First impression: nice cover (see full post for pic). Second impression: why the heck do all books in series (see Harry Potters) have to have “Something and the Somethingy Something” (or in the case of HP “and the Something of Something”) titles? It’s a bit… cliché. Anyway. My brother wanted to borrow this fourth instalment of the Artemis Fowl series, and i decided that since i’ll be a bit overpacked (as usual) on my return to Japan in hardly more than just week, why not read it and let him borrow. So i did. It really felt good to be able to read two books in an afternoon, after the disillusionment of a mere hundred pages from Twilight in japanese during my lengthy travel home. Two, because i read the Arctic incident as well (second of the Fowl series), which i couldn’t really remember (though i surely read it sometime earlier). I had no problem remembering the first one, and i could more or less recall the Eternity code one (read it in english years ago). Now looking back, all the books have kind of the same structure, much like the Potters (not comparing qualities, different genre, just structures).

A bit more specifically about the Opal deception. As one could guess with ease from the first few pages, Opal Koboi was too much of a Professor Moriarty to get rid of in just one book (and so far as i know, she’s to return once more…), but this doesn’t mean less action. Maybe less events, and an undoubtedly simpler storyline, especially compared to the first one, but still entertaining and exciting. There’s even a Big Death, just as in the Potter of that year, 2005, but Opal deception was first. I’m being evil pointing similarities like that… but can’t help. I’m pretty sure that if there were no Potters, young Arty would’ve gotten the spotlight. He has a better character anyway. I could really identify with him, and am looking forward to reading the remaining [undefined] books of the series.