Eoin Colfer, author of Artemis Fowl, describes his creation as "Die Hard with fairies". He's not far wrong. Artemis Fowl is the most ingenious criminal mastermind in history and with his trusty sidekicks, Butler and Juliet, in tow he hatches a cunning plot to divest the fairyfolk of their pot of gold. Of course, he isn't foolish enough to believe in all that "gold at the end of the rainbow" nonsense. Rather, he knows that the only way to separate the little people from their stash is to kidnap one of their number and wait for the ransom to arrive. But when the time comes to put his plan into action he reckons without Captain Holly Short of the LEPrecon (Lower Elements Police Reconnaisance) Unit--a sort of extra small Clarice Starling with pointy ears and wings--and her senior officer Commander Root, a man (sorry, elf) who will stop at nothing to get her back.

Fantastic stuff from beginning to end, Artemis Fowl is a rip-roaring, 21st-century romp of the highest order. The author has let his imagination run riot by combining folklore, fantasy and a fistful of high-tech funk in an outrageously devilish book that could well do for fairies what Harry Potter has done for wizardry. But be warned: this is no gentle frolic so don't be fooled by the fairy subject matter. Instead what we have here is well written, sophisticated, rough and tumble storytelling with enough high-octane attitude to make it a seriously cool read for anyone over the age of 10. --Susan Harrison

Genre: Young Adult Fantasy