I'm going to preface this review by saying, I've become a little "mental" myself. I'm not really sure if it is clinical or imagined. But this book was all the more enjoyable, because I could relate to it.
Artemis Fowl, criminal mastermind, teen genious, is losing his mind. Sheer brilliance!
Artemis, a human, has somehow contracted a fairy psychosis – Atlantis Complex. Atlantis Complex is triggered in fairies by guilt – enormous loads of guilt. Symptoms include obsessive-compulsive disorder, paranoia and even multiple personality disorder. Artemis has plenty of guilt, but he'snot a fairy. HOWEVER, we all know that Artemis has one hand in the human world and the other in the fairy realm. Playing with fairy magic has finally backfired.
Artemis' OCD presents itself in an obsession with numbers. He is very comfortable and secure with 5s and any multiple thereof. 4s, however, are BAD. Didn't you know that the Chinese word for 4 sounds very similar to the Chinese word for death? Americans may be superstitious about 13, but 4 is much worse.
Artemis always responds in 5-word phrases. When he must give a presentation, he writes it and memorizes so that he is certain it contains enough words to form a multiple of 5. Interuptions and questions and any adlibbing create anxiety.
If there is to be a meeting, there must be exactly 5 people in attendance. It must start at a time ending in 5.
And all of this counting makes for very odd and stunted conversations. Not too mention, Artemis doesn't really sound like Artemis anymore.
Paranoia?Artemis cannot trust the very people he has learned to count upon. He sends Butler, his ever-present bodyguard, off on a wild goose chase to keep him away.
Multiple Personality Disorder? Let me introduce Orion, Artemis' alter-ego. Orion's favorite pasttime is professing his abounding love to LEP Captain Holly Short. How embarrassing, but offering much comic relief.
Artemis' downward spiral was quite enjoyable to watch, but that was where the enjoyment ended. This book was shorter than we've come to expect from the series and I'm glad. It took me awhile to muddle through it. It didn't advance the overall story. It was almost an aside to the main conversation.
Anybody watch the Star Trek spin off series a decade ago? I'm talking Next Generation, Voyager and Deep Space 9. I'll start off by saying I never really watched the original TV series. I've definitely watched all of the movies at least once. Next Generation was the first series I followed fanatically. Huge crush on Picard. Oops, I said too much … I liked Voyager just fine. I was still comfortable with traveling on a ship, through space, and meeting new people and going to new places. But DS9 was DIFFERENT. It was obviously a part of the franchise. It was great for cameo appearances. But it always felt stuck because you could never GO anywhere on a space station.
In a round about way, this is how Atlantis Complex read. I'd call it a companion novel. Not necessarily the 7th book in the series. Maybe it's quitting time.
Some thoughts and ideas were hard to follow. Some minor characters from previous books came back in minor ways. In the end, the great calamity was caused by an unusual love story. Is this what Artemis Fowl readers like? I think not.
I hope it's a prequel to the next (last) book. The ending was abrupt and unsatisfying. I'm speculating the love story in this book is a jumping off point to address Artemis and Holly's feelings for each other-something that NEEDS to be discussed before the series can end in my opinion. (Just my two cents)
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