Two More Reviews

Colfer, Eoin. Artemis Fowl

I read this a few weeks ago on a recommendation from a colleague. It is a very entertaining read, and quick. Colfer's style is simultaneously informative and fast paced with just enough time to absorb the world he has created. I think the novel is best described as David Morrell meets Tom Clancy (if Clancy wrote fantasy) meets J.K. Rowling. Morrell comes to mind first because of the action element of the story. Colfer is not afraid to have action thriller-style scenes, nor to have characters with violent backgrounds. Clancy is evoked in the "technical" description of LEP technomagic and advanced technology. Rowling mostly comes to mind because of the protagonist's age and the fact that Artemis and Harry share some family characteristics early on (both being fatherless and from at least moderately well-off families; one could also argue that Artemis is effectively motherless as well, at least until the end of the story).
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Stroud, Jonathan. The Amulet of Samarkand

Stroud's London is a very interesting place, especially compared to Rowling's. And this fact is not something that Stroud is unaware of, based on his occasional veiled references to Hogwarts and Harry Potter. In a complete reversal of Rowling, Stroud's magicians not only live openly among "normals" (or "commoners" as he called them), but actually rule most nations. The element that I find most intriguing about Stroud's series is his magic system, although it is certainly not the only element of interest. The system very much draws upon both ancient and Renaissance characterizations of magic in that the only power possessed by magicians is the ability to call upon demons and summon them from "the Other Place." Presumably the magicians have done away with the Inquisition and the Vatican's objections to magic/witchcraft, but Stroud does not broach the subject, at least not in Amulet, nor do any "holy" object appear, so that is pure speculation for the moment.

On the whole, I highly recommend both books, plan to read the rest of both series, and eventually plan to consider both books for class purposes.