publishers Weekly (starred review) In this third installment to Eoin Colfer's funny, fast-paced, fairy-filled adventure series, boy genius and arch criminal Artemis Fowl once again can't resist plotting the perfect crime--and, once again, he can't keep from stirring up so much trouble that the fate of the entire fairy world teeters in the balance. The once hard-boiled Artemis has softened a bit between his bestselling debut and the seat-of-your-pants Arctic Incident , and that trend continues in The Eternity Code : He's still plotting for a billion-dollar-plus payoff for the Fowl family, but now his enemies are human (chiefly Jon Spiro, a ruthless businessman Artemis tries to blackmail using stolen fairy technology) and he has to turn to his old adversary-turned-friend Captain Holly Short and cutpurse dwarf Mulch Diggums for help. The dialogue and action prove as smart and page-turning as ever this time around, with Artemis struggling to bring his faithful bodyguard Butler back from the dead before racing Mission Impossible-style to triple-cross the double-crossing Spiro. Colfer's young antihero might be getting more likeable all the time, but that hasn't taken the edge off the Tom-Clancy-meets-Harry-Potter action. Artemis has to agree to a memory-erasing "mind wipe" from the People after helping them recover their technology, but only a foolish fan would count Artemis out after this blockbuster "final heist." Book four can't come soon enough.... (Ages 9 to 12) --Paul Hughes Grade 5-8-Antihero Artemis Fowl, now 13 years old, is back. He has used stolen fairy technology to create a supercomputer known as the "C Cube," which will render all existing technology obsolete. He meets with Jon Spiro, head of "Fission Chips," with a proposition. For a price, he will suppress his cube, and allow Spiro time to sell his potentially worthless stocks and buy into Fowl Industries. Spiro double-crosses Artemis, and in the ensuing melee he steals the C Cube and Artemis's bodyguard, Butler, is murdered. The scene is totally out of James Bond; one fully expects to hear the familiar theme music and to see the credits as it concludes. The action does not let up as Artemis teams with the fairy policewoman Captain Holly Short and other companions to bring Butler back to life, and then to retrieve the Cube from Spiro's Chicago fortress. The plot is filled with crosses and double crosses, unmarked vans, and impenetrable security systems. It's exciting stuff, but the writing is often clichd at worst, and merely workmanlike at best. Butler's death scene is particularly hackneyed, echoing every overly dramatic death scene one can think of. Still, this latest adventure is sure to be popular with fans of the series. Tim Wadham, Maricopa County Library District, Phoenix, AZ Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. Gr. 6-9. Could this be Artemis Fowl's last caper? His father, who was rescued from the Russian Mafia in Artemis Fowl: The Arctic Incident (2002), seems to have turned over a new leaf. But Artemis resolves to do one last job, a job that involves a supercomputer cube he created with stolen fairy technology. Things go totally awry, however, when his proposed pigeon--a billionaire American businessman--turns the tables and Artemis' longtime bodyguard, Butler, is fatally shot. Artemis puts Butler on ice, literally, and calls on Captain Holly Short of the LEPrecon fairy police for help. The existence of the cube is a threat to the fairy world, and Artemis concocts a convoluted scheme to recover it. As in the previous two books in the series, the action is fast and furious, the humor is abundant, characterizations are zany, and the boy genius works wonders--all of which add up to another wild ride for Artemis' fans. Sally Estes Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved "Smartly written, funny...engaging mix of James Bond and fairyland with heavy doses of technology for the wired among us." -- Buffalo News "The kid's still got it...Harry had better watch his back! Grade: A-." -- Entertainment Weekly Eoin Colfer is a former elementary school teacher who became a publishing phenomenon with the New York Times bestsellers Artemis Fowl and Artemis Fowl: The Arctic Incident. Previously he had written several other bestsellers in Ireland, including The Wish List and Benny and Omar. Author: Colfer, Eoin. Publisher: Disney-Hyperion Pages: 336 Publication Date: 2003 Bindi