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hurrikanekathrina's review against another edition
5.0
Didn't really like the premise for this book, but it turned out to be a lot more fun than expected! Orion was so much fun!
sylfaun's review against another edition
2.0
TLDR: The Atlantis Complex sets up some potentially amazing plot and character work for the final novel in the series, but as a stand alone book it falls desperately flat in comparison to both the other books of the series, and novels in general.
A giant blunder for an otherwise well done series in terms of character work. This books seems to come out of left field and would probably have been better as a stand alone with different characters but set in the same universe.
We see Artemis after what appears to be years post Time Paradox and he is suffering from this fairy mental illness. We don't really know how this illness developed outside hints as to it being based on his life as a criminal and guilt. Sure these things could cause a spiral into similar conditions to what Artemis is dealing with, but it is so drastic after what appears to be a stable child at the end of the last book. (I should probably look up to see if there is an in between novel and if not maybe Colfer will write one just to fill in this gap. But that being said you shouldn't have to write additional material to explain the faults of your other books.)
And unfortunately as well, that's the conflict, that's the main plot. We do have the underlying thread of events that creates stake for the reader, but the plot is how the complex is developing. And while this could be a very good thing to write about, it misses the mark slightly enough that the whole book crumbles. The book doesn't see the illness as serious despite it being the central point, often making jokes at Artemis's expense and not just through dialogue but within the narrative itself.
The book also suffers from villain info dumping. The whole series does to a point, but because this is a brand new villain he has to explain to us as the reader his methods and plans. We don't even get to really see it in action as we do in the other books and so it has to be explained more bluntly. And the character of Leonor was pointless other than to serve as Root's motivation and undeserved being the hero in the end. We pity her from afar but we don't know anything about her other than how he feels about her.
The action of the book is slow at some points and almost too fast in others. We have the random scene with the squid which serves no purpose other than to put Artemis in only a page length of danger that almost reads as more humorous than dramatic.
The saving grace of The Atlantis Complex are Holly and the few scenes with Angeline. Their true concern for Artemis show the level of growth these relationships have gone through for the series. And hopefully we see that friendship and familial relationship grow even more strong in the next book.
I'm also hoping, as a last note, that this book wasn't a waste and that Artemis's condition, whether cured or not by the next book, has a lasting impact on his character and psyche, and that we are able to delve into how this affects him.
A giant blunder for an otherwise well done series in terms of character work. This books seems to come out of left field and would probably have been better as a stand alone with different characters but set in the same universe.
We see Artemis after what appears to be years post Time Paradox and he is suffering from this fairy mental illness. We don't really know how this illness developed outside hints as to it being based on his life as a criminal and guilt. Sure these things could cause a spiral into similar conditions to what Artemis is dealing with, but it is so drastic after what appears to be a stable child at the end of the last book. (I should probably look up to see if there is an in between novel and if not maybe Colfer will write one just to fill in this gap. But that being said you shouldn't have to write additional material to explain the faults of your other books.)
And unfortunately as well, that's the conflict, that's the main plot. We do have the underlying thread of events that creates stake for the reader, but the plot is how the complex is developing. And while this could be a very good thing to write about, it misses the mark slightly enough that the whole book crumbles. The book doesn't see the illness as serious despite it being the central point, often making jokes at Artemis's expense and not just through dialogue but within the narrative itself.
The book also suffers from villain info dumping. The whole series does to a point, but because this is a brand new villain he has to explain to us as the reader his methods and plans. We don't even get to really see it in action as we do in the other books and so it has to be explained more bluntly. And the character of Leonor was pointless other than to serve as Root's motivation and undeserved being the hero in the end. We pity her from afar but we don't know anything about her other than how he feels about her.
The action of the book is slow at some points and almost too fast in others. We have the random scene with the squid which serves no purpose other than to put Artemis in only a page length of danger that almost reads as more humorous than dramatic.
The saving grace of The Atlantis Complex are Holly and the few scenes with Angeline. Their true concern for Artemis show the level of growth these relationships have gone through for the series. And hopefully we see that friendship and familial relationship grow even more strong in the next book.
I'm also hoping, as a last note, that this book wasn't a waste and that Artemis's condition, whether cured or not by the next book, has a lasting impact on his character and psyche, and that we are able to delve into how this affects him.
shelbymarie516's review against another edition
4.0
Surprisingly better than the first five.
I wanted to love these and they were meh... I don't know if it was the narrator, the story, my frame of mind, me in general but these were not enthralling like I hoped and Carson was right. The movie and the book are like Ready Player One book vs movie. or The Shining book vs movie. They are inspired by but they are totally separate entities.
Basically Ireland is a land of magic and the Fowl family is a heist crew for magic. But Artemis and Holly are the odd couple of friends who need each other and are the last person each other need to keep life interesting and adventurous.
I wanted to love these and they were meh... I don't know if it was the narrator, the story, my frame of mind, me in general but these were not enthralling like I hoped and Carson was right. The movie and the book are like Ready Player One book vs movie. or The Shining book vs movie. They are inspired by but they are totally separate entities.
