Artemis Fowl: The Lost Colony

Artemis Fowl and the Lost Colony

European Edition cover of Artemis Fowl and the Lost Colony
Author	Eoin Colfer
Illustrator	Stefan van Bolderick
Cover artist	Melvyn Grant
Language	English
Series	Artemis Fowl series
Genre	Children's Fantasy novel
Publisher	Puffin Books
Publication date	2 August 2006
Publication place	Ireland
Media type	Print (Hardback & Paperback)
Pages	384 pp (first edition, hardback)
ISBN	ISBN 0141382686 (first edition, hardback)
OCLC	76849597
Preceded by	Artemis Fowl: The Opal Deception
Followed by	Artemis Fowl: The Time Paradox

Artemis Fowl and the Lost Colony is the fifth book in the Artemis Fowl Series by Irish writer Eoin Colfer. The book, originally expected to be published in the UK and Ireland on September 7 2006, was shipped to stores early. On September 12 of the same year, The Lost Colony became available in the US, and was released soon to other countries. It is followed by Artemis Fowl: The Time Paradox.

Plot summary

The book begins in Barcelona, Spain, where Artemis Fowl II and his bodyguard, Butler wait for and eventually encounter a demon. Meanwhile, Wing Commander Vinyáya brings Holly Short and Mulch Diggums to secret organization Section Eight which monitors demon activity. There, Foaly informs them that Artemis Fowl was able to predict a demon materialization. Holly is sent to ask Artemis how he could do so.

On the demon island of Hybras, which is suspended in "Limbo" (where time is nonexistent), N˚1, an imp, is bullied because he has not "warped" (changed into a mature demon). After turning a wooden skewer into stone, N˚1 wonders if he is a warlock, though they all supposedly died. Leon Abbot, the leader of the demon pride, uses something suspiciously like mesmer to urge N˚1 to leave for the human world.

Artemis, Butler, and Holly are at the Massimo Bellini Opera House, where Artemis has predicted a demon appearance. After seeing a girl present at Artemis' first demon encounter, Artemis concludes that she knows something about demons. She is identified as Minerva Paradizo, and leaves for her residence with Holly following. N˚1, in Minerva's home, tells her about demon culture. He also learns that Leon Abbot visited this very place under care and that the spell holding Hybras in Limbo is failing. Holly has feigned unconsciousness and is in a cell with Billy Kong (one of Minerva's henchmen). She manages to knock him out.

When Artemis distracts Minerva, Holly and N˚1 escape. Kong, who has some inaccurate knowledge of demons, demands that Minerva obtain another demon to avenge his deceased brother, for which he holds demons accountable. She is unable to comply, and he takes her hostage. Artemis, however strikes a deal in which he will trade N˚1 for Minerva in the Taipei 101 in Taiwan. Kong plans to strap a bomb onto N˚1 and remove the silver bullet anchoring N˚1 to this dimension. However, Artemis has already removed it, and with the help of a large silver damper in the building, Holly is able to keep N˚1 in this dimension. With the suspicion that N˚1 is a warlock, Artemis asks him to return a circle of statues bearing close resemblance to N˚1 back to life as there is a possibility that the statues were once warlocks and were magically turned to stone. Only Qwan is alive. When Kong loses consciousness, the bomb is revealed. Holly, Artemis, N˚1, and Qwan leave to dispose of the bomb, but the time tunnel sucks them onto Hybras. Artemis reasons that the bomb will provide sufficient energy for a spell to reverse the original time-spell. Qwan tells him that at least five magical beings will be necessary. They all know that there are only three.

On Hybras, Abbot crowns himself the demon king. He is notified that four figures have appeared on the volcano, who are Artemis, N˚1, Holly, and Qwan. They accuse him of using the mesmer, but he states that demons cannot use magic. Artemis claims that Abbot took magic from Qwan's apprentice and stole it form the time tunnel. He demonstrates the fact by creating a spark out of the magic he took from the tunnel, unbeknost to his companions. With this development, then there will be five magical beings present (Abbot included), enough to reverse the time spell. Artemis, having no experience with magic, fails to contribute enough thus putting Hybras at risk. At that moment, Qweffor, Qwan's former apprentice, makes his appearance, revealing he has been living in Abbot after the first time spell was interrupted. With Qweffor's increased magic, the party is able to return to Artemis and Holly's dimension.

When they land back in the 21st century, Artemis notices that he has switched an eye with Holly. Even though Qweffor's consciousness has once again been taken over by Abbot, N˚1 manages to expand Qweffor's consciousness enough to shut Abbot out. Unfortunately, the party is three years off into the future. Artemis now has twin brothers, Ark Sool has been fired, and Mulch has continued the PI firm (also recruiting Doodah Day). When Artemis sees Butler, Butler reveals that Minerva has grown to be "quite a beautiful young woman" who talks about Artemis extensively. He hints that Artemis is now a big brother.

Critical reception

The book has received some positive praise. VOYA stated that Artemis Fowl: The Lost Colony was "fast-paced, funny, and wholly enjoyable" as well as that it was an "action-packed thrill ride through fantastic worlds".

The Code

A the bottom of the pages in "Artemis Fowl: The Lost Colony" the code reads:

The demon scrolls tell of a warlock that will come to save our people but I wouldn't rely too much on the scrolls. They also say that rabbits are the supreme beings and that the best cure for a sore throat is a poultice of dung and old socks. Hence trust the scrolls at your peril. There are however a few basic tips for survival in a demon tribe that might be helpful if you were a human say and had never actually met a demon before. Which is unlikely to say the least. If you were human you wouldn't be able to read this in the first place. So. Demon survival tips. First, never stab a demon with his own sword. This is the ultimate insult and will result in a vendetta that could go on for generations. It is fine to stab a demon with your sword - he will congratulate you for managing that - but only poor warriors lose their swords and then get stabbed with them. If the opportunity arises give it a miss. Second, demons have a pretty comprehensive system of sign language in which buttock slapping features heavily. It is very important not to slap the wrong buttock. Never slap someone else's buttock unless they stab you with your own sword, that is considered very bad manners. And learn the difference between the left buttock slap and a right buttock slap. If a passerby aims his buttocks at you and slaps the left one it means that there is a full moon due that evening and he hopes you will join him for the traditional hunt. If he slaps the right buttock it simply means that you remind him of his right buttock. You can see where the problems could arise. Finally, never sneeze into your fist. Always allow the sneeze to run free into the air. Medical demons assure us that the sneeze comprises of millions of tiny flying demons that zoom around the earth until they can find a human to land on. When they alight on their host humans they hack into their scalps with tiny axes causing terrible headaches which make the humans easy to defeat in battle. So when a demon sneezes immediately slap your right buttock in the direction of the sneeze so that the tiny demons can pass on the message to the human they land on.

Sources

• Official Artemis Fowl UK-site
• Artemis Fowl Confidential
• Artemis Fowl and The Lost Colony page, at Artemis Fowl Fangathering.