Artemis Fowl #1 by Eoin Colfer

This book is the first in the series, and I gave it a rating of four out of five. Artemis Fowl is a twelve-year-old master criminal, and his family has been in the business for several generations. He does a great deal of research and planning and hatches a plan to steal mythical fairy gold. He kidnaps a lieutenant in the fairy police/military force, and that's when the adventure begins. The fairies send in their top agents, but Artemis always seems to be one step ahead. That's because he is. He's gotten his hands on the fairies' Book and knows all about the rules of their magic. Artemis and the fairies have quite a conflict, and a huge, angry troll is thrown in just to spice things up.

I postponed reading this novel for many years, and it wasn't what I expected. I knew Artemis was a criminal, but I didn't realize the plot was a fantasy. There aren't many novels around with criminals who are this young. I enjoyed the way Artemis was always prepared for the strategies of the fairies, but I also liked how the commander became unpredictable in order to compete with him. I liked that a couple of the characters showed some compassion for their enemies, so no one is all bad.