Basically Ireland is a land of magic and the Fowl family is a heist crew for magic. But Artemis and Holly are the odd couple of friends who need each other and are the last person each other need to keep life interesting and adventurous.
eesh25's review against another edition
4.0
This might be my least favourite book in the series so far; which is not to say that I didn’t like the book, just that I didn’t enjoy it as much as I usually enjoy these books. I’m hoping that the next one will be better. It is the last one, after all.
The story kicks off with Artemis not doing too well. He’s exhibiting obsessive behaviour and paranoia to the point where it’s like he’s barely even Artemis anymore. We soon find out why he’s behaving this way, but there’s no time to act on the new information as Artemis—in the middle of a meeting with some very important people—gets attacked and almost dies. Thankfully, said important people include Holly and Foley, so he has some company as he runs for his life. It’s company he sorely needs, too, thanks to his current condition.
So, as you can see, the plot is good. I like the villain too, and their plan. The pace is fantastic. I love all of the characters. And it’s always fun to see how they’re going to involve Mulch and how the villain will be outsmarted in the end.
I also like that, for once, the villain isn’t Opal Koboi. In fact, Opal is such a common occurrence that she’s the first one they suspect—they wouldn’t be very smart if they didn’t. But Artemis is also smart enough to not get stuck on an idea, especially one that’s based on assumption.
Speaking of Artemis, I kinda missed him in this book. Because of his condition, he’s acting differently and even missing from parts of the book. And since Artemis and his various relationships are my favourite part of the series, their absence is the biggest reason I didn’t enjoy this installment as much. I wasn’t a fan of the condition Artemis has, either. It felt a little too like it was made up to fit the plot. I usually love the author’s additions to his world but maybe not this one.
Overall though, this was an enjoyable read still, and I’m super excited to see how this series will end.
The story kicks off with Artemis not doing too well. He’s exhibiting obsessive behaviour and paranoia to the point where it’s like he’s barely even Artemis anymore. We soon find out why he’s behaving this way, but there’s no time to act on the new information as Artemis—in the middle of a meeting with some very important people—gets attacked and almost dies. Thankfully, said important people include Holly and Foley, so he has some company as he runs for his life. It’s company he sorely needs, too, thanks to his current condition.
So, as you can see, the plot is good. I like the villain too, and their plan. The pace is fantastic. I love all of the characters. And it’s always fun to see how they’re going to involve Mulch and how the villain will be outsmarted in the end.
I also like that, for once, the villain isn’t Opal Koboi. In fact, Opal is such a common occurrence that she’s the first one they suspect—they wouldn’t be very smart if they didn’t. But Artemis is also smart enough to not get stuck on an idea, especially one that’s based on assumption.
Speaking of Artemis, I kinda missed him in this book. Because of his condition, he’s acting differently and even missing from parts of the book. And since Artemis and his various relationships are my favourite part of the series, their absence is the biggest reason I didn’t enjoy this installment as much. I wasn’t a fan of the condition Artemis has, either. It felt a little too like it was made up to fit the plot. I usually love the author’s additions to his world but maybe not this one.
Overall though, this was an enjoyable read still, and I’m super excited to see how this series will end.
carlyxdeexx's review against another edition
2.0
This one’s definitely not a fave! While the early books in the series built genuine tension and suspense, this one really doesn’t. Nothing about the characters grew or surprised me, and even though all my favorites were front and center, I found myself uninterested in them—they were at the mercy of the action around them for pretty much the entire book, and not in a way that was compelling. I particularly disliked how this book handled mental illness—Colfer’s past books did subtly imply a slight ignorance of and lack of concern for mental illness and psychotherapy and psychiatry, but the “Atlantis Complex” being the center of this book really put these things in the spotlight and made them near-unbearable. Firstly, the Atlantis Complex itself just seems so thoughtlessly smashed together! I don’t consider myself an expert, but I do think that even and perhaps especially when you’re creating a new mental illness, it needs to be believable and serious regardless of whether or not magic is involved. Artemis’s struggle seemed to be more of a joke than anything else, his Complex described as something like “OCD mixed with MPD” which completely oversimplifies both associated disorders (MPD is actually DID now I think). And I understand this is a book “for kids” and a “product of its time” (holy crap 2010 is almost a decade ago) but one of the things I always loved about this series was how smart it was and how it didn’t hold back with kids on things like Sig Sauers and retina cams and Kevlar vests and places like Murmansk and Helsinki and Taipei. It would be rewarding to see a book like this for this age group that took mental illness seriously, that managed to shed some light on how it actually feels to have OCD and DID instead of seemingly relying on cobbled-together stereotypes and lightheartedly making fun of them. Artemis coming to terms with a newfound mental illness, struggling with his ultimate realization that it has no bearing on his startling intellect, realizing the importance of his emotions and his relationships to his stability and day-to-day functioning, acknowledging that help is not only something he needs but something that is ultimately rewarding and nothing to be disparaged for, that could have been so cool to see! And maybe we would have seen that in this book if it was written now and not ~10 years ago, which is a testament to how far we’ve come. One more book to go in this series—I hope it goes back to its roots and isn’t anything like this one.
karrama's review against another edition
2.0
I just can't take it so much now that it's all disney-fied and different.
trudy1963's review against another edition
4.0
Much better than the previous book in the series. The adventure/mystery was a little weak but the characters were funny and back in true character.
halokat's review
adventurous
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
maimaitu's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
thypos's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